Here is a short video and a couple of pictures of the roller coaster, located on the Family Land website, for those of you interested.
I'd put it here on my blog, but I'm not nearly techie enough to do that.
Here is a video of what we have come to know as the "Humiliation Ride." Basically, the guy in charge of your tickets gets to choose how fast you spin, how hard the ride bounces and how long the ride is. He will put whoever he wants to humiliate at the top, and embarrass them over the loudspeaker until they do what he wants (stand up, dance, kiss someone, etc.). Occasionally, he will also say the ride is over, then change his mind and start it again when everyone gets up.
A very emotionally raw memory, as we were subjected to calls of "Dance, America, Dance!"
The menu on the left hand side is different rides available at Family Land. I don't think there's anything too interesting, but maybe there is. Enjoy as much as you wish!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Family Land
On Monday, Emily & I went to Family Land, an outdoor amusement park that's about 10 minutes from our home. They have a few rides, tobogganing (of sorts), skating, swimming, tennis and even a drive-in movie theatre. The drive-in was actually a pleasant surprise. Methinks we will "drive-in" a couple of lawn chairs and enjoy a movie one of these summer evenings.
Back to the story. We had a day free and decided to enjoy it riding some rides. It was cool out, and there was a chance of rain which did materialize later on in the day, but otherwise a good day for riding. The nice thing about family land is that you share it with about 500 elementary school students, so all the "big people" rides have no lineup. Literally. Emily and I were the only riders for most of the rides we went on. We had to wake up the workers or pull them away from their internet surfing in order to help us. Some of the rides was fine like that. Bumper cars gets a little tedious with just two people.
The advantages to this may seem obvious - no lineup, no obnoxious people, you get to ride as many times as you want. Hey, if the employees are really nice, you might not even have to get off! That'd be great!
Or so you would think.
The warning sign was when we went on the Viking, a boat ride that just goes back and forth. Typical, common ride that is generally held on the more relaxing side of things. However, when you're put through three rounds without stopping, even the tamest rides gets nauseous.
The nice lady that worked on the Viking took a shining to us foreigners and walked us over to the roller coaster - the Dragon Chase (which is also a euphemism for getting high on opium, as a side note). We should have seen it coming.
A relatively tame roller coaster, it goes upside down once, a couple of corkscrews, tight turns and a drop or two and you're finished. It's over pretty quickly, and as everyone else on the ride is a young adult couple, they send us through again without stopping.
And again. And again. And again. And again.
After 4 times, you think it's fun, but you'd be great to get off for a bit. After 7, you start to wonder how to say "Please let me off the ride as I'm not sure another round would be as enjoyable as the first half dozen" in Korean.
Nine times around without a break, they give you the option of getting off. Everyone took it.
Apparently they don't normally open up the roller coaster during the winter, so they either wanted to give us our money's worth, or check to see if it was still working after all that time in storage.
Blech.
Back to the story. We had a day free and decided to enjoy it riding some rides. It was cool out, and there was a chance of rain which did materialize later on in the day, but otherwise a good day for riding. The nice thing about family land is that you share it with about 500 elementary school students, so all the "big people" rides have no lineup. Literally. Emily and I were the only riders for most of the rides we went on. We had to wake up the workers or pull them away from their internet surfing in order to help us. Some of the rides was fine like that. Bumper cars gets a little tedious with just two people.
The advantages to this may seem obvious - no lineup, no obnoxious people, you get to ride as many times as you want. Hey, if the employees are really nice, you might not even have to get off! That'd be great!
Or so you would think.
The warning sign was when we went on the Viking, a boat ride that just goes back and forth. Typical, common ride that is generally held on the more relaxing side of things. However, when you're put through three rounds without stopping, even the tamest rides gets nauseous.
The nice lady that worked on the Viking took a shining to us foreigners and walked us over to the roller coaster - the Dragon Chase (which is also a euphemism for getting high on opium, as a side note). We should have seen it coming.
A relatively tame roller coaster, it goes upside down once, a couple of corkscrews, tight turns and a drop or two and you're finished. It's over pretty quickly, and as everyone else on the ride is a young adult couple, they send us through again without stopping.
And again. And again. And again. And again.
After 4 times, you think it's fun, but you'd be great to get off for a bit. After 7, you start to wonder how to say "Please let me off the ride as I'm not sure another round would be as enjoyable as the first half dozen" in Korean.
Nine times around without a break, they give you the option of getting off. Everyone took it.
Apparently they don't normally open up the roller coaster during the winter, so they either wanted to give us our money's worth, or check to see if it was still working after all that time in storage.
Blech.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Next Stop - Humiliation
Saturday night, Emily & I arrive in Gwangju, put our suitcases down and go to sleep. Sunday morning, we wake up and unpack. Feeling the spring cleaning smell in the air (it's been about 15 degrees here this week), we decided to do some purging. Of our apartment. We got rid of a whole bunch of junk, including a ton of old clothes we don't wear anymore.
