Sunday, December 23, 2007

 

 

 

 
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More Photos

Compliments of my friend Stephen, stewils.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

These people have some crazy holidays ...

Two of them within the last month and a half, and neither were real "holidays" but the kind of crap hallmark and Kaplan would be jealous to create.

Pepero Day.
November 11. Yes Veterans Day for you Yanks and Armistice Day for my British and ANZAC friends.
But in Korea, it's a marketing day dedicated to a Korean chocolate-covered cookie stick. It's actually a knock-off of a Japanese snack called Pocky. I love these people. They can knock off or bootleg anything.

The funny thing is, Koreans already have their own version of Valentines Day, called "White Day" which takes place March 15. But the stores went nuts with pepero decorations. Students gave me candy throughout the day, and the same for Marissa. By the end of the day, we had a decent pile of chocolate-covered stick cookies.

But seriously, who makes a holiday for a cookie? One type of cookie. And what saps are these people that they fall for it. I know Valentines is a rip off and for suckers, (right Marissa? Please tell me I'm right) but there's at least a variety of products for men to be gouged by.

This is for ONE cookie.

The second holiday was even more bizarre to me.

November 15, the Korean SATs.

Each year there is a huge test, tantamount to the US SATs, that will make or break a Koreans chance of going to one of the better Universities here.

So on this day:

-Businesses agree to start later in the day or stay closed, so these test takers can have easier access to public transportation.

-Middle and Elementary Schools cancel the first and sometimes second period of classes to allow the high schoolers access, again, to public transportation.
(I almost said screw it to sleeping in for a morning, just to get on the subway and show the Koreans what a pain in the ass non-team player I am.

-(this one's my favorite) Police and ambulances are on standby to offer rides to any students who might run late for their exam. I shit you not. I saw this on TV and confirmed it with co-workers.

Thank God there isn't much crime here. Can you imagine calling the police, with the response being, "Sorry, we're taking the Kim kid to his exams. We'll be there after though."

The exam goes all day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I have to say though, it was a nice day not dealing with all those damn high school kids in line at various shops, on the subways or just around. It was like my dream when I lived in Los Angeles, that everyone who took my freeway to work would just die one day.

Well it's nice to just have a day sometimes.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

A communist Christmas

Hello readers,

sorry I didn't post this week, but I was sick. Damn bacteria laden children.

Anyway, figured this was a grand opportunity to post our Christmas plans. We're going to China.

Marissa and I will take off December 24 and come back Jan 2. We'll see Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and, of course, shop for knock-off and bootleg goods.

We'll even re-create this picture:

Not only Nixon can go to China. I just wonder where Marissa and I will get all the random Chinese people to stand next to us.


We're both pretty excited. More this week on the exciting Korean presidential election (I can't believe how politics works here. They only started campaigning THIS YEAR? I prefer the American system of a four year election process.)