I was so tired this morning that when I finally got ready for work, I decided to head back to bed to catch a few more ZZZ’s. I usually go to Korean class first thing in the morning, but this morning I decided that getting some more sleep was more important than learning a language. Unfortunately, I overslept by just a few minutes and watched the shuttle to work drive away from our house. Drats! I tried a call in a taxi, but the phone line was busy. So I had to take a short, robust walk to the nearest busy intersection and hail a local taxi. I must not know the appropriate way to hail a cab, because taxi after taxi passed me without stopping. I finally saw a cab driving my direction and almost blocked the intersection to make sure the driver knew I needed a taxi (perhaps a foolish thing to do in speed-happy Korea). I did get to work on time, but I learned my lesson. Getting more sleep is important, but catching the shuttle to work is critical!
After three weeks in Korea I am now starting to realize that being in touch with American popular culture has become a casualty of overseas living. The Internet is a crucial lifeline to staying in touch with American culture. However, I rarely have time anymore to do more than catch the daily news. I had no idea what movies were playing until this morning when I checked Yahoo, and I still don’t know what music is popular in the U.S. right now (most likely hip-hop and R&B). I could go to Billboard and check out the charts or listen to Internet radio, but it’s not the same as turning on the radio and choosing from any number of local channels. There’s a local movie cinema here and a video store with American movies, but I don’t know what’s playing and don’t have much time to check them out. The last movie I saw was "The Incredibles" (I’m a big fan of computer-generated or CGI animation). I hear tidbits about upcoming blockbuster movies such as the final "Star Wars" installment or the "Fantastic Four" movie, but who knows when or if I will see them. I would like to see more Korean films too. Koreans produce some of the best films I have seen. Korean cinema is well known in Asia for producing quality films in addition to popular serial dramas. "Taegukgi" is perhaps the best war film of all time. I may catch a few flicks while I am here and my wife and son are away visiting family in the near future, but for now I’ll have to make due with exploring American culture via the Internet.
