Mini-Series Post #2: B-Boys in Seoul

This morning we awoke to the sound of rain on our window - a typically euphonic sound turned sour due to the heavy amount of rain we've received since we arrived.  However, we weren't going to let the rain stop us from getting out of the dorm - instead, we decided to go to the Olympic Park to see R16 Korea:  the 2011 World B-Boy Masters Championship.

R16 Korea:  the 2011 World B-Boy Masters Championship

This is the stage on which the national crews danced and moved in ways once thought impossible, bending, flipping, and jumping past what most people considered human range of motion. 

The Korean group, JinJo Crew, was obviously the house favorite.  There were groups from all over the world, including France, the U.S., Kazakhstan, China, and Russia.  I took many