Infinite World Tour

My last summer trip: a weekend in Seoul to fuel my new obsession… KPOP.

After a week of deskwarming, I hopped on the fast train to Seoul to meet up with Adrienne, who had flown in from Tokyo earlier that day. The next day was the event we both had been waiting for for a long time. The INFINITE concert. We were pumped. We even got shirts made from the shop in my college town that I picked up during the wedding trip.

Saturday we woke up and headed out shopping for a bit, taking advantage of the H&M and Forever 21, before we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the concert. 

The fans donate rice and the group gives it to charity

After a winding walk in the subway station, hopping off the wrong subway just in time (and Adrienne literally having to leap over an old lady and her luggage) then finally getting on the right subway, we were off! We realized we were on the right subway when other Infinite fans were surrounding us. We got off the subway and were immediately immersed in street venders trying to sell us merchandise. We really wanted glow sticks, but we waited to get closer to the concert where we picked up our tickets. Lesson #1: the good merchandise isn’t near the concert. In Korea, it is all sold out by the time you get there, so we were out of luck and had to end up buying cheap, generic glow sticks. We found our way inside and found our seats, where there were signs waiting for us for a “fan project”. We would hold up this particular sign when Infinite was singing their last song. As a surprise for the group members.

Inside the venue

Glow sticks- a must

There had also been a ton of “no cameras” signs everywhere, but I had planned on ignoring them and hoped not to get caught. If I did, what would they do? Scold me and tell me to put it away. I could deal with that. So I was trying to take a few sly pictures when I saw a security guard go over to another waygook, ask for her camera, then asked to follow her out of the concert. She never returned. Lesson #2: They will kick you out of the concert if you try to break their rules. So I kept my camera hidden the rest of the night and planned on borrowing pictures from the internet later.

My only 2 pictures

We enjoyed the concert so much. They are great live performers. They really engage the fans and try their best to make everyone happy. They threw signed paper planes to the crowd, they did “fan service” (basically hugging and joking with each other), one member “proposed” to a fan and gave her a ring and a flower and they even took selfies with fans’ camera phones. Wait, I thought no pictures allowed. Oh well. But it was a great concert. And when we held up the signs at the end, they all were really touched, some even crying.

Borrowed from the internet :)

It’s a big thing here apparently. Fan projects and making the members feel appreciated. Fans here even collect donations for the idols’ birthdays and send them a large amount of gifts. As if they don’t already have everything they will ever need.

Again, borrowed from the internet

After the concert was over, Adrienne and I headed out. Only to be greeted by a huge line for subway tickets. Lesson #3: Get your return ticket before the concert begins. We waited for EVER. And we were starving. But we had a great time. I hope to get to see them in concert again.

After the concert- happy girls!

The banners we held up on their last song- it says "I'll be waiting Infinite"

Ansan Valley Rock Festival

After my quick trip to America, I didn’t have much time to recuperate before jumping into another trip. I got home on Tuesday night (well more like Wednesday morning) and had to go to work within hours. Luckily, the students were on “vacation”, so I didn’t have to teach… But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have rather had been in my own bed. Though I did catch some shut eye on my desk.

I didn’t have much time before I had to be unpacked, do the laundry, then repack because I was taking the day off Friday to go to my first ever music festival. So that Friday morning, I met up with Papa Ninja, aka Adam, and headed for Seoul where we would transfer to a shuttle bus that would take us directly to Ansan. 

Ready to roll!

Since we would be camping at this music festival, and it would be hot, and it would be raining, it didn’t take much to pack. Looking back though, there would be things I would definitely do differently. Like not camp. HAHA. When we got there, Adam and I had to grab 2 lanterns, 4 sleeping mats and 6 sleeping bags. Luckily, the site had some sort of mix up and gave us pre-pitched tents, so we didn’t have to deal with setting them up on our own, which we definitely would’ve had trouble doing. We got lucky.

Our tent and supplies

Then we headed into the festival site where Roy Kim, a new Korean singer that has the sound of Jason Mraz and John Mayer (to me), was scheduled to begin. He was the entire reason for coming earlier than everyone else, and it was totally worth it. I love his sound, though Adam said he needed much more alcohol to get through his set. We then walked around the grounds, bought some food and some souvenirs. The festivals here are so much different than in America (well, not that I’ve ever been to any festivals in America, but I can only imagine). The food is decent priced, the beer was cheap, and the souvenirs weren’t that bad either.

