Birthdays and lazy days and random festivals, oh my!

Anyong Hasseo!


All in all, there hasn't been much to report on the Korean front. Working everything out for the film actually doesn't involve me that much, I'll get a call or an email every couple of days, but until we start actual production, it doesn't have much to do with me.

So for the most part, life has been normal and average. I saw the new Star Trek movie (twice) and it was amazing (Both times) but aside from that life's been pretty chill. I'm spending a lot of time with Marion, mostly just relaxing, talking and hanging out. My Friend Whit's sister and brother in law were in town about a week ago and we all went out for some Norae Bang fun.

Last night was my friend Kim's Birthday and after some pizza and drinks we went downtown and ended up first at one of my favorite Korean holes in the wall, the "Egg Bar." I have no idea what the real name of this place is, but they cook an egg for you on the table, thus we've dubbed it such. I always love bringing new people here because it's always a hassle to get them there, they're skeptical to leave the comforts of Speaks and Songs, but once we get them through the door, they love it. It's just a fun place. The ceiling is covered in flowers, the whole place has a blue glow to it, the booze is both delicious and cheap (We drank 8 or 9 pitchers of Fruit soju and as many bottles of the normal stuff, and the total cost per person was six dollars) and Oh my god they treat you like gold! I've mentioned Korean "Service" before but these guys go above and beyond! We got plates of fresh fruit, nuts, freshly cooked seasonsed French Fries! And of course the aforementioned egg. All in all it was a great time.




Today we played it pretty chill. An early afternoon breakfast at a nearby waffle shop led to a trip downtown to explore and go see a movie. In our quest to find new places to spend time and money, we discovered a new cafe, with chocolate milkshakes!!


As you can see, I was happy....


Honestly, the cafe wasn't the best. The milkshake was okay, the coffee, according to Marion, was horrid and while it looked clean it smelled like a week old ashtray, so probably not on the repeat list.


We went and saw "Angels and Demons," Not too bad, If you liked the "Da Vinci Code" you'll enjoy it.


Then came what might have been the best part of my weekend. In walking to get a cab we came across a festival that had taken over main street downtown, to remember the May 18th Massacres and Demonstrations. There were kids with flags, a big Korean band, people dancing! In all honesty I'm not sure how this remembers College students protesting for their democratic rights, but it was fun!





We watched for a bit, and then got brave and jumped in with all the rest. We were involved in something akin to a Conga line, had Makele poured into our mouths by some old man, Danced with Senior citizens and little kids alike and just partied with the people of the city for a solid half an hour, all the while with cameras going off around us all the time.

It was a lot of fun, and while I stand by my earlier words when I said that it's the friends and the little things that make living here great, sometimes it's really a lot of fun to get pulled into someone else's culture with a smile on your face.


That's all for now, G'night guys!


Jamie

On Excellent weekends and the biggest break of my life.

Well I'm back from my latest adventure this one was a trip to Seoul, for the White party that Dan threw for all the the Teach ESL Korea teachers and our friends.

This was the best photo I could find of Dan and I....

Anyways! We had Galbi, Fruit Soju, normal Soju, and a fun night bouncing between bars and restaurants both Korean and foreign and it was a blast all around. Met some new friends both from Gwangju and around, and got closer with some others here.

And I saw Beeker again! Aparently neither of us can find our way through a bus terminal though....

The next day we slept relatively late and were out the door at I think about 11. I spent my day in Itaewon, doing some minor shopping and browsing, it was pretty chill.

And then came the big deal.

I had a meeting at 8 pm with a Movie Producer and the writer and Director of an upcoming project. I've been trying not to get my hopes up because there were a lot of things going against me for this, the biggest being that I don't live in Seoul.

But we hit it off great, chatted for about an hour, and discussed the project backwards and forwards. And when I left that coffee shop, I was cast as the Lead actor in the film.

^__^ ASSAH!!!

It's a 30 minute film about a writer living in Korea and writing about his experiences. What he goes through, the way people act towards him. A "day in the life" kind of thing. So yeah, I'm a Canadian actor, starring in a Korean film with a Korean Director and Producer.... this is going to be fun!