Out and About

Here are some pictures from the outside of my apartment - you know, that whole big country that isn't contained in this single room.

This is "dirty Suji," the part of my city that most resembles what I had in mind when I pictured city livin' in Korea. Lots of noraebangs, DVDbans, bars and clubs. The inflatable column on the right of the picture is advertising "Exit," the bar/club where Matt and I met Ashleigh and her friends on Friday night. It was a pretty cool place where I managed to hold a spot on the pool table for a long time and where I met a lot of the other foreign teachers who teach at the other schools in Suji.


Here's the exterior of my apartment building. I'm on the fourth floor, to the left in this shot. You can just barely see my kitchen window in the corner.

This is the computer superstore in Youngsan, the electronics district. Inside that shiny building are about five floors of vendors selling cell phones and digital cameras.


This is a street in the crowded nighttime neighborhood around Hongik University. There are a lot of cool little hangouts and bars. I have been there twice now, this picture was from my first visit.

This is a picture of Itaewon, commonly known as the international district. This is where a lot of the US soldiers stationed here will hang out when they're in Seoul. It is a good place to buy cheap clothes but the food is overpriced and the atmosphere is decidedly non-Korean. Still, worth a visit, if just for the clothes shopping.

Here's the alley where my school is located. You can actually see the entrance to the building the school is in - it's that tiny ramp on the left-hand side of the alley. If my internal compass works in the Eastern Hemisphere, I believe this picture was taken facing North.
This is the alley where my apartment building is. It is taken facing South from right outside the building, which is visible on the left.

I love this shot. It gives you some idea of the typical sky conditions I've been living under, and also shows the veritable forest of high-rise apartments that surrounds the downtown area of Suji. They go on for blocks and blocks and are even taller in other parts of town.

This is the main street of this part of Suji. This is where all the buses come through, where most of the food can be found, and generally a cool place to be. I pass this every day on my way to work.
This is a totally awesome walking path that leads from a larger street into my neighborhood (those shorter apartment buildings in front fo the huge ones).
I rock out to some Journey with Anna's friends Glippy and Tom at a noraebang, or karaoke room. These places are amazing.

Well, it about time to run off to class again, so I should do just that. More musings to come, I'm sure.