The World Is Sort of Enough

"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."
- Napoleon Bonaparte -

Busy, busy, busy. Don't even have time to fart. The phrase bali-bali is definitely a great way to describe my Korean life. It means fast-fast! and it couldn't be any more true on how Koreans like to move. Everyone's always in a rush and they aren't about to have some silly miguk-saram (American person - me) slowly cavorting in their streets get in their way. If need be, the denizens of Busan will shove, elbow-jab, or shout at you to make you get out of their way. I've learned to accept this and I've decided to up my street violence to their level. Except that there are a million little old ladies walking in the streets and plenty of witnesses. I don't have it in me to shove these little grandmothers. They look so cute, like little ewoks. Adorable they may be, but if I've learned anything from Stephen Chow films it's that old Asian women have the distinct skill of flying in the air and roundhouse kicking potential enemies. In retrospect, they'd make one heck of a Poke'mon. "Grandma, I choose you!"

There are some really cool festivals, concerts, and various events this week and weekend near Nampodong. I'm pretty psyched. Speaking of which, this past Sunday I went with Jody (one of my five co-teachers) to Nampodong to visit Korea's most famous seafood market. Everything was so alive. Literally.

Fried fish everywhere! Plus, they're cheap! Plus, they'll cook it for you! If you want to take some fresh fish home, you get to pick it from the tank and they kill it in front of you. What a treat, says this guy!

You can also purchase fresh (read: alive) octopus. As seen above, they are kept in a bucket and ready to be sold. Didn't have it in me to eat them alive. I needed them to hack off the heads in a violent manner to help me sleep better at night.

After hours of walking around the market listening to fishermen shout at me and Jody to buy their seafood, we decided to find food at Piff Plaza. This part of Busan is very well known for their international film festival held in October. It's a pretty big deal, I heard, and some American stars have left their handprints on the sidewalk similar to that of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And the restaurants are bountiful in this area.

Got to pick out my main course:


And, boy, was he delicious. Haha. Just kidding.

He didn't taste that great.

We also went to Busan Tower, which oversees the port side of Busan. With the weather being so great that day, I got some really great shots from the top of the tower.

The Tower in the foreground. That carbonite statue is some dude that fought off the Japanese many moons ago. I think.

Shots from Busan Tower. These shots really make me want to play Sim City right now.

Afterwards, I really wanted to see Clash of the Titans and Shutter Island, so we went to a nearby cinema and saw the former in 3D. Despite the neat effects, Clash of the Titans was a huge disappointment.

Yesterday night, Alex and I saw Shutter Island at Lotte Cinema near my apartment. It was pretty good! If you saw it, what did you think of it? Kind of predictable halfway through the movie.


And plus, Lotte Cinema was pretty neat. Anyway, I have to go get groceries for my fridge is stocked only with bread, lactose-friendly cheese, and the remnants of my students' souls. Going to some festivals this weekend, so I'll update with more pictures. Have a good week!