First of all, thanks to you - the readers of this blog - my visitors count passed 1,000 views last week. I'm sure many are from people stumbling upon this blog by accident, but still, thanks! My precious little blog has readers!
Second, the 30 second video I posted about T.O.P. being at EV has 17,354 views at this time of writing. In youtube numbers, that's not so much, but for Brandon numbers, that's huge! And to think, all I had to do was post a video of a celebrity!
And finally, in a totally random moment, I was asked to be in a photo shoot. I was just walking down the street and a guy asked me if I had 5 minutes to be photographed with an iPad. I knew he wasn't going to murder me for two reasons: They were in EV and had to go through security, and they were already taking outdoor pictures of other people.
I asked one of the crew dudes to take photos with MY camera too, and he gladly did!
There were already 4 or 5 "actual" models there, all posing or about to pose with the iPads and smart phones and laptops. This girl was just finishing up before it was my turn.
The next pictures were all taken with my own camera. It was fun and random and a little awkward, but only awkward because I was holding a display (non-working) model of an iPad and pretending it was real, all while smiling like I was having a grand ole time with the thing.
And there I am, breaking into the world of stardom. How many other people can truly say that they were literally asked off the street for a photo shoot? (And I mean a photo shoot that doesn't show sad-looking homeless people to be shown on the news...)
They probably asked me because I look American and my burnt orange shirt and my shoulder bag made me look like a totally average college student.
I've been to Seoul. Now everyone can quit being shocked that I haven't been.
This post will be mostly pictures with my explanations. I think they are in chronological order, so I'll get to the Seoul adventure later into this post. Enjoy!
Every Friday we have a "Closing Ceremony" for the students' last activity at EV, and last week's group was huge. This picture is a crappy self-shot of three girls who loved every male teacher they met. It is funny how often they tell teachers that they are beautiful (for women) and handsome (for men), even the boy students. It does wonders for self esteem.
After work on Friday I went with 3 other teachers to a burger joint that literally gives around 10 fries with an order. TEN FRIES! I was warned about it, so I wasn't shocked, but I still felt a bit sad. After dinner we wandered around the shopping center and there was a Lego store! If Chewbacca is in FAO Schwartz Toy Store in NYC, and a Clone Trooper is in Paju, I can only wonder where the rest of the cast is.
Darth Vader here is only about 18 inches tall, but the whole display was pretty fun.
Seoul Tower! I don't even know what it is, but it is famous. This was taken just before we went into the Porta-ghetto Road market streets. Just before this we had been to an English bookstore (yay!) and eaten at Burger King (double yay!). I got cheap ice cream that made the day wonderful.
Proof I was there:
The next couple of pictures were taken in the market place. Besides the constant aroma of smoke and sewer, it was a fun, though crowded, place.
Fans are ridiculously expensive here! These were around 45 dollars!
I think these were all coin purses or pencil cases. There were so many!
Lots of glasses places. I wondered if they did eye exams there too...
For every glasses store, there were 10 bag shops. They like to barter about prices too.
Proof that I went to the place:
A bag full of tiny bears. I don't know what they were for...maybe last-minute crappy Christmas things for the neighbors?
I don't know what this building is but it was tall and big.
A goodies stand on the street.
The subway system was wonderful - very clean and spacious. Adam and Chelsea and I did all our adventures together in Seoul.
Me! My legs are the color of my pants. Well, more light, actually.
Back in Paju, I went grocery shopping. The next two pictures were snapped in the Noodle Isle.
The front gate to EV has a replica Stonehenge. I guess the Druids spoke English too?
This is the sun setting over North Korea. It was really pretty.
These next few pictures were just this last Monday. The weather was perfect! I wish all days felt that way!
This is part of the concert hall. Some days I catch a glance of the hunch-backed bell ringer in there.
This is looking up a deserted Market Street.
Our students played dodge ball outside Monday afternoon, and they were having so much fun. The weather, as I said earlier, was perfect.
Another picture of the Concert Hall.
