For The Ridiculousness In Life

I can say a lot about the city of Gwangju. What started as a love/hate relationship has turned into the kind of relationship where the 'hate' has been dropped altogether and love is the only thing that remains. I've always loved Korea, but because I didn't know many people (read: anyone) when I first got here, I spent most of my weekends in my first 3-4 months here with my friends in Daejeon. Realizing that I needed to turn my city of residence into my home, I toned back my trips to Daejeon and started staying here most weekends. I explored more of my city. I met more people. I joined more groups. I got a language exchange partner. Then another one. I took a language class at the international center. And before I knew it, I came to call Gwangju my home. The city I wanted to leave for another in my first few months is now the city I am sad to leave for the other. Although I stand by my thought that most major cities in Korea are roughly the same (at least to me), and I know I will be happy and have many great experiences in Daejeon this coming year, Gwangju will remain a major part of my Korean identity. It will have been the first city I've lived in while in Korea, my first international city of residence, my first major city of residence, and my first time in an entirely new job scene as a teacher (a pretty amazing one at that), among others.

So what words do I have for this city?

Diverse comes to mind.

Busy but laid back.

Cultural.

Artsy.

International.

Smelly.

Dirty and clean.

Exceptional food.

Fun.

And ridiculous.

Over the past week, I've done and seen a few things that I had yet to do in this city and wanted to do before I leave this Saturday, the 31st.

I went to the Kunsthalle, a very mysterious place made from shipping containers, because I had an excuse to go. It is mysterious to be because I could never figure out how to correctly say the name. Koon-sthall? Kun-sta-hall-ee? Who knows. Apparently it's a German word, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, the building is also mysterious to me because it isn't just one thing. Sometimes it functions as a space for bands to play to crowds. Sometimes it's an art gallery. Sometimes there is a flea market outside during the day, sometimes it's at night. Sometimes there are huge red shoes outside of it. Sometimes teenagers can be seen skateboarding outside of it at night. And sometimes, there are really, really small rock-concert-mosh-pits in front.

This past Saturday there was a midday flea market outside but nothing inside. The doors were open though. Guess who went in?

That wall back there? The silver one? completely lined with tin foil. Like the kind you unroll from the Reynolds Wrap box and cover your left-overs with.

Parked outside the Kunsthalle during the flea market (which didn't have anything good, by the way, which I wouldn't have bought even if the vendors did because I'm moving plus I'm not into giving someone money for something used and old), was the KebaBurritos truck. I've never been one to eat food out of a truck. The very thought of doing something like that at home disgusts me to the core. But in Korea, all is well. The truck was the idea of Carlos, a Gwangju-expat who had the idea and first got off the ground about a year ago with pre-made kebabs and burritos and sold from a cooler on the back of a motorcycle, much like those that deliverymen deliver food with here. The idea grew, and Carlos bought a truck, expanded the menu to include some amazing nachos and more variety of burritos and kebabs which could include hummus if you so chose, and his clientele of late night expats turned into anyone who happened to be out because it had a reputation of just being that good. Then Carlos and his fiance decided to leave Korea, but he sold the truck to three guys in order to keep the downtown late-night food option of KebaBurritos alive. The sale took place about 2 months ago, and here we are. Awesome food. From a truck. Who'd've thunk it? Certainly not me, that's for sure.

And this brings me to last Saturday night at German Bar. I tried several times to get this shot in the dimly lit bar without the flash because I didn't want to distract Mr. Sang from singing his masterpiece, My Way. But then I had a thought that this shot was actually perfect: it shows the haze of life, fun times, and karaoke/norea that one experiences at German Bar, with none other than the friendliest bar owner on the face of the planet, Mr. Sang. And yes, those instruments behind him are for fun times to be had jamming out with your friends while they sing, even if you've never touched a set of drums, guitar, or keyboard before in your life.

Onto the ridiculousness, which can only be described as this:

Burger King is most definitely related to Elvis, the 'King', so that's why these garbage signs say, "Thank you, thank you very much." Koreans are genius at putting two and two together to make sense of it all.

Did I say I was done? Nope. Certainly not! Not even close. It took me 4 tries to snap this photo while waiting at a crosswalk. I finally decided to make an arse of myself and use the flash. It's ok though, everyone else was looking, too. I'm just the lucky one who walked away with a photo.

Yes, this dog is wearing a frog sweater with eyeballs. And yes, he's also wearing shoes. Just laugh, it's ok. Take a minute. Click the photo to make it bigger. Enjoy yourself.

If that wasn't ridiculous enough, check out this sign. I can read the Korean, but I'm not sure what it says, so here's my own translation. "We don't want you parking like this. It's bad. However, if you can tell the difference between these two pictures, you can park here, but only like this."

Lastly, I've walked by this painted wall outside Seosuk Elementary School at least six times a week every week this past year and I always look at this deer. It looks unhappy. It doesn't have eyebrows, but the markings on its face are painted in a way that make it look evil. And mad. Oh, and it has nubs for arms, too. Don't forget to notice that. And it's hind leg is really short.

So here's a shot of me laughing at it. And yes, I was really laughing. Erin snapped the picture when I was in a laughing fit because of its unkind and unrealistic appearance and its location outside of an elementary school. I just love photos that capture real moments and the real me. And I love to laugh. At silly things. All the time. Especially late at night after some Burger Elvis King and witnessing a dog wearing shiny pink shoes and being completely confused by a parking sign.

Because we all need a little ridiculousness in our lives. It's just fun that way.