Sunday, we met some friends and went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art.
I like a lot of his work (except his films), however, I'm not impressed with most modern artists. It seems like it's mostly who you know, and not really how creative you are. I hate the feeling that I'm looking at something that I feel as though I could easily make myself. I also hate that feeling that the artist is basically conning me into believing that I'm not cultured if I don't understand their art. Warhol once said "Art is what you can get away with". I think that sometimes he's getting away with putting a photo on canvas, and adding color, and then making everyone think he's super special and talented for doing so.
Really? This is art?
After the exhibit, we went ice-skating nearby. There were far fewer people that when Hwayoung and I attempted to go on Christmas Day. It only cost us $1 to do so (including the skate rental), and gave us an hour of skate time. My feet were killing me from the uncomfortable skates, but it was pretty enjoyable regardless.
For dinner, our friend Chang escorted us through some dark alleys and sketchy store-fronts to a famous chicken soup restaurant. It was pretty good!
At this moment, Gunpo is practically shut down on this Monday afternoon due to the fact that it has been snowing all day. I would guess that there is approximately 6 inches of snow that has accumulated. From what I hear, this is a lot more than the area is used to. Hwayoung told me that her commute was insane this morning as the subways were packed and the buses are late because they are having complications from the accumulation. Apparently, this is the largest snowfall since 1937! Amazing, since I think of it as an average snowfall back in Connecticut!
I think that it is funny that there are no plows or salt and sand being put on the roads. The vehicles merely pack down the snow and drive over it. This morning I saw a bus try to climb a hill at a snails pace, and multiple cars stuck in the middle of the road. I couldn't help but laugh and think to myself that this was just another typical "Korea moment" that didn't make sense to me. No city workers shoveling the main walkways and no private companies hired to remove snow outside shopping centers. Instead, a couple of employees outside the businesses would shovel a couple feet outside the doorways so their customers could at least enter the building.
Luckily, most schools are on vacation, but for some of us ESL teachers, many of the schools (such as mine) have winter camp. I trudged up the hill, stepping in the footprints of others as the sidewalks had no signs that they would ever be shoveled or plowed. About half of my students showed up covered from head to toe. The heat in my classroom was not working well today, so I was a little cranky. I let the students leave early in hopes that they would play in the snow, and that I could get home early and curl up in my warm bed with a good movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment