KOREA
I'm in Korea now heading back stateside today. It's funny some of the t-shirts I've seen here...they say stuff like
"Makeup & Breakup
God I'm such a creep
But somehow
That makes the best girl:"
and
"What is your taste?
For rough is stroll"
What the hell does that even mean??????????? Despite the stupid attempt to westernize their clothing, I actually really like this country and culture. The people here are extremely friendly and helpful. Although they don't speak English too terribly well, they are always trying. We have had random people come up to us and ask if they could just practice speaking with us a for a minute. So far i've learned how to say 'thank you' in Korean. Apparently, this language isn't as difficult as the other Asian ones. It actually has an alphabet not just different characters for everything freaking word like in Chinese.
Seoul reminds me of a nicer, cleaner, friendlier, less crowded version of New York...maybe more like how I would picture Chicago. It is so cool because amidst skyscrapers and modern buildings are these ancient Korean Palaces and old Buddhist temples. I had never seen a Buddhist temple before...we got to see the people praying and chanting with a monk to these 3 GIANT Buddhas. Took a lot of pics...will be posting them on facebook when I get back.
I'm SO disappointed that I didn't get to go to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the 38th parallel. It is the only place in the world where you can step into North Korean side. My dad was telling me that they have these soldiers in ready stance on both sides with guns....Apparently two weeks ago there were gunshots fired and a couple of people died. I was so surprised at how little I knew about the Korean War, but I've learned so much in these past 3 days. It's really very fascinating and I think that everyone needs to realize what a struggle this war was and how it still isn't resolved. Korea also really demonstrates how much better capitalism is as opposed to communism. The North Korean people are starving and South Korea has really, really thrived in the past few decades. And it wouldnt have been that way had there not been any intervention after they were invaded by the North and Russia...
Went to the War Memorial as well. very moving.
Now I wanna watch Team America when I get home...My dad and I have had "I'm so roneryyyyyyy" stuck in our heads.