Six Things to Do When You Have Nothing to Do

Having a job that's not school means that I have significantly more free time.  And I mean legitimately free, as in "I am so completely un-scheduled that I'm not even procrastinating right now." Aside from the fact that wherever you are, and especially if you are in a new place, there is always plenty to explore, adventures are often too involved for those awkward hours between a late dinner and a bedtime that's not the same as your students. Back in school, this time was overflowing with rehearsals, homework, work work, and pretending to be productive in order to put off any of the aforementioned tasks.  But now...I've got nothing.  The sensation is so unfamiliar that it still feels weird, so I made this to remind myself how to fill my free time with something slightly more substantial than wondering if I've forgotten something important.

1. Watch movies. I've never been a big movie fan, despite many friends' valiant efforts to inspire and educate me. Nevertheless, I am slowly advancing towards cinematic competency. Every time someone expels incredulously, "You've never seen ----?!" (and this usually follows a quotation or reference that flew right over my head) I make a mental note: Caroline, watch ---- next time you are sitting on your computer, wondering what to do, because you've answered every email and hit the point in your newsfeed where you last stopped reading.

2. Read a book.  Ideally this would be my go-to option.  But it's a bit more challenging here where books are hard to acquire or are in Korean. At school, picking up a book is rarely enticing, mostly because you're already reading so many goddamn books! So "Read a book" has somewhat evolved to be "Learn Something" and here's where I ricochet back to my computer screen. The internet- so much likely fallicious knowledge! It's a corn maze of goats being awesome and documentaries about the history of logic. Then there are those questions of how much information is too much information, and I don't mean the not-safe-for-work-kind. I've been using this super cool site to monitor my time on the internet, in an attempt to go back to books. But like I said it can be difficult.

3. Go outside! Outside, with a book, in the sunshine, iced tea in hand, cheese and crackers...erm, kimchi and rice? And winter weather and the search for grass in a concrete jungle. Actually, Korea has excellent hiking spots, it just takes a little forethought and an extended chunk of daylight.  So the great outdoors is an exploration in the works.

4. Errands (and chores).  I think 'errand' is my mother's favorite word.  They always take longer than they should and are never too fun.  Although living in a foreign country certainly keeps them interesting.  Cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, paying bills, taking out the trash...it can get complicated.  Finding motivation, particularly in the face of the extra complications of language barriers, etc, can also be a challenge.  But sometimes boredom is motivation enough!  More thoughts to come on how living abroad as an American brings to light some of the struggles immigrants and English Language Learners deal with in the States...

5. Have real Skype dates.  When you know you're not going to run into your friends or family any time soon, Skype takes on a completely new purpose.  It's not just another way of contacting people; it becomes an integral component in maintaining and building your relationships. Despite having lived away from home and overseas before, I didn't realize Skype's new role until recently while Skyping with my friend, Willow. Skype dates are a bit of a pain to set up, and it always feels awkward to click the little red X and 'say goodbye' when no one's really going anywhere.  A real Skype date needs a clear purpose.  It's like meeting a friend for coffee- you're (generally) not going for the coffee, you're going for your friend. The car rides with your mom or times you bump into a friend on your way to class are gone, so now your interaction must be intentional.  This doesn't mean it can't be impromptu. But the best Skype conversations are the ones where I decided to talk with the person in the same manner as I decide to watch a movie. It's going to take some finite amount of time, and my attention should be focused, as much as possible, on that person.  Finally, a critical moment in a Skype date or a phone call or anything is to let it end when it's over. If you find yourself scrambling to think of another question you were supposed to ask that 'just slipped my mind,'  just say goodbye! It's okay to hang up. Next time, there will be more to talk about, and you won't feel weird lunging for some mundane topic to which no one has much to contribute.

6. Make something.  I know, I know, watching movies and writing can really be lumped into 'learn something' if you want. But I mean create something.  For me it's often this blog. Sometimes it's a coloring sheet I stole from my kindergarteners. When I'm lucky, it's music or a craft or a plan for an adventure. The amount of creative 'juices' I have now is astonishing, because at school it was entirely sapped up by papers and problem sets and class discussions. Who knew that a college kid could work so hard in between intramural softball and happy hour? It feels good to direct that creative energy into something I choose, to be inspired by something and then create something new. And it's productive!

If you have ideas for how to fill free time, send 'em my way. I also accept movie and book suggestions :D

Lotte World

You know how sometimes you come across those horrifying articles on the internet where they show you that most of commercial USA is owned by a few major corporations, like this one? In Korea, no one bothers with the "illusion of choice"—everything is quite obviously owned by a company called Lotte. Walk down the street and you'll pass Lotte Mart, Lotte Cinema, Lotte Department Store, Lotte Castle Apartments, and even Lotteria, a fast food joint. But wait, there's more! A quick Google search reveals that Lotte also dabbles in hotels, insurance, and oil. Still, I'm not here to comment on the conglomerate (I'm way under qualified). I'm here to tell you about my trip to Lotte World, the largest indoor amusement park in, well, the world.

Imagine a huge mall. You can see down to the bottom floor, up to and through the glass ceiling, and all around you is adorable, pastel, cheery, fun-focused fantasy land. Four floors (really, five) of cutesy rides, food kiosks, a ginormous stage, photo opportunities, and janitors on roller blades. It was awesome.

The lack of expiration date on my student ID meant I got in for 28,000₩ (about $28.00).  Even without the discount, the price was super cheap for an amusement park, and we were all thrilled to see that Lotte didn't try to make up the difference in its snack or souvenir prices.  I've been spoiled by the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, but rides like The French Revolution and Pharaoh's Fury managed to excite, and the free fall tower of death, aka the Gyro Drop, scared the living daylights out of all of us. And Emily really enjoyed Lotte World's spinning teacups, christened with the family friendly title "Drunken Baskets."

All and all there wasn't much different about Lotte World from my experiences at amusement parks in the States. The fact that it's inside is kinda nice, since we didn't have to wait in unbearable heat or frigid cold. And the park is open until eleven pm. We didn't stay that late, but we did adventure out to Magic Island, an artificial island on an artificial lake connected to the indoor section, which happens to have a logo and castle that, well, might upset Cinderella a little bit.

At the end of our day, we visited the park of Lotte World that I think US parks should try to steal from Korea.  Attached to the park was an informative, well organized, and interactive Korean Folk Museum. I was delighted to follow the arrows around different periods of Korea's extensive and fascinating history, without being bogged down in too many details or unidentifiable artifacts.  I can totally imagine my mom (hi, Mom!), who never gave in to trips to Six Flags, agreeing to a day a Lotte World if we promised to visit the history museum.  And honestly, the museum was cool, so that's a deal to me!

Above, Emily sports a couture backpack. Try carrying your books around in this baby!  To her right yet another adorable Korean child tickles the world which demonstrating an ironing technique.  Yes, ironing.  Shout out to my mémère! Finally, James and Emily have a go at 윷/Yut, a traditional Korean game. Every museum should be interactive.

Amusement parks are a one time thing for me, so I was happy to spend the entire day in various lines around one large, colorful room, with great company, crunching on candy, cracking jokes about our surroundings, crowding around a cell phone game, and of course, capturing many goofy selfies.