Random Things I thought I would Share

I've been meaning to blog about so many random things that I have seen over the past couple of weeks, but all my blogs would have been too long, so I've decided they can have there own special blog. I just sort of compiled a list and have written it in this blog:

1. On the subway on my way to dinner with friends last Wednesday I saw the most interesting man on the train. He had a buzz cut, was wearing a black leather looking trench coat, black leather gloves, Men in Black Sunglasses the entire train ride and boots that a killer would wear. He also had on a huge watch. I couldn't stop staring at him because he was so far from living up to that outfit. I may have been bigger than him.
2. On the same subway ride a guy sat down next to me and started watching TV on his phone. Seems like nothing, but then all of a sudden he starts cracking up. He was laughing so hard and when he realized people were noticing he lowered his head and covered his mouth to laugh.
3. Yet another subway story this one from Saturday night. A little girl who was no older than 6 or 7 starts to stare at me, so I smile and she starts laughing. Then she said something to her mom and her mom giggled and then started to tell her to stop. She looked at me again and I smiled and then she laughed some more and got off the train.
4. When I was walking home from school for the first time on Thursday I passed by this car repair shop and saw this dog mauling a cat. I had to keep doing a double take to actually see what was happening. The poor cat must be so traumatized.
5. Pretty much every 5 feet or so when you walk all you can smell is feces. The sewage system is pretty rough here, so every now and then a rank smell comes up onto the streets and kind of makes you want to throw up.
6. When I went for dinner the other day with my friend this little super adorable girl kept peaking around the corner to stare at me. When I stared back she would run and hide, it was so CUTE!
7. Some Korean restaurants serve FREE ice cream for you when you are done your meal. It's a great idea with kids.
8. The sidewalks here are so bad that it never seizes to amaze me how girls can wear heels and not break their ankles. I have attached a picture for you to see what I mean.
9. There are "Love Motels" everywhere, which cost like $20 a night to stay in. Not bad if you can't make it home and have no where else to stay.
10. There are saunas everywhere as well. They are public, so you bathe in a giant pool with men and women. I found out though that you can wear a bathing suit, which is a good thing because originally I was told you were naked. YIKES!
11. Koreans have their own special buildings for weddings. They are hotel sized and very popular, especially in the month of May. There are a couple just down the street from my apartment.
12. Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robins are on almost every street corner.
13. If you are in middle school or high school you are required to wear a uniform. Elementary has gym uniforms that they sometimes wear all day.
14. After school Korean students are required to attend after school english classes in a hogewan. These kids spend all day at school and then go to after school classes for 4-5 hours and hardly get any sleep. They are always so tired in class, which is really unfortunate.
15. You will see a sign on a building that makes no sense or is spelt wrong. Here is just an example of a restaurant that spelt rib wrong. Anyone for some pork rib"e" barbecue. Make sure you pronounce the 'e' as an e at the end in true Korean style.
16. There is construction everywhere because of all the new developments Incheon is planning for. Here is a picture of all the skyscrapers in Song-do where I work. It is the International Free Economic Zone, so they are building the Incheon tower there and the new bridge will end in that area as well.
17. The buses and trains stop running around 11:30 p.m., which is shitty because then you have no choice, but to cab home because the bars don't close until the wee hours of the morning and if you want to go home before they start running again the next day, which is 5:00 a.m. then you have to take a cab.
18. If you think the pollution is bad in Canada then you haven't been to Asia. There is litter and dog poop everywhere. The sky is hard to see because of all the smog and dust from buildings and cars and just the over population of people is adding to bad pollution.
19. In Korea couples tend to dress very much alike. Every where you go you will see at least 2-3 couples that are wearing the same shirts. It's really quite funny, but kind of dorky and cute at the same time.
20. Technology here is so intense that cell phones have TV's built into them. Koreans carry mini TV's around that are the size of Nintendo DS systems. Video game systems like NDS are every where. It's so nutty and to top it off students in every grade have a cell phone and they are texting maniacs.

Below are just some pictures of random things I encounter on my walks home from school that are relatively close to my apartment.

The building on the left I have no idea about. I just thought the swastika on it was funny, because I bet the Koreans have no idea what it means. The amusement park in the middle is two minutes from my apartment. It is so run down and looks like it should be shut down, but it's there. The skyscrapers in the background are Song-do. The picture on the right is the Catholic Church that is a thirty second walk from my building. It's a very large church that I have yet to set foot inside, but maybe one day when I can drag my ass out of bed before noon I will go. I will likely randomly add to this for the next few days, so check back. In the meantime, I will go enjoy Korea for all it's finer things and quirky moments.