This big green metal roof thing looks cool, and though it doesn't really provide any shelter, it casts cool shadows.
And what would a week be like without some sort of film crew? This one was very small, only one truck (behind the trees) came for this shoot.
Here is the film set - It's in a currently unused building, and it happened to be right there facing the dodge ball game. I wonder how many rogue balls bounced off the windows? The light inside that room is not from a window, it's the artificial set lights. They were really bright.
And there they are, the worth-sharing pictures from the last few days. If you read this blog and have comments, I'd love to have them!
Stay tuned for my soon-to-be next post because in it you'll hear all about how I was randomly asked to be in an actual for-real photo shoot today. Until then....
It's September!
Today my younger brother flies back to my parents house from his 2-year LDS Mission in Guatemala, and it seems that everyone is quite excited to be there when he arrives. I, however, am not available to be there as I'm literally on the other side of Earth. Or am I?
Thanks to the miracle of iPods, I'll be able to video chat with the family in real time and sort of be there too. When I got back from my mission a few years back, my family had a Wii, and I thought that was cool. My brothers head might blow up at the sight of, get this, a video touch screen (with my precious face on it)!
We are all very happy and proud of my brother and what he has spent the last 2 years doing.
Enough about him, this blog is about me.
The fountain was lit brightly as man-made clouds encircled its babbling waters.
Life on a movie set hasn't changed much, but this week there were a few extra juicy details.
Let me explain this by going back about 10 years in American Pop Culture.
In what was considered to be THE boy band of the very late 90s, N*Sync seemed to rule the radio and steal the hearts of all teen-aged girls in America (little did those teen-aged girls seem to realize, not one of the members of the boy band loved them back). After a few years of unofficially being "the main guy" in N*Sync, Justin Timberlake went on to do a solo album or four, taking with him huge success and the continued love from his even-more-unofficial girlfriends/fans.
Fast-forward to South Korea, 2011.
The very same thing happened here with a boy band called Big Bang and a member called T.O.P. (pronounced "Top"). This week T.O.P. was at EV with a big crew and many extras to film what seemed to be either a music video with action scenes and - dare I say it? - a plot, a la the longer music videos like "Thriller," if that makes sense, or some ad for a company.
Here is a picture of T.O.P.
I couldn't find one with the blonde hair he had while at EV, but I feel
that this picture is the closest I've found to show how alien he looks.
Well, in order to try to delay the inevitable, the Head Teachers at EV decided to tell the students before their classes that T.O.P. was here and that they were to stay out of the way and to not bother anyone. Basically, they told the students they were still at "school."
Like that worked.
All day, getting them to their classes was havoc. Every time the students could see film crew, they'd go crazy trying to get a glimpse of the singer. I tried blocking the door onto the large fountain area to keep the girls in my class to stay inside when, just like you'd see in a comedy movie, the other door burst open with the door I was trying to block. Girls spilled out of the double doors and onto the set. It took substantial effort on the part of several teachers and a fire-hose to get them back in the classroom building.
Later on, after dinner, they were filming right outside of the cafeteria. There were scores of kids hanging around watching, but if the crew wasn't going to make them leave, I wasn't going to try either. It was kinda funny to see all the extras on set because they were all dressed in black business suits with briefcases, walking or sitting around. I couldn't help but to think of the "Burly Brawl" scene from Matrix Reloaded. Compare:
(OK, so there is really no comparison, but it's still what popped into my head.)
These are SOME of the kids lined up to see their famous singer.
Here is the set where they were actually filming. There is a dead guy on the ground.
And here is the video with, get this, TWO takes! I'm a regular paparazzi.
(Confession - I actually had NO idea who T.O.P. was until after I made
this video. Turns out he is the guy that walks out from behind the building
and toward the scooter.)
After all this happened and I had to be back at work - which happened to be in that building with the greenhouse roof - I walked out the other side to see what a group of people were looking at. Turns out Mr. T.O.P. stands back there while waiting for his cue. So yes, I saw the celebrity. I'm pretty sure the celebrity saw me. I'm sure the celebrity didn't care and has forgotten me. Anyway, that was when I found out who the celebrity actually was, as well as noticed how frightening his face looks. It's like David Bowie (see first picture).
