I have volunteered for a few things. Probably less than I should. Giving blood, working in a museum, given my time at fete stalls for a Nursing Home ...actually, they're all a bit bourgeoisie now that I look back upon that fragment of a list. Dammit.
Anyway, I feel like I can say that I have done something a bit bigger now, something on a more internationally-minded scale. If you didn't hear about this, you are either unconscious or completely (unintentionally) ignorant of the news like I usually am. Yesterday was voting day for South Korea and voting day is a public holiday, where people generally do nothing. Seriously, only about 50% of the country voted, too. Those lazy bastards rival the Spanish and their own siesta-lazy-habits. So, we decided to not be lazy and head down to one of the many beaches covered in oil to help with the clean-up. I got up at 5 am. Don't even. We got on a bizarrely-decorated bus of happy Christians, ate some strangly fake from-a-packet hotteok (those sugar-filled things I love from the street stalls), and I drank some new bus-sickness medicine. This little bottle of stuff knocked me quite clearly out, which was a good thing, but the fact that it contains caffeine and nicotine freaks me out. Just a wittle, aiight?! I'm already addicted to coffee, so there's no problem there, I just don't want to come home a chain-smoking McSmokey stab...face. SOoOoOo, after I regained consciousness in the freezing air that was breezing off the bay, we trundled over to pile of things sealed in plastic wrapping. From fabric gloves, to plastic gloves, to ponchos, to a breathing mask which let me not breathe at all, and an attractively charming thick plastic jumpsuit-style overalls with attached-to-the-leg-via-electrical-tape gum boots. Or is that gumboots? Or gum-boots? Oh man, we were teh hawtest bitchez outta town (we were in the country).
And then we cleaned. And cleaned. And cleaned. We scrubbed rocks 'til our fingers ached. I hunched over extremely disheartening puddles of thick, sticky oil, literally scooping up the gloppy mess onto the rags and random clothes donated for the cause, until the fabric was so sodden with filth, it was barely possible to tell whether you were mainly holding the rag or the oil. Keep in mind that we were there ten whole days after the actual oil spill, and of which this particular beach had been occupied by hard-working volunteers for all ten days. Sad, indeed. Especially to think that along the 30% of Western coastline affected, there are still countless beaches which have not yet been attacked. Grah, it makes me sick and angry. What an environmentalist I have become!! (NB: I will probably still drive my tank of a car back home. Sigh, such is the torn state of mind modernity brings upon those who clean oil spills and own tanks.)
We worked all day, and although no visible improvement could be beheld, it felt strangely satisfying. I can clearly see why people devote their lives to things like Greenpeace and other crazy bastard hippy organisations. And so we were touted as 'Heroes' on the ride back home and got hilariously drunk via the brilliant liquid that is Soju with the ajumma we always stay with (who is, if we haven't already mentioned a bajillion times, absolutely awesome great fun cool). We now call her 'Imo', which means 'Aunt', so basically we love her. Sarang Imo!
Gergh, how come I am running out of time!!! Sometimes I hate that I embellish my writing so. So, err, yes. Yesterday we walked around Dongdaemun markets, which is basically just a huge area full of different markets which specialise in different areas and such. I saw as many shoes as I will probably in one space at any one time, I ate Green Tea hotteok (which was rad) and Chrysanthemum bread filled with red bean, and we walked in on the most random out-of-the-back-of-a-car dodgy markets I have ever been to. Seriously, that place was filled with garden implements, jeans, old musical instruments, ancient TV sets (I'm talking 1950s or so), tapes (c'mon Korea, get out of the gorram 80s), knives, and, errrrr, 'adult toys'. Yeah, that was kind of creepy, because there were, like, five stalls in that tiny pavillion dedicated to those 'specialist products'. And they were creepily popular with old men. *Shiver*
Today we went to a student area! Best area yet! Woo!!! ^____^ I do heart student places so. We first went to a "park" (...it was a "park" as opposed to a park, because Korea is dodgy as hell and DOESN'T SUPPLY PARKS WITH GRASS. Seriously, Korea, don't try and cheat me like that again) that is famed for buskers, and we got an excellent comedy duo who sang hilarious songs (via furious translating by my very own automated Korean robot) on guitars and told people to piss off because they weren't clapping. Also, the dude started talking to me in English and as he was asking me where I was from, I completely didn't realise he was talking to me. I looked behind me instead. Good one. After that idiocy, I got a nice rendition of 'Unchained Melody', which is always a cool song to have sung to you. So we just wandered for the day, finding awesome shops (I bought Astro Boy earrings!), and a cool little cafe where everything was handmade (trinkets and food!) where we sat and drank tea and had a mini-selection of cheeses. So Western right now. Anyway, we ended up hanging around that area for ages, had dinner and a bottle of Soju, and then set off with plans for seeing the city lights and to ice-skate.
I DID NOT GET TO ICE-SKATE. >< >< >< NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Lame x 46.
Damn you population problem. Anyway, the city lights were absolutely stunning, particularly because they follow a little stream that runs through the city centre, and I got strawberries covered in red toffee on a stick. So awesomely delicious, you ain't never tried something as fine.
STRAWBEWWY WUV!!! ^____^ v
NB: I'm postin' some photos up roight now! 68 to be exactle!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment