Eunji is teaching art to high school students at a private "academy". The students go there when they have finished school, around 6 and stay there untill 10 pm. They all want to enter university, that's why they are there. But actually it's not just high school students, Eunji told me she started to go there when she was 4 years old!

The students are amazing, they are 18 (they look like 16) and draw far better than many people after years at college in Europe.  

 

One evening some weeks ago I went to a café to hang out with Eunji and there I met for the first time her students. They were very cute and they said that they were studying, but it didn't seem to me. They were having fun, eating and studying just a little bit on the side. Time was passing and at 2.30 am I was tired and left them, but I couldn't understand why they didn't go home. To sleep before the coming schoolday. It just did not make sense. 

 

Now I understand! They don't have any free time to hang out with their friends. They are always studying something, so what I saw that evening was just a way of hanging out with the excuse of studying. One evening without being pushed or controlled by a parent or a teacher. Now I understand why they stay up so late in general, when I left the after school education place today at 10.30 pm it felt like school was finally off and I completley understood the feeling of wanting to relax for a few hours. And if you put together the ride back home, dinner and chilling out, it's already 2 am!

 

I also realized that this lifestyle doesn't really end after high school. Yes, maybe the pressure from the parents is a bit less but, nothing really changes. While I was working on a group project for my class I couldn't understand why all the korean students spend entire days in the classroom working on their projects. You could go there a wednesday night at 1am and you could still find people working. Why don't work very concentrated for some hours and then go home? Instead of sitting in a cold classroom tired, working not efficiently, sleeping half an hour, eating soething and working again, day and night. 

 

Joining my friend to her part time job made me understand. When the job was finished we went for dinner and that's where I found out that her boss gave her homework. So after the dinner she was going back to another place to carry on working. Of course this is a homework and she doesn't get payed for that. So that's what she was doing when I called her 5 in the moring and I was coming back from a party! The next day I was destroyed but she? She was rested and in perfect shape, i quote her answer when I asked her if she was tired "No! I actually had some sleep tonight. 5 hours!". Was she ironic? No she was not. After 5 luxurious hours of sleep time to start the day again! university, work, homework, sleep (eventually), university, work, homework... Once you finish university and start working, it just continues; just 2 weeks vacation/year.

 

The fact that makes this a big revelation for me is that it's not just my one friend who's like that. It's almost everyone! I really admire how devoted they are and of course how good they are in what they do. On the other hand many people don't get any experience in other fields. That's maybe why they sometimes seem naive. 

 

Anyhow, I'm starting to adapt. It's 2.42 AM and I'm writing on my blog! 

Cheers

 

   

 

 

 

today or actually yesterday I went with Daniel to buy a new camera. He ended up buying a Hasselblad, and observing this amazing object I regained inspiration for my studies. I was questioning my choice of carrer  the last weeks but that camera is just a masterpiece :-) now that's why i study what i study! to create products and shapes that last in time :-)

 

peace

I'm back in Korea, since a while actually. The plan was to chill out an travel, visit the country and edit movies i made during the trip buuuut it's not really what I did. I've been seeing friends and watching movies, snowboarding once and organizing my next semester. 

2 nights ago I had a grate day/night/mornig, a grate time. I started the day with watching 2 movies with Daniel. We got him a permission to get into my dorm, bought coffee and a waffle and started our movies. First out was Bergman, Viskningar och rop,1972 and second The dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci. In the first movie I liked the way he's building up the story and how we slowly get to know the characters and during the movie you keep serching for the person who is right, who is still attached to reality and still "normal" but in the end everyone is fucked up, it feels strange for a movie but if you think about it that is reality. I loved the second movie, I guess it's the dream of many being left alone in a wonderfull apartment with money and friends and just play like you were a kid again. And the movie is touching many topics that are taboos and while watching you ask yourself, why is it a taboo?.

 

Finished the movie I went climbing. Spent 4,5 hours in a big cold gym with the most hardcore girl i know. She's my new Idol. Her climbing is so smooth and soft and easy, she is training almost every day and always smiling. She and the other guys training there are teaching me a lot. And even if i suck after 7 weeks of laying on beaches and sitting on buses I'm sure I will become better soon. What i like about these evenings spent climbing is how we communicate. The head of the group is called Le Profé. He's a korean spanish teacher and many climbers are his students or south americans. So the "official" language is Spanish and Korean and then comes English. I'm actually learning more spanish than korean!! Now, back to that afternoon. My fingers hurt and my stomach was desperate for food so we ended the session with 10 pull ups and went eating ramion (noodles) together in Le Profé's office. He still had his luchbox so we shared it. Imagine five people sitting in his office full with books about south american history, maps of chile and climbing gear, making instant noodles and chatting <3 I got a chalk bag as a present, I'm so happy!

 

I went home, showered and prepared my next meeting at 11pm. Donha and Eunji. Two korean mates from my design class. I met Eunji at the gate and we went to a chicken place to wait for Donha that showed up one hour later drunk. He was talking talking talking about how happy he was to see me and that we were friends. I think that's what he ment. English is really hard for them and every small sentance takes 10 minutes, but thats what i like. That's what's interesting. Since they think in Korean and translate into English you understand how they think, and also how the korean language works; they are actually teaching me how I should think if i want to speak in korean! Anyway I tought Eunji the sentence "we need to catch up" so we ordered more soju. At 2 am they kicked us out. We got the rest of the chicken in a box and the waiter kept talking to me in korean, and Eunji and Donha had to translate. They kept saying that I look pure. Pure?innocent? wtf is that supposed to mean! I think it's a compliment in Korea. We decided to go the next place even if I knew that I was supposed to take the bus at 8 in the morning to go on a daytrip to Paju. The next place became Donha's room. We bought beer and snacks in a convenience store and kept walking. The scene where I'm holding with my left arm Donha's arm and in my right hand Eunji's hand and we are running unsichronized in the underpass, down the stairs, through the tunnel and up the stairs again, is like tattooed on the "happy memories" part of my brain. I'm really surprised that we didn't fall. We safely ended up drinking budweiser, eating ferrero rocher and cheese candy in this tiny room filled with furniture and sketches on every other paper laying around. at 5am Donha fell asleep on his chair and slowly slipped to the floor. He was knocked out, Eunji put a pillow under his head, and told me to go to bed, she wanted to have one more beer. 

The alarm was freakin' loud at 7am and i didn't know how to turn this sophisticated korean blackberry off. 7.30, 8.00 then Eunji opened it and removed the battery. I sent a message to Elin cancelling the appointment and went to bed again. It wasn't a deep sleep my bra was itching my long johns under my tight jeans were really tight and warm and my monthly contact lenses were drying my eyes out. We woke up and I all I could see were the blurry shape of the light coming in from the window. Donha was still laying on the heated floor, now playing games on his iPad. Eunji couldn't open her eyes and my träningsvärk was preventing me to move. We all started laughing, what a wicked night and unusual situation. Quote from Eunji who is always explaning strange korean mores to me: "This situation, not common in Korea,.....but.....good memory!" We cleened the floor from the broken glass and the spilled beer and I tasted yesterday's chicken leftovers. Donha went to buy breakfast. First course Chocko milk. Second: spicy ramion with self chopped leek. And last but not least: icecream!

 

The warmth in my heart and the smile i put on every time I'm with Donha and Eunji is pretty incredible. In love and friendship there is no official language :-)

 

The day went on but this was the most exciting part. Enjoy the pictures.

 

Cheers