!!BIG BANG!!

Normally, we can't blog at school because it is blocked, but today I checked after my first and only class and voila it let me blog. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get caught up on my weekend blog, so here it is.

Well, yesterday was the BIG day. It was the day of the Big Bang concert. I had only been waiting weeks to see them and now the day had finally come. I got up early, so I could shower and get ready before I had to meet Tracy at the train station, so we could train together to meet some other friends that were going as well, Tiffany and Joanne. We met at Bupyeong station at noon and while waiting to catch the train into Seoul we saw this man completely passed out on the platform. He used cardboard boxes from the trash to make a bed. Only in Korea would this man or any man be passed out on a train platform, probably drunk and no one pays him any attention.

Here is Tracy posing with the passed out man.

Once we got on the train it only took us about an hour to get to Olympic Stadium in Gangnam, Seoul. However, the concert wasn't until 4:00 p.m. and we were in Seoul by 1:30ish, so we decided to go and find somewhere to eat. We didn't realize we would have to walk for at least 15 minutes before we found a place to eat. Gangnam is a very nice place and it didn't even feel like we were in Korea because the air quality was better than Incheon and we were in the downtown area, which was full of office sky rises, nice buildings and beautiful trees and flowers. We ate at a quaint little Korean restaurant down one of the side streets. I had raman, which is a noodle dish, much like Mr. Noodle back home and just as bad for you, but it only cost me 2,500 won. Then Joanne and Tiffany wanted a coffee, so we headed to the Starbucks next door and chilled out there for about 20 minutes before we headed back to Olympic Stadium to find Carmela and pick up our tickets to the show. We got back to the Stadium around 3:00 p.m. an happened to bump into Jenny and her friend Brittany. Here is a picture of part of Olympic Stadium. Big Bang played their show inside the gymnastics center. The area wasn't as crowded as I was expecting it to be, so close to the show starting. We all wanted to buy some Big Bang paraphenalia, but all the good stuff was sold out and the t-shirt was a muscle shirt, so you can imagine why we didn't want to pay 12,000 won for that. We picked up our tickets and headed inside, but unfortunately, we weren't allowed to bring camera's inside, or outside drinks, so I stepped out of line to finish my powerade and hide my camera. I didn't know where to hide it where they wouldn't check, so I stuffed it in my bra. I was really nervous about getting caught with it hidden, but the guy barely looked through my purse and he let me go through. All he said was, "Have a good time." And, yes he said it in English. We didn't have the greatest seats at the show, but we could see it good enough, which was really all that mattered. The funny thing was that we were the only waguks (foreigners) at the concert and Tracy and I got stuck with two Korean girls screaming their faces off behind us. The entire show was in Korean, obviously, so we didn't understand anything that was being said, but that's what made the concert all the more better. Tracy and I were pretty sure that their was a storyline to the show, but again, with the language barrier we weren't quite sure. The concert was absolutely incredible and I think that I can honestly say it was one of the best, if not the best, concert I have ever been to in my life. It was definitely better than most North American concerts I've been to. They had amazing pyrotechniques, dance moves and songs. The picture below was of Big Bang, but again I had to be discreet with my camera and I had to turn the flash off, so they are just one BIG blob.

Since, I'm pretty much a rebel when it comes to taking pictures when your not suppose to, remember the Dead Sea Scrolls? I managed to videotape 3 of their songs. Unfortunately, the one song I love the most is only about a minute and a half because the security guard walked by mid-way through, so I had to stop recording. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and still do.

After the show Tracy and I were exhausted, so we decided to head back to Incheon instead of staying for dinner with the rest of the girls in Seoul. On the way to the train there were a couple street vendors selling some pictures, key chains, calendars, posters, etc of Big Bang. Since the actual concert didn't sell any decent paraphenalia I decided to stop and check out what was for sale and buy something. I opted to buy a 2009-2010 calendar for only 7,000 won. You can't even buy a calendar for one year back home for that cheap. Now, I have a calendar until the end of 2010 and only paid $7. Plus, for the next 2 years I can look at Big Bang, Life is Sweet! So, the moral of the story is that my weekend ended with a BANG, BIG BANG that is!

BIG BANG ROCKED and I hope I can see them one more time before I leave Korea. The video below is the one that I had to end short because of a security guard issue. It's called Lie.