西洋오랑캐

I don’t have work today, so I’ve begun work on several ventures. The first is I have begun searching out photos of various events and things that I was involved in back in the States…namely concert photos, academic events, and so on.

The second thing is I have given up trying to find a band for the time being, so I’m going to go it alone for the time being. That’s right Wyatt Dunn is going to be a singer-song writer…hahaha. So I’ve started recording some jams, but having no recording equipment aside from the internal mic on my mp3 player, and a crappy headphone set with a microphone attached for it which can be plugged into my computer. So needless to say, the quality of the jams are lacking…saying nothing of my lack of talent. Who cares though, it’s just fun which is all that matter in the end.

Summer camp is finished which is cool. I have tomorrow off, as does U-rim, we were suppose to go to the Sea of Japan (aka East Sea), but I doubt that’s going to come to pass. Right now I’m still in turmoil. I love U-rim, and to paraphrase my mother, “I don’t hate her family, I just hate the way they are acting.”

Something in this scene needs to change and it needs to do so quickly. I thought I could deal with her family, but this is not really your garden variety hatred of the white man…it’s more. So I really don’t know what to do. The thing that bugs me the most is the fact that U-rim is using her family’s “Koreaness” as an excuse for their racism and does little to stick up for me or herself. I know her children are suppose to honor their parents, but there’s a point when the child needs to do what is best for them…I dunno, I’m just venting again.

I don’t really know what’s going on these days. U-rim’s brother told her that her parents were going to kill themselves because of me and he was demanding that she stop seeing me. These are the same parents that refer to me as “양놈” a word that is roughly the Korean equivalent of “nigger,” only directed towards white people (though “양놈” could techincally refer to any westerner).

So I was having a dilema. Here I was in a relationship with a girl who’s parents will never like me based on my race, language, and country of origin. Nothing I could do will change their opinion of me. Using “Korean Logic” (I know no such thing truly exists) the only way I could make them like me would be to break up with U-rim, but I love my honey, and couldn’t do this, so I settled for telling her I hated her brother and thought that he was a “fucking racist cock sucker,” and was “acting like a bitch-ass baby.” I went on to tell her that using “my parents are Korean,” as an excuse for racist behavior is weak as a 79 pound boxer. My parents are American, my girlfriend is Korean, they don’t call her a gook or a fuckin’ slanted eye whore or even worse, “Chinese.”

And there’s my scene…

I love my honey, and she loves me, but her family is getting all up in our business. I understand that there are cultural differences, but they know nothing of my culture, only that I’m white…which is reason enough to hate me. Forget the fact that I live in Korea, speak Korean, eat Korean food, and hate George Bush…I’m white so I’m not alright…however if I was named 강용빈 and was an alcoholic college drop-out from Busan who drove a garbage truck and spent all my money on soju and beat up women, her parents would be down with me.

God I love the logic of this country…

Look at this shit

Hey hey hey. This installment of my webpage comes to you from a hair salon in Hongdae. Currently 유림 is getting a haircut or perm or something…I’m not really sure, and I’m rocking this…which is nice since my computer is currently out of comission hardcore! Right now, the “Com/Cum Doctor (check out Darrell’s webpage for a look at the “Com/Cum Doctor”)” has my computer so that I won’t loose my junks.
Today camp began at work, which was alright as I got home before 2 this afternoon…sweet. Anyhow I should go and try to read the onion again. oh the keyboard on this thing is friggin’ weird as hell. Check this crap out (see the picture above). The keys have the same response as a really crappy calculator, you know the kind with the rubbery buttons. Like that only more annoying.

I need to return to work. I’ve had entirely too much vacation, and I’m starting to get antsy. Like summer vacation as a child it starts off pretty good, but as the days progress you become more and more jaded towards the whole vacation thing. I guess I’m the same way. I mean the begining of my vacation was great. Hong Kong was awesome, and even the begining of this week I did errands I needed to accomplish (buying Zoom 505 pedal), met some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, and though it sucked, I went to Lotte World. Since the Lotte World trip, I’ve pretty much spent my days hanging around my house, possibly going to Darrell’s and drinking a beer and or working on our robot (which is nearly completed by the way).

