Off to buy a computer.
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2007
1
9
111
Trip End
Ongoing
Seoul,
Korea Rep.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I have just taken off my watch in hopes of escaping the confines of time. Or at least make this Sunday night last a while longer. I bought a lap top today at an electronics store in Seoul. Courtesy of Mom and Dad. It is pretty nice with a bit of power though not enough to play video games. Today while waiting for it to be set up I perused the market next to the store with three other teachers and a US Air force pilot who had accompanied Jill and Patricia to Church before they met Jamie and I at Yongsan. We bought some pirated DVDs for 3,000 WON a pop. I walked away with Dragon Wars, Troy, 300, Season two of Dr. Who, 3:10 to Yuma, Sicko, and a TV show called Army Wives. Army Wives is about, as you can tell from the title a show, well the name says it. You may wonder about my intentions in buying this, at least as it appears, chick flick series. Well the reason I bought it relates to the novel Gates of Fire and the 300. If you are reading or plan to read this fabulous book then you might want to skip the next little part of this write. In the book the Spartan King Leonidas had an interesting rational for choosing the 300 to stand against the invading Persians. He chose the men based upon their wives. The men were picked because the had a son to continue the blood line but more importantly was the resolve of their wives in their ability to watch their husbands and in some cases sons as well, march off to certain doom all in the name of protecting country. The women were to be strong in the face of sorrow and show the rest of Sparta that they could live on holding their heads up in times of sadness. Anyways I hope the show, a fictional drama, will give me a view of these modern day solider wives and how they deal with loss. Of course the book and the show are both fiction but in some weird way they can paint a picture in my mind of how Leonidas thought so long ago.
I stayed behind as the group left for home. The computer would not be ready for an hour and a half. I explored the mall and found a video game competition on the lower floor. There were about 100 chairs set out in front of a big screen and just behind many computers with young men glued to the screen. The game: a first person shooter. The seats were all empty and I wondered when the festivities would begin. I saw to guys at a computer and walked to them with my phrase book in hand. Shijak haeyo (to start) I said to the best of my ability. One of the guys rolled out of his chair in a huge laugh while the other pointed to the computer screen and said "Live". I looked up and there was my mug on the screen...oops. I slipped away a little embarrassed that some white guy had just interrupted live commentary at the event.
The agent selling me the computer was very nice. His English was not so bad. He grasped for words at times but I was able to piece together what he wanted to say. He set me up, showed me the ins and outs of my new electronic friend and I was off. Me: kamsa hamnida. Him: thank you.
Alone and confident I could make it home, I headed for the subway. After all it was only one train to make it home. Back in Uijungbu I grabbed some kind of food on a stick, coated it with hot sauce for 500 WON (.50 CAD), ate and grabbed a cab. I gave directions to my house in Korean and 2000 Won later I was home safe and sound.
It's good to have new tunes to listen to on my computer. Tonight it's Matt Mayes, Tegan and Sara, and the Foo Fighters live.
