Sunday was a pretty active day for me. I realize I'm posting this almost a week after the fact, but it was so noteworthy I felt I should document it.
You know how the best improv scenes often start in one place and end up somewhere totally unexpected? Not an improv nerd? Have no idea what I'm talking about? OK. Well anyway, Sunday was kind of like that for me. I wouldn't have guessed I'd end up doing as much as I did when the day began.
One of my co-workers told me about a local church where they have English services. I figured it was time for me to start branching out socially, so on Sunday morning I decided to attend. The service didn't start until 11:30, so I still got to sleep in some.
I took a cab to the church (first time I've ever done the whole cab routine by myself!) and when I got there I wasn't sure which building to go to. Fortunately, a man who spoke English noticed me and asked if I needed help, and he showed me where to go.
The English service wasn't very populated, but I was told that it's because most of the foreigners had gone home for vacation. I didn't really mind that most of the people there were Korean, so it was kind of funny to me when they seemed to assume I was looking for other foreigners. Because I was a new face, many people wanted to meet me. It was almost like being a celebrity.
The service was good, and after it was over they served food on the floor above. I got to meet several people, and learn just who it is that goes to this church. Whenever people asked where I was from I told them Chicago, and that got some interesting responses. A few people told me they had children living in Chicago, and I could only wonder if they'd been to the area near my grandmother's house. One Korean guy told me he knew Barack Obama was from Chicago and that he wanted to let me know he likes the Democratic Party. I told him I didn't support the Democrats (hey, I'm not going to lie about it), but it was cool if he did. It ended up as a slightly awkward moment.
Most people left after chatting and eating for a while, but the pastor and another foreigner guy were planning to meet some people downtown to see a movie, so they asked me to join them. I figured I might as well, since I'd been hoping to go downtown anyway. A bunch of the men had to have some sort of meeting first, so they asked me to stay in the room where we ate while they had their meeting in another room.
I ended up spending most of my time talking to this one girl while I waited. She had been to America before as a foreign Korean-language teacher, basically the opposite of what I'm doing. She said being in America helped her English get better (I assume because it's easier to find an English speaker in Korea than it is to find a Korean speaker in America). I've noticed that I tend to discuss the same subjects with Koreans: language, culture and improv. I guess the first is due to my love of words, the second is due to my fascination with this new environment I currently find myself in and the third is due to my wanting to raise awareness of a life-enriching art form. I told her how much I like the Confucian hierarchy system, because it fits my sensibilities perfectly, and she told me "you'll do well in Korea." She also seemed interested when I told her about improv, and I even wrote down the phrase "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" for her so she could see it for herself on YouTube.
After the meeting thing was over I went to a coffee shop with the other foreign guy and the pastor, and while I was there I got a small container of mint chocolate chip ice cream. We sat and talked for about half an hour before heading downtown. I learned that the pastor, though he was born in Korea, has spent most of his life traveling around the world, so a lot of the stuff in this country is new to him too.
We then walked downtown (where I finally saw someone wearing a Cubs hat, then later saw a Twins hat) and met up with two other guys who were friends of the American guy. We ate at a Japanese ramen place before the movie. I'd never heard of Japanese ramen, but it's a lot thicker and meatier than the stuff you buy in the store. It was delicious, so I can safely add another item to my list of acceptable places to eat.
The movie we saw was Captain America. I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up liking it a lot. I was pleasantly surprised that it took place during World War II. There's something about World War II that really stirs my patriotic spirits, because it reminds me that there was once a time when my country banded together and stood for what was right. As the movie's protagonist breathed red, white and blue, you can bet that I left that theater with an extra tinge of pride. The transition was strange, though: after the lights went up on a movie bathed in Americana I walked out into a world where everyone was speaking Korean.
It was time to get going after that. I stopped at the music store to buy that last Secret album I didn't own that was on the shelves ("albums" in Korea are usually more like EP's or extended singles, but that's what they call them), then I hopped the train home. I was amazed at how many new things I'd done that day.
I definitely hope to go back. It'll be nice to get involved somewhere and hopefully make some strong friendships.
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