I have been thinking a lot and decided that I need two things in my life to make me happier. The first would be more friends. I don’t really know that many people here, and when U-rim is busy (all the time), and Darrell is hung-over (every weekend), I don’t really have anyone to hang out with and end up wasting the day at home downloading songs I’ll listen to one time…so I need to make some other friends who I can do things with when the other two people I know are busy. The second thing I need to do ties in slightly with the first. U-rim works too much and too far away. Since we both need to work, I’m seriously considering taking a job and moving closer to her place of employement when my current contract expires. Right now we spend entirely too much time riding subways to or from Ori…there are jobs and houses to be had there…I might as well move. The thing is my current job is too ultimate for too many reasons…so I don’t really want to stop working there, but I don’t want to have to ride the subway 3+ hours a day if I want to see my girlfriend either. I really don’t know what I should do…

I make no claims that I am not a geek. I make no claims on being cool. Everyone has some modicum of geekiness to them, some (like me) more than others, however, once in awhile you come across someone who is so socially inept, that it makes you feel like the coolest human being in the universe. Last night was one of those nights.

I was in 오리 (Ori) again, waiting for U-rim to arrive. I had my headphones on like usual and was walking around. I stroll a few blocks and then start heading back to the subway station to go meet with my honey. There, in front of Dunkin’ Donuts, it happened. It started off innocently enough. I encountered another white dude, we made eye contact, I gave the required head nod and thought that would be the end of it. The other guy didn’t think so…he began talking with me. Again, this is not the first time I’ve had coversations with random dudes. Sometimes it’s not so bad, but other times…think of it this way. Remember that kid who graduated with you…you had math together in 11th grade and maybe were in the same gym class freshman year? Ok…now you run into him after 3 years of college…and have to have a conversation with him…based on your little shared existance. That conversation usually ends with a line like “We should totally hang out sometime…” with the other person replying, “Definately!” even though both parties know no such meeting will ever take place. Talking to foreigners can be kind of like that…the only reason they bother talking to you is that you’re both white. So pretty much the coversation follows this form:

● Where are you from?
● You teach around here?
● How long have you been here?
● How do you like it?

That’s about it. Possibly if the guy or gal is decent you might talk about some other crap, trade war stories, ect., but that was not the case last night.

So the guy stops me, and asks my name. I tell him and he did the repeating name thing that you are suppose to do if you want to remember someones name, “So Wyatt do you live here?” “Wyatt where are you from in America?” I, on the other hand, made no such effort. I think his name was Dave or Matt or James or something like that…anyhow since the majority of the foreigners I’ve met here are rather creepy, I made no effort to learn the dude’s name, and he didn’t disappoint on the creepiness!

Highlight of my conversation with the guy came when I asked who he taught (kids/businessmen/housewives/highschool students). He responded “I like teaching children,” but my brain heard “I like children…for sex.” That’s how creepy the guy was. Luckily my lady called and I got to high-tail it out of there. Like meeting the kid from your math class it ended with him proclaiming, “I’ll see you around, maybe next time you are waiting for your girlfriend we can go to that PC bang together…”

“Definitely!”

Here’s another poorly assembled mass of ideas to be better organized at the end of my stint in this country when I begin writing my book (ha ha ha). It had almost been typed completely, but for some reason this webpage thought it was a good idea to reset itself…so I have to type it again.

Attempting to date a local girl in Korea is riddled with traps, pitfalls, and other assorted dangers. One constantly is required to second (and third) guess themselves, and make sure their bullshit detector is in fairly good working order. Even then it’s still risky business.

The first girl I dated here in Korea was a college student. Dating her was like being in highschool all over again. Things progressed incredibly slowly. Things like “holding hands” was a big deal. Additionally the girl’s attitude was fairly immature. Like a highschool relationship, this one was painfully short, ending before it really even started. I’m not really sure what the cause of it’s ending was, since one day she said that we couldn’t date anymore. We remained friends for a short while, but that too stop. After a point she wouldn’t call me and wouldn’t return my calls.