As I finished up work today I noticed yet another crew setting up on Market street - right by my place - and snapped a picture or two before getting home and starting this very blog post.
Behold! As I was verily typing I heard loud music from outside and went, with my camera, to investigate!
Here is the actual harrowing account, filmed only moments ago!
And there you have it. Is it hard being among such famous people all the time? It might be for some, though not for me. I figure this is a good opportunity to ease my way into fame without being thrown into the deep end.
Aside from all this excitement, I'm doing well; my apartment stays clean, but that is due the fact that I have almost nothing to make a mess with, and the teaching is fun too. Today in science class we made soap. I'll post pictures in a different post.
Tomorrow I'm going to get my ARC (Alien Registration Card) finally, though I don't know what difference it will make to me - I was paid today just like everyone else who works here - but I guess it's important to follow the law. I'm going to Seoul on Saturday, and I'm excited about that. I'm going to a bookstore too, so I'll have plenty to keep me happy. I'm sure I'll have new things to tell from that trip so stay tuned!
Here is the cat that hangs out just outside my window. I think
Oh no! Monotony!
Well, maybe "monotony" is not the right word, but for the first time since I've been here I don't really have anything new or exciting to post about. I guess [almost] three weeks is a good amount of time to be used to my surroundings.
I went shopping last weekend and snapped a few uninteresting photos - here are two of them:
This is a funny street because of all the signs.
These are my two reusable shopping bags (they charge for plastic ones), and my trusty umbrella, which I never leave the house without. They are on my lap and I am on the bus.
Still, I've not really ventured out looking for adventure, but I bet that I'll finally get to Seoul before long, and I will definitely post about that. I have heard for quite a long time how Seoul is really on the so-called "cutting edge" as far as technology goes, so I've set my expectations on something similar to a mix of Rouge City (from the film A.I.) and Coruscant (from Star Wars) - I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of the flying cars if it's a clear day. I'll also look into a jet pack if they're not too expensive.
I'll be finishing up my third week soon. It has gone by fast, and I'm beginning to feel like I've been here much longer. I've got most things in the Village figured out, but the garbage thing takes getting used to: mandatory sorting/recycling and color-coded garbage bags are new to me.
Starting Monday, the special programs end and the regular schedule begins. I've never been in the regular schedule. So much for getting used to stuff.
This is a lovely statue by my apartment. It's hard to see how shifty its eyes are by this picture.
Last night, as I was sitting at my desk - oh yeah! I got a desk! - in my room, I was chatting merrily with Mother and Father as they were getting ready for their day when I saw out of the corner of mine eye a creature most evil scurry passed my foot. Behold! An arachnid with muscled legs and a body like a peanut was invading! Because of the little beast I had to end my call and hunt for it. I thought I had mashed it dead, but upon lifting the rain boot I was using as a bludgeon, there were no guts to be found.
Fear set in.
Later, I saw an unwelcome black shadow in the corner. I grabbed the boot. I attacked. There was sweat and guts and accelerated heart rates (at least in my case - I don't believe that arachnids have hearts. Or souls). After a short scuffle and half a dozen whacks, the monster rolled sadly onto its back and curled into a rough ball, except for the one enormous leg that didn't bend in but instead twitched as it took its time to die.
It was the third incident of an unwelcome guest in my room, as well as the painful death thereof. Let it be a warning to all - even people.
This week also marked the first time I taught a class on my own. I think it was because someone called in sick and my co-teacher had to cover for them. So it was less of "they thought I was ready" and more of "they had no other choice." Regardless, I did just great. If I can help 15 kids make individual kaleidoscopes by myself in one class period without any screaming or fit-throwing I think I did just fine.
It might have helped that I started class by telling them that I was the only teacher and basically begged them to stay calm and listen to the teacher. At the end of the day my throat was sore from all the talking, but I'm better now.
