In the morning, I reached class that day to know that we have breakfast provided for us by the school! To celebrate the end of our first week, the school prepared for us rather traditional food. Ddeok (떡) and Sikhye (식혜). Ddeok is made of flour I guess, and then Sikhye is a traditional rice drink. I think it was a pretty interesting breakfast, and something very local. I love Sikhye though, but some ddeok isn't very nice.
On the way to school, Jenny told me that her dorm mates asked her to go for a baseball match that evening. I have heard briefly about Korea's baseball, and how much Koreans love baseball, but I personally do not have much knowledge about the game. Was pondering whether I should go and decided I should not miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. Sorry I do not have any information on how to get the tickets, but I heard that you need some Korean ID if you want to purchase them online, so if you are a foreigner, it is best to purchase them right before the show outside the stadium.
The match for that day was Doosan Bears V.S. Samsung Lions. Of course, I didn't know which group to support, and neither have I heard their names. I also didn't buy any baseball jerseys/shirts which I totally regret. By the way, the ticket is 15,000KRW, which is a little pricey I think, but totally worth it. I had doubts on whether I will fall asleep halfway, because afterall I am not a sports fan, much less a baseball fan. But I totally became one after watching the games.
The game was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, but the subway stop to stop at was Sports Complex Subway Station instead. If I remember correctly, leave from exit 5 or 6 and you will see a stadium in front of you.
I totally became a fan of Doosan Bears after the show. In Korean baseball matches, every baseball players have their respective cheers. They usually incorporate the names of the players and are sung in this light-hearted tune. I caught some of the tunes and sang along with them halfway through the games. It was really catchy and if you could understand some basic Korean, I think it is pretty easy to understand the meaning etc.
Oh, and not forgetting that in between, there are a lot of entertainments. Like when the teams are changing sides or something (sorry I really know nuts about baseball). They have performances and dances and cheerleaders singing and dancing in front. They was also one screen time and the theme was "Kiss Time". So the camera man will go around shooting anyone that they felt look like couple. You can see a lot of couples waving their hands madly to be filmed. Hahah so if you happen to be the one caught on screen, you are supposed to be spontaneous and kiss the other party. There was a daddy and his toddler son kissing, hahah so cute and heartwarming. The camera man also shot this old couple probably in their 70s, and the ahjossi (uncle) kissed the ahjumma (auntie) so hard on her cheeks. So cute!!!!
Look at the crowd behind me. 3.5 hours of matches passed way too fast!!! This is one of my fondest memories because for that 3.5 hours, I really felt like I was truly able to experience the life of a Korean.
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