this will be the very last time you see these words in this blog: "when in Rome". I hate that phrase.
I didn't always hate it. But after studying abroad, and hearing it ubiquitously echo off the lips of my fellow study abroad peers (for situations as banal as sipping a smaller cup of coffee) you learn to cringe at the mere mention of the three words. And don't even get me started on Anchorman.
Seriously, don't.
It's important to partake in a culture you are entering in to. It's important for both parties concerned, as it is through this avenue that one showers off bigotry and prejudice. (see: Twain, Mark The Innocents Abroad).
I try my hardest to do these things openly and with as little ethnocentrism as one can allow.
Eating Kimchi - on it.
Chopsticks - better & better each day.
Sitting on the floor - bring
Using wet napkins before every meal (when not a single meal here involves finger-usage): hell ****ing no.
So, most things.
Enter Virtual Golf.
Some background:
Koreans love golf. Much like any other activity that requires accessorizing,golf is as popular as a sport here as it is a fashion department. The Lotte next to me has quite the array of golf clothes, bags, clubs, balls, the works. All overpriced.
So naturally, you would assume that Koreans love to golf.
This is the country who produced Michelle Wie - female golf prodigy. Who, by the by, is YOUNGER than me? Sickening.
Your assumption would be correct. Only, they don't love golfing as we picture golfing.
Instead of getting out on the greens, throwing a bag over their shoulder and toughing out nature's best & worst elements, Koreans prefer their golfing inside. Equipped with couches, complimentary green tea and hangers for their jackets.
Korea has 200 outdoor golf courses. Their sizable comparison, Indiana has 527. Of course, Americans are mad for golf courses, but still, thats less than 40%.
And you should SEE how many golf stores there are.
Koreans get their links fix in the safety of Virtual Golf courses. These "GolfZon" places are everywhere. I've noticed at least 2 or 3 in Guri and I knew a few friends have visited. So I decided to check out the one closest to my school today.
$20 bucks for 18 holes. Not bad.
Free rental clubs. A whole set. Free shoes. Free golfing glove.
Yes, I wore golf shoes indoors.
There are 100 golf courses to choose from - all but 5 are Korean and the international ones cost extra money.
You get 10 minutes of driving range practice before the course. Nice of them to let a guy warm up.
There's a camera that records your swing and plays it back to you after each ball hit. Really brought some attention to my back leg. Too much movement.
So, yeah, you whack a ball toward a giant wall which is also the screen and it records distance, angle, height, everything. shows your ball going. I wondered if it accounted for spin.
There's a button to automatically tee up and there are all sorts of suggestions going on for club usage and directions. Yes, the computer doubles as a caddy too.
It felt like a video game. An awesome video game. Because it was me. Forget Tiger Woods Wii. This is where it's at.
And then I realized one thing quickly.
I am not good at golf. Suddenly, it was less a video game and more of the same old frustrations I face on the fairways - duffed shots, bunkers, OB's (HATED the voice).
Got caught in some rough I couldn't get out of. Took me a few times getting stuck to figure out a good way to get out of the sand. Putting was difficult - so it goes.
Always.
It was sweet and I will go back - as the 18 holes took a bit over an hour and I was fiddling around with my camera for part of it. I can get nine in after school before I get dinner and it wouldn't even throw my schedule off.
All in all it was a great time. Look forward to doing it with friends. The room next to me was a foursome. I wondered if they came together or got paired up.
Joke.
Alright, a couple more pictures....
oh, yeah. forgot to tell. how'd I do?
103. +31. but I'd be lying if I said I would have done better in person. Guess all that's left to do is work on my Korean Handicap. (incidently, a great name for a band - "korean handicap")
better than Giraffe's Ashes? doubt it.
what i am listening to and you should follow suit:
everything involving Jim/Yim James/Yames and John Prine. specifically this cover and this duet performance.
My Morning Jacket - All The Best
John Prine and Yim James - All The Best (live on letterman)
quotation:
"thought is only a flash in the middle of a long night, but the flash that means everything" - henri poincare
and he had his own eponymous Conjecture. how much more badass can you get?
and, as an added bonus, it was in the proving of this conjecture (done only about 7 years ago) that led the science community to determine that "a rabbit is a sphere" or more correctly, a rabbit's head is a sphere. it may be the most poetic scientific wording choice of the early century.
this entry is longer than it needed to be.
e.g.
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