Today there is a film crew and set along the street in the Village, and they've put up temporary sets as well. Awnings and book stands, a fake cafe, flower shops and more - and they'll all be gone by tomorrow. At first we thought EV was just making itself nicer and stuff, but we were sadly mistaken, and knew it, too, when we saw the film crew vans. Should I try to convince the crew to leave their stuff here? I tried taking pictures, but some guy made me stop (though I did get a few, meheheh).
This and the next picture were taken on my iPod from the 2nd floor bridge between two classroom buildings.
This picture is the one I got just before I was told "No pictures!"
This was after the "No pictures!" but I took this through a window in the teacher prep room, the guy couldn't stop me. The lady in white (under the umbrella) is some super-model and was treated like royalty. She seemed to be such a diva! As soon as "Cut!" was called she covered her eyes and someone rushed to her with the umbrella.
There is a hole in the window screen in the prep room, so I stuck my camera out and got this picture. In this one especially (and less so in the one above), you can see that the street is covered in bubbles.
A coworker of mine said that they were filming an ad for a laundry machine or soap or something, and that was the reason for all the bubbles. Is was sorta fun to watch part of what it takes to make a 30 second commercial.
I hear that this sort of stuff is filmed quite often here in EV - commercials, music videos, movie scenes, etc. and it seems that most employees here are annoyed by the fact. I think it's kinda fun. I live on a movie set!
Between torrents of rain, I've been snapping some pictures of the Village in hopes that I could make a video.
Glorious day! I did it! I took most of these pictures today and yesterday, so don't think that I never change my clothes - because I do. The kids in this video are the kids that I work with this week, and the other adult in one picture is Mina, my co-worker. Enjoy the video!
For those of you who don't actually know me, I'm a Mormon. For various reasons I've missed church the last few weeks, but today I was able to go! My friend and I rode the bus for about 20 minutes and then walked like two blocks, and my eyes fell upon the church. Chelsea and Adam had already been there a few times, but as it was my first, I was greeted by many people. They were all so nice to me! There were two Korean missionaries who both knew some English, as well as a lady named Julie, and a guy about my age named Jeff. They were so helpful and nice to me.
Since we got to church a little early, I talked with the missionaries and one of them asked if I had seen Mission: Impossible because he said I looked like Tom Cruise. The other missionary agreed and asked if I get that a lot. I don't. I told them no, but I do get Harry Potter sometimes, and they both thought that was funny.
Church was good, even though I only had about 1/30th of it translated. I found the lesson and read it and the scriptures too, so I still got the lesson.
After church ended, we Americans were invited to stay after for a pot luck/birthday party for a recent convert who turned 70. It was very nice of the ward to welcome us, so we stayed for a bite to eat. It was the first non-cafeteria, actually-made-with-love-and-stuff food I've had here.I tried a little of it all, and I liked most of it. After we had finished, a member gave us a ride back to the Village. It was especially nice because it began to rain really hard.
It's nice to be treated so kindly!
So that was today.
Yesterday I went to Ilsan with my Cedar Friends to see a movie. Here is my ticket:
In case you can't read it (because I sure can't), it was for Harry Potter. The theater was on the tenth floor of the building, but we got there early enough that we had lunch in either basement 1 or 2 at McDonald's. All of the people at the counters have been so patient and helpful. I ordered what I thought to be a hamburger, but the meat was something else that I later found out was pronounced buh-GOH-gee. I don't know what it was, but I liked it a lot. I figure it was McD's so nothing could be any more harmful than their regular food.
After The movie in the quite small theater, we ventured to an actual Costco, also in Ilsan. It was just like Costco back home, except the 7 floors above ground were for parking only, and the 2 floors underground were the actual store. It was the most westernized experience yet. It was so crowded, but it was pretty easy to find my friends because I just had to scan the place for a white person.
After that we rode the bus home and I got so turned around that I didn't even realize we were home when the bus stopped.
And now I'm doing laundry and hanging my stuff up to dry. The rain comes and goes, but the temperature has been nice. And now I'm going to go play the piano.