Roy Kim

Adam and I

One HUGE difference was the way the entire festival was set up. In Korea, things seem to really focus on electronics. Girls would be waiting in the bathroom with their phones plugged in. There were 2 types of charging stations, where you had to fill out an entry form for a contest or something, then you would leave your phone with them for hours to be charged for 15-30 minutes. Though I do have to say, I got sucked into the “I need my phone charged” craze several times.

Another thing that astounded me was the fact that these Korean girls were wearing entirely too short of skirts, and tons of them had heels on! High heels! IN THE MUD! Crazy Korean girls and their image. One of the great things about this festival though were the bathrooms. They had these little trailers that had 2 doors each, then inside each door there were 4 stalls and a vanity. The most amazing thing, they pretty much always had toilet paper, were well kept, AND they had multiple trailers that were female only restrooms. Multiple times I laughed to myself because the girls’ rooms usually only had a wait of 1-2 people, but the men’s rooms always had lines of 10-15 people. It was a great change. Though, the line for the (cold) showers in the mornings weren’t always the most fun thing (though you learn to wake up extra early), at least there WERE showers.

But the great part was the music. There was honestly GREAT music at this festival. And I had forgotten how much I love live music. And the fact that I got to see Vampire Weekend, FUN., Stereophonics, Roy Kim, and Yellowcard was great. And I have to say, the one headliner, Skrillex, that I didn’t anticipate enjoying at all was probably one of my favorite sets of the entire weekend. He is a great entertainer and looks like he is just having a ton of fun.

Stereophonics

Skrillex

FUN.

The festival was supposed to be great fun, which it was. But it would’ve been a lot more fun if we had gone on a weekend that it wasn’t pouring down rain the entire time. The music was great, though I did realize that some music just isn’t for me. The Ansan Valley Rock Festival was my first ever music festival, but I have to say it might be my last. It was great fun, don’t get me wrong, but just not my scene. Maybe I’m getting old. 

Last day- a complete mess

 After another long, and grueling trip home from Ansan I finally arrived home at 5:30 in the morning. Just enough time to shower, take a quick nap and head to work! Next stop- JEJU!

One Semester Down

Well the end of the semester has come and gone. Looking back, I can't believe it went so quickly. 

I finished the second grade speaking tests and they were amazing. Next semester I lose 7 second grade classes, but this also means I'll be teaching 5 new ones. I got to meet the new classes just briefly for their speaking tests and let me tell you, I am pumped! They apparently are the "science majors" of the school- I was told this means they are more driven and smarter. Well, their English levels sure are higher! I was shocked by the difference between my current second grade students and my incoming ones. Given, some of the second grade students in the first 7 classes have wonderful English, and some of the students in the last 5 classes have not so great English, but the overall level is much higher- so I'm excited about that.

Then came the desk warming while my students had self study and their finals. In Korea, they don't have tests in each class multiple times a year like we do in America. They have 2 per semester, a midterm and a final. They also take speaking, listening, reading and writing tests in English (I think just those four) once a semester. The three grades are added together for their overall grade. Then the same is done for the next semester. So essentially, they have grades based on 4 tests (with a few extra things thrown in for English) per year. So I can imagine how stressed they are, so I give them all self study time in my class (which apparently happens in a LOT of the classes) the week before mid terms or finals. Then I got to desk warm the week of finals. Did I get anything done? Actual work? Um, no. 

I can't believe that the semester is over. I can't believe that, for those people staying only 1 year, it is half over. I can't imagine having only 6 more months in this amazing country with my wonderful students. I actually really miss seeing them. I'm also going to REALLY miss some of my second grade classes that I won't have next semester, several students in particular. Hopefully they still drop by to say hello. 

Once the semester was coming to an end, I had a lot to prepare for. I had several big trips planned out, which was going to take a lot out of me. 