My second girlfriend I almost drove away out of paranoia. My first relationship had ended for one of two reasons. The first being that her family had found out. Few Korean parents want their daughters dating white guys. The second possibility was that her fantasized relationship need had been met. Korean girls (college students in particular) have a rediculously romanticized view of love and relationships, brought about by the portrayal of love in Korean soap operas, and the sappy music videos for equally sappy love ballads. Many girls here want foreign boyfriends, but very few want foreign husbands. So these girls will date foreigners for a period of time, and when they find a nice Korean guy…well sucks to be the foreigner. I’ve heard stories where a foreigner has called his “girlfriend” only to be told not to call anymore as she had gotten married.

So my current girlfriend asked me out after meeting me on a train. It seemed a little odd to me at first. I thought that she could be one of two kind of people (to ask me out in such a fashion), the first was a girl who wanted a romantic and exciting start to a bogus fairytale relationship that would last until she found a Korean guy her parents liked. The second possibility was that she was an Itaewon bar whore who got lucky and found some fresh American penis while riding the subway. It never entered my mind that she could be different. I mean in this homogenous country how could she possibily be different?

To say I treated her like shit would be a tad too generous to myself and make my actions look a less horrid then they were. I figure if she’s going to use me (thinking she was one of the two types of girls mentioned above) I might as well do the same. I thought that I couldn’t trust her, when in reality it should have been her not trusting me. I lied, actively persued another woman, and did things to try and drive her away. These are things I terribly regret doing now that I know her and know that she is indeed different.

I claimed that my behavior was a self-defense mechanism…sort of the George W. Bush, get them before they can get you bullshit metality. The first girl I went out with here had only last about a month, and we had known each other much longer. How much faith could I put in a relationship with a girl I had met on the subway? She had proven me wrong, turning out to be a great girl that I actually had a lot in common with.

A new series of problems then arose…those being her family. As I mentioned, most parents don’t like the idea of their sons or daughters being romantically involved with foriegners. This was the case with my girlfriend’s parents. Her mother, in particular, was adament against me dating her daughter. There’s a lot of bad blood in Korea towards westerners, Americans in particular. A lot of this is rightfully deserved, but it effects the decent people along with the bastards. Being an American, I was automatically lumped in with the bastards (American GI’s mainly). The fact that I hated Bush as much (if not more then) they did, could speak Korean, enjoyed Korean food, knew more about Korean culture or history than most Koreans, or the fact that I loved thier daughter would do little to change their view of me. In America, or any other western country, this problem could be remedied fairly easily by meeting her parents, after which they’d see I wasn’t a bad, or they’d see I was a bad guy and have an actual reason to hate me (aside from my nationality). In Korea this was simply not an option. Men are not allowed to meet the parents of the girl they are dating unless it is the intention of the man to marry said girl. Being a foreigner, her parents have little desire to let her marry me, and therefore a face to face meeting is out of the question. So for now I wait…

Well, I finished uploading the Hong Kong trip pictures, save for some actual photos which need to be scanned before they can before they can be uploaded. Due to the sheer ammount of pictures that I uploaded, I don’t really feel the need to do a huge write up of the Hong Kong trip. I’ve also decided that I’m going to redo the Japanese trip section in a more comprehensive, photo journalistic style.
Anyhow the last few days have been fairly jam packed. On Sunday I met Ryan and some of his friends. We went to lunch and then a board game room. At said room I owned everyone in Monopoly…I am totally awesome! Eh eh eh. After my victory, we went to noraebang. I surprised everyone with my ability to sing the chorus of numerous Korean tunes. I promised them that I would start practicing more, and when I saw them again, I would own the scene at singing Seo Taiji tunes.

Yesterday I went to 낙원 Arcade and purchased a Zoom 505 II guitar pedal (see picture above). I had the Zoom 505 in the states, and was kind of underwhelmed with it. I prefered analog pedals, but due to the lack of space I now have, the Zoom 505 II fits my space needs better, plus some of the things that pissed me off in the original have been remedied, so if you’ll excuse me…I GOTS TO ROCK!