Japan Itinerary 2009: part 1

Friday, January 23^rd 2009

11:30PM – Attempt to get some rest before going to Fukuoka, Japan (Flight: Seoul, Korea 9:30AM to Fukuoka, Japan 11:50AM). Fail.

Saturday, January 2^4th 2009

4:30AM – Get up. Attempt to get up. Try to attempt to get up.

5:03AM – Get up and head out across Seoul to get to the Airport. Intended path; take 20 min. cab ride to bus station, take shuttle bus to airport.

5:05AM – God damn it's cold.

5:12AM – Flag down a cab. Get in.

5:46AM – Get off at the bus stop. Find out that bus passed less than 5 minutes prior and have to wait ~20 minutes to catch next bus. On the sidewalk. Freeze ass off.

5:48AM – Motherfucker; is that snow?

5:59AM – Bus arrives. Can barely feel finger.

~ – Note the powdery snow is increasing in intensity. Note with half amusement/absolute horror at the other drivers driving in zero visibility; driving in between lanes, stopping/starting for no reason, going at ridiculously slow speeds, briefly think of joke about Asians and driving before having a quick prayer.

7:12AM – Arrive at Incheon Airport.

7:14AM – Leah is feeling ill from the bus driver lurching the constantly due to the terrible traffic. Fuck.

7:20AM – Leah applies for a re-entry permit. Her ticket # is . . . 198. The waiting list is . . . 104. Fuck.

7:40AM – Let Leah wait in line for her permit, go exchange Korean Won for Japanese Yen. Fuuuuuuck.

8:40AM – Wait in queue for air ticket while Leah is still waiting. She catches up, we rush, arrive at plane just in time. Awesome.

9:30AM – Plane not in air yet.

9:45AM – Plane still not in air.

~ – Pass out, wake up to note that; a.) the plane is in the air, and b.) they're serving food. Can relate to this guy.

12:30PM – Arrive in Fukuoka. Estimated weekly temperature; ~50 degrees F.

12:47PM – Get to the domestic airport/subway station; note on shuttle bus ride that all the logos/icons for industrial factories/warehouses are adorable cartoons of some sort. Awesome.

12:48PM – Motherfucker; is that snow?

12:51PM – Decide to get some food in our stomach before moving on; ordered a chili dog, get a hot dog with some kind of ketchup/salsa mix on top. Better than airplane food, not quite human food.

1:12PM – Arrive at the intended subway station/Ryokan with relative ease. Get shocked at the subway prices in Japan (Subway ticket in Seoul[capital city, gargantuan metro] for 4 stops; $0.60. Subway ticket in Fukuoka[not a capital city, relatively big metro] for 4 stops; $3.15). Brace for the worst.

1:13PM – the Ryokan is b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.; unfortunately, check-in is 3PM

1:45PM – Wander around the area; look at outside of local temple, get lost for 30 seconds, note that 7-11 in Japan is 7-and-i-incorporated (and note that it doesn't quite have the same ring, but will do anyways) find area's shopping mall and find . . . Wendy's. Delicious, delicious Wendy's.

4:15PM – Come back from mall. Crash for the rest of the day. Watch Sumo wrestling. Note to self; remind self to get one of those nifty Japanese tables.

Dog, or the eating thereof

Yes, I ate dog.

I know, now I'm never, ever going to hear the end of it from you guys.

But let's get down to the meat-and-potatoes of this (HA! Get it? Mean and potatoes? Ha . . ..) - how was it? Well -

Backstory - This is how it went down; Seoul still has a very, very small foreigner community for a city this size. And being one of a handful of people who are foreign, I get talking to a few other American/Canadian teachers about eating dog, and some are for it and some are not.

Anyhow, Leah's best friend in Korea, Jenna, is leaving soon - next weekend, in fact - and she's been wanting to eat dog since we got here.

So Leah, Jenna, and I go to a little dog place around the corner - we've been asking around if anyone knows if there's a good place for it, and no one knows - so Leah suggests going to a place around where Jenna lives, close to Leah's (I live about an hour away from where Leah lives, more on that later) - it's new, and it's big. I'm kinda weary of new places in Seoul(there are overnight operations everywhere here), but whatever - I agree and go with them.

We walk in, and this solid wall of . . . funk hits us. It's not quite wet dog as you'd expect, but it's a weird mesh of burning-rancid-something that just doesn't scream "hygienic and delicious". I mean, dog's supposedly nutritious, right(well, I suppose y'all prolly don't know - yes, it is; and as all things Asian, it's also supposedly an aphrodisiac/assist in virility)?

Well, whatever - we're on a mission, damnit; and I'd be damned if I don't complete said mission. We plop down, hoping against hope that we get used to the funk (we don't) and order dog and a coke.

The coke came first.

Anyhow, the dog (stew):

As you can see, it's just a stew of sorts with meat and assorted vegetables. Due to the aforementioned funk, however, Jenna and I just picked at the meat and had some, and promptly got out. Leah was going to try a piece, but the smell got to her, so it was a no-go. By the way, the stew smelled fine, so it wasn't that.

Honestly, it's nothing outstanding about dog meat that would scream, well, I dunno, "woof" maybe?

It's just meat, dammit!

Oddly enough, though, it wasn't the meat that bothered me - it was the fat; there were some fatty pieces there, but thinking that the fat came from a dog somewhat disturbed me. I can't wrap my head around why dog fat would do that, but well, it did.

Anyhow, overall - I would give dog meat a . . . well, I can't tell. Like I said before, the funk was so overpowering
that I don't think it'd be fair to give the meat a rating at this time. However, for the restaurant, I'd give it a 3/10.

To fairly assess dog, I think I will have to try again sometime, at a different place.

(On a sidenote, Leah wants to get a dog when we go back. To keep as a pet, not eat. I think I'm down with that. I wonder what it'd say if it knew that I ate one of its kind.

Probably "woof".)

Being in Korea - part 1

Hey peeps,

Just thought I'd update this a bit - you know, I have to make it a habit if I am to keep this up, me being a masterba, I mean, master procrastinator and all.

Anyhow, this is more for the peeps back in the States ('sup) - (part of) my general consensus of living in Korea as a whole.

Well, it's certainly different, being that, you know, Korea's not the US and all - but where to begin? Hmm, let's begin with the small things - there's an Outback steakhouse everywhere you look (Leah said that she has never been to one until she came to S. Korea). And they serve kimchi and fried rice with their meals; I wish I could say I was joking, but I'm not kidding here folks, they're serious about that shit here.

Ah, speaking of restaurants; here's one more - you know what they call a Quarter Pounder in Seoul?
Answer: nothing. They don't have a fucking quarter pounder. Most of their menu, save for the Big Mac and Cheeseburger, is completely different. And they deliver (free of charge, no tip), too.

And, of course, you can't forget the penis fish.
They eat that here. I mean, not the "they" as in "all of them Koreans" but think of the same ratio as Americans that eat prairie oysters.
But, dear reader, notice the aquariums in the video where the penis fish were? That's right - being a peninsula, fish is cheaper than beef and pork here - and fresh, to boot.

I mean, I could go on and on about food in Korea, but I think the rest is up for another time. Peace out, yo.

- This next part is more for my sake than anything else, so don't mind me.

Being in Korea is;

• Food
• Variety
• Itaewon
• Tipping
• Sexuality/Dating in Korea
• Whore alley
• Gay, or attitudes towards
  
• Picking up one night stands vs marriage material
• Perception of foreigners
• Towards foreign women vs men
• Towards gyopos
• Job
• Family