My summer vacation schedule was like this:

Wednesday: Cirque du Soleil show with Kaleena at 8pm 

Thursday: Leave at 3am for America, arrive at 7pm local time (taxi, 4 hour bus, 2.5 hour flight to Tokyo, 13 hour flight to Houston, 2 hour flight to Nashville, 2 hour drive to Murray, 6.5 hours worth of layovers)

Friday-Sunday: In America

Monday: Leave at 4am for Korea, arrive to my apartment Wednesday morning at 2am (2 hour flight to Houston, 13.5 hour flight to Tokyo, 2.5 hour flight to Seoul, 4 hour bus to Daegu, taxi home)

School at 8:30 Wednesday and Thursday

Friday: leave for Ansan Valley Rock Festival (7am)

Sunday: leave for Daegu (1 am, arrive at 5:30am)

School at 8:30 Monday and Tuesday

Tuesday: leave for airport right after school and fly to Jeju (1 hour flight, 1.5 hour bus to our hostel)

Sunday: leave for Daegu 7pm, arrive at midnight (1 hour flight to Busan, 3 hour bus to Daegu, taxi)

Monday-Friday: deskwarming at school 8:30 to 4:30

Friday: Leave for Seoul

Saturday: Infinite concert

Sunday: Return to Daegu

Monday: Semester 2 begins

It was a crazy schedule. I definitely learned how to sleep on planes and buses. I don't really know how I was moving, but looking back I really honestly don't think I had much jet lag (there was only one night were I was tired, but it was hot out and it was late, so I think that was just a normal tiredness). But I wouldn't change it for the world. Yes it was go go go go go for a while. Yes I had 3 trips to unpack from once I got back from Jeju, but it was worth it.... 

Now for semester 2!

My new obsession

I. AM. OBSESSED.

Actually, obsessed might not even begin to describe the level I'm on.

Last week, Malia mentioned that she had heard that the KPOP band Infinite was having a concert in Seoul this summer.... I immediately got excited because I knew that Infinite is Adrienne's favorite KPOP band and that we both really want to go to a KPOP concert... unfortunately I was, at the time, not really into KPOP yet... It has been on my bucket list since before I got here, but I just haven't tried getting into it yet... but I figured I like music, and especially live music, so it couldn't be that bad... so I checked out the tickets... SOLD OUT :( boooo so I told Adrienne the next day but she was disappointed that there were no tickets.

But for some reason I just happened to check the website again that following morning and tickets had become available! So I asked her via Facebook if she wanted me to grab tickets, they were selling fast! But nothing. No answer. I waited, more tickets sold, I waited a little more, even more tickets sold. So I decided to buy the tickets anyway :)  The seats are horrible, but who cares... we are going to see Infinite. But what does that really mean to me? I don't know any of their songs, or who they are, heck, they could walk through my door and I wouldn't know the difference.

So Adrienne started educating me. She sent me their songs to listen to first, which I ended up really liking! Then came the challenge: choose a favorite. Well this provided a problem, since I couldn't even tell them apart :S  So I slowly began trying to watch each music video or performance that she sent me and decide if there was one that I liked in particular. It began with me liking one person and sending her the video and a time, "Who is this?". Then I'd send her another video, "where is he in this one?". So slowly I decided that I liked Sunggyu the best, but also liked Woohyun. And I slowly began to learn who each member was, however started off calling them "the tall one", "the little one", "Ding Dong" (instead of DongWoo), "the other rapper", "L" (yay one name correct!), and I called Sunggyu and WooHyun a mixture of random names, usually getting one of the syllables correct. I also thought, for a very long time that "the tall one" looked a lot like "Ding Dong", but then also that "the tall one" looked a lot like L and WooHyun, who I got mixed up all the time.

Sunggyu

Well, a few days later and I've watched just about every YouTube video they have about Infinite. Their music videos, their dance practices, interviews (Eng subbed of course), TV programs they have been on (again, subbed)... I do nothing but watch their videos. I can now tell each one apart... I feel like I know their personalities... and just absolutely LOVE this group... and I stand by Sunggyu being my favorite, by far! And I still think that WooHuyn is the best (he's got it all... he's the best singer, one of the best dancers, and is the best looking)...