Unfortunately, we were still a little cramped for space what with all the clothes we bought while in Canada. We had a couple of very successful Value Village runs as well as a day or two spent at good ol' WEM. We finished unpacking and assessed the damage. We've needed a new dresser for a while, and a couple of new bookshelves would look great too, don't you think? We thought so too.
So we decided to head down to the market, where you can get all sorts of things, food and housewares alike, for a better deal than at a department store. Unfortunately, the bus system changed about two months ago and we no longer are one bus away from the market. Instead, we must take a bus downtown and then transfer to the subway. This isn't too bad as we had to go to the bank anyway and there's some good restaurants downtown too.
Bank - done. Restaurant - done. Subway - to do.
We get on the subway and find two empty seats. The subway line is really short here (only about 15 stops) and we had to travel about 4, which takes about 8 minutes. We are sitting there, preparing for a nice quiet subway ride when I notice this older fellow (55+) walk over, poke the young fellow sitting beside me and tell him to move. The older fellow wants to sit. By me.
I pray: "Please don't talk to me. And if you talk to me, please don't have been drinking."
First thing that I notice - he's talking to me. Second thing - he's been drinking. I don't mind Koreans, and even Koreans that have been drinking are pretty sociable people (most of the time). However, my Korean isn't so hot and I wasn't feeling like showcasing the extent of my talents that day. Older Koreans that have been drinking, especially men, will either want to practice the English that they know, or not be able to understand that I don't understand. I was hoping it was an English practicer, and not a Korean tester.
He was a Korean tester.
The following conversation all took place in Korean, but will be written in English, just for simplicity. The characters: M = Old man. J = Me (Jon). E = Emily. O = Everyone else on the subway.
M: Do you speak Korean?
J: No, I don't speak Korean.
M: Where are you from?
J: I'm from Canada.
M: See! You speak Korean. I asked if you spoke Korean, and you said no, but you do.
J: I only speak a little Korean.
*Note: By this point, all conversation has ceased in our car, and my conversation with this delightful older man has become the entertainment for ~20 people. Unashamedly, obviously eavesdropping. But I digress...
M: Where are you going?
J: To the market. (I should know by now to be less specific. Naming a specific location means you can't get off before that location. A more ideal answer would have been "shopping" or "walking" or something like that.)
M: How old are you?
J: I'm 26 years old. (*Age is different in Korea.)
M: How old is she? (Points at Emily.)
J: She's 23.
M: Are you a couple?
J: Yes, we're married.
M: ~~~~~ when ~~~~~ (*At this point, I have no idea what he is talking about. Assuming "A little Korean" means "more Korean than I actually know," he loses me. )
J: I don't understand.
E: He said when did you come to Korea.
J: Yesterday. (True, though perhaps not what he meant.)
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand.
O: Speak English, old man! He doesn't understand Korean.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand. I don't speak Korean well.
M: You don't understand?
J: Yes. I don't understand.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
O: Speak English! He doesn't understand you.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: Oh, look, it's our stop. Goodbye!
By the end of this little play, people were laughing at what was happening and asking their own questions, either talking to us or to the old man. Koreans are friendly people, if occasionally uncomfortably forward. Everyone was just enjoying the conversation and the awkwardness of someone else. To our knowledge, no one was mocking us. Well, actually, there was one person. A little girl, about 5 years old, couldn't understand why I couldn't understand the simplest questions. She was cracking up, and I'm pretty sure she was making fun of me.
Emily & I got off at our stop and had a good laugh about it. A year ago, I probably would have wanted to die. Instead, we saw the humor in it and realized that, a year ago, the conversation couldn't have happened as we didn't speak any Korean.
We left the subway, went up to the market and we did get our dresser and bookshelves. They fit well, were delivered the next day and are now in their place and doing their respective duties.
Unfortunately, we were still a little cramped for space what with all the clothes we bought while in Canada. We had a couple of very successful Value Village runs as well as a day or two spent at good ol' WEM. We finished unpacking and assessed the damage. We've needed a new dresser for a while, and a couple of new bookshelves would look great too, don't you think? We thought so too.
So we decided to head down to the market, where you can get all sorts of things, food and housewares alike, for a better deal than at a department store. Unfortunately, the bus system changed about two months ago and we no longer are one bus away from the market. Instead, we must take a bus downtown and then transfer to the subway. This isn't too bad as we had to go to the bank anyway and there's some good restaurants downtown too.
Bank - done. Restaurant - done. Subway - to do.
We get on the subway and find two empty seats. The subway line is really short here (only about 15 stops) and we had to travel about 4, which takes about 8 minutes. We are sitting there, preparing for a nice quiet subway ride when I notice this older fellow (55+) walk over, poke the young fellow sitting beside me and tell him to move. The older fellow wants to sit. By me.
I pray: "Please don't talk to me. And if you talk to me, please don't have been drinking."
First thing that I notice - he's talking to me. Second thing - he's been drinking. I don't mind Koreans, and even Koreans that have been drinking are pretty sociable people (most of the time). However, my Korean isn't so hot and I wasn't feeling like showcasing the extent of my talents that day. Older Koreans that have been drinking, especially men, will either want to practice the English that they know, or not be able to understand that I don't understand. I was hoping it was an English practicer, and not a Korean tester.
He was a Korean tester.
The following conversation all took place in Korean, but will be written in English, just for simplicity. The characters: M = Old man. J = Me (Jon). E = Emily. O = Everyone else on the subway.
M: Do you speak Korean?
J: No, I don't speak Korean.
M: Where are you from?
J: I'm from Canada.
M: See! You speak Korean. I asked if you spoke Korean, and you said no, but you do.
J: I only speak a little Korean.
*Note: By this point, all conversation has ceased in our car, and my conversation with this delightful older man has become the entertainment for ~20 people. Unashamedly, obviously eavesdropping. But I digress...
M: Where are you going?
J: To the market. (I should know by now to be less specific. Naming a specific location means you can't get off before that location. A more ideal answer would have been "shopping" or "walking" or something like that.)
M: How old are you?
J: I'm 26 years old. (*Age is different in Korea.)
M: How old is she? (Points at Emily.)
J: She's 23.
M: Are you a couple?
J: Yes, we're married.
M: ~~~~~ when ~~~~~ (*At this point, I have no idea what he is talking about. Assuming "A little Korean" means "more Korean than I actually know," he loses me. )
J: I don't understand.
E: He said when did you come to Korea.
J: Yesterday. (True, though perhaps not what he meant.)
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand.
O: Speak English, old man! He doesn't understand Korean.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: I don't understand. I don't speak Korean well.
M: You don't understand?
J: Yes. I don't understand.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
O: Speak English! He doesn't understand you.
M: ~~~~~~~~~
J: Oh, look, it's our stop. Goodbye!
By the end of this little play, people were laughing at what was happening and asking their own questions, either talking to us or to the old man. Koreans are friendly people, if occasionally uncomfortably forward. Everyone was just enjoying the conversation and the awkwardness of someone else. To our knowledge, no one was mocking us. Well, actually, there was one person. A little girl, about 5 years old, couldn't understand why I couldn't understand the simplest questions. She was cracking up, and I'm pretty sure she was making fun of me.
Emily & I got off at our stop and had a good laugh about it. A year ago, I probably would have wanted to die. Instead, we saw the humor in it and realized that, a year ago, the conversation couldn't have happened as we didn't speak any Korean.
We left the subway, went up to the market and we did get our dresser and bookshelves. They fit well, were delivered the next day and are now in their place and doing their respective duties.
And it begins...
So Emily and I have returned. Not from Thailand, as the blog may have indicated and we previously planned. Instead, we decided to exchange Thailand for Canada and visited our home and native land for a glorious three weeks.
The weather was fantastic, the people were wonderful and we both had a really good time. After about two weeks, though, we began to be homesick. Although we were in Canada, we missed our other home. We had a really good time in Canada, but it certainly felt more like a vacation. Our friends and family are in Canada, but our life (other friends, routine, apartment, etc.) is in Korea.
Our trip back to Canada was uneventful. We flew Edmonton - Vancouver - Incheon (Korea's international airport) and took the bus down to our home city of Gwangju. Our flight leaving Edmonton was delayed because security took an especially intense look at several passengers before allowing them to board (one lady came on the plane crying because of what had happened). Other than that, though, nothing of interest.
Our experience as people in a foreign land began the day after we arrived, in a story I shall tell in a separate post. (That way, I get to have two new posts and the same amount of text! What a good blogger I am.)
Here's a couple of pictures from our Canada trip. The first and second are from Emily's birthday, and the third is from a day we went sledding (that's Mom Jackson there).
The weather was fantastic, the people were wonderful and we both had a really good time. After about two weeks, though, we began to be homesick. Although we were in Canada, we missed our other home. We had a really good time in Canada, but it certainly felt more like a vacation. Our friends and family are in Canada, but our life (other friends, routine, apartment, etc.) is in Korea.
Our trip back to Canada was uneventful. We flew Edmonton - Vancouver - Incheon (Korea's international airport) and took the bus down to our home city of Gwangju. Our flight leaving Edmonton was delayed because security took an especially intense look at several passengers before allowing them to board (one lady came on the plane crying because of what had happened). Other than that, though, nothing of interest.
Our experience as people in a foreign land began the day after we arrived, in a story I shall tell in a separate post. (That way, I get to have two new posts and the same amount of text! What a good blogger I am.)
Here's a couple of pictures from our Canada trip. The first and second are from Emily's birthday, and the third is from a day we went sledding (that's Mom Jackson there).
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