Infinite has it all... they have great voices in the group, their personalities are amazing, they are good looking, and their dancing is impeccable. They are known for their amazing dancing, their "Scorpion Dance" in particular. But all of their dances are intricate and tight. They also do a great job of showcasing each of the 7 members, instead of having one or two leads and the rest essentially being backups. Don't get me wrong, some members are in the spotlight more than others, but for the most part, they do a very good job of spreading the love.

Scorpion Dance

Watching these shows has been educational on a different level too, though. Watching how the members interact with one another makes me understand Korean culture better, and respect it more. It has made me catch on to different sayings and has raised questions about Korean language, encouraged me to learn more. It has also made me look at my students differently. I now love watching them interact with one another even more so than I did.

So now I have started branching out... looking into other KPOP groups and trying to expand my horizons. Though, each time I listen to a song or watch a video or dance by another group, it just confirms that Infinite is, in fact, the best... good choice Adrienne, I'll join you on the bandwagon :) I can't wait until August to see them live!!!!!

Seoul is Happening!

This weekend Malia, Jordan and I went to Seoul, where we were joined by Jay, for the PSY concert. It was a huge event... there was rumor of NK trying to use it as an opportunity to bomb a bunch of people at one time, which is totally ridiculous... though I think we were a little more vigilant than we would normally be... but we are all fine and dandy...

On the (extremely long) train

Friday Malia, Jordan and I rushed to the train station for our 4 hour slow train to Seoul. Lesson #1 of the weekend, take the KTX (the fast train)... 4 hours of anticipation is just too much... take the slow train back all you want, but get to Seoul Friday night early enough (and fast enough) to go out! Once we got to Seoul, we met up with Jay before heading to the hostel. After getting settled, we headed back out to Hongdae, where all the bars and clubs are, and had a few drinks and grabbed some food, before heading back in for the evening.

Saturday, we met up with a few other people that live in Seoul (or the surrounding areas) and headed to grab coffee and go to the Kyobo Bookstore in Seoul, where they have a very large English section. After going crazy on travel guides, we headed to Itaewon (a district in Seoul that is known for its foreigner friendly restaurants and bars and where a lot of the military hang out) to grab some of the most amazing Mexican food I've ever had!

Since there was a wait, a few of us grabbed seats at the bar while some went out to wander around while we were waiting for our table. We grabbed drinks (thank you Vatos for having nice IPA beer!) and some amazing queso, then were, more quickly than expected, called for our table. Though it was a little pricey, the atmosphere was great and the food was even better. I can't wait to go back!

YUMMY Carnitas!

Malia, Lauren, Jordan, Jay, myself and Heather

NUTELLA NACHOS!

After lunch, we quickly headed back to the hostel to change and grabbed a taxi to take us to the World Cup Stadium for the event of the weekend... the PSY Happening concert!!! We grabbed our tickets, picked up a few shirts, then headed inside where all of our minds were blown. Not only was this a 4 hour long concert, but it had pyrotechnics, fireworks, confetti, flying people, great songs, and guest artists Lee Hai, 2NE1 and G-Dragon! It definitely made each of our top 3 concerts. It was great to see PSY, who everyone knows from Gamnam Style, sing wonderfully composed ballads and become emotional with his fans. This is one artist that truly cares about his work, and the people that support him. You can tell that he wants to give his fans his all, thus the 4 "encores" he gave... it was great!

On our way in!

Yay for the standing section

Psy's opening number

They had great confetti

Perfect weather, and the glow sticks really made the environment 

Psy goes flying

G DRAGON!

Dancing to Single Ladies

2NE1

One of his encores 

After the concert, we were all so hungry, but also tired, so we decided to go back to the hostel and get McDelivery... a wonderful invention.

McDelivery

Sunday morning, Jay had to catch the earliest bus out, while the rest of us slept in. We then packed our bags, which we ended up leaving in lockers at the subway station while we shopped in Meyongdong (another area of Seoul). We stumbled upon this amazing Italian restaurant where we split salads, pizza and pasta bread bowls before heading out to explore. Jordan became our Guinea pig and let Malia and I be his personal stylists. He looked very handsome when we were finished though :)

Pasta in a bread bowl... how could it get better?

The best garlic bread I've had here

This pizza was on par with the pizza I had in Italy... it was THAT good

When it was time, we headed back to the subway, picked up our bags, and headed on the train home... A great weekend full of wonderful company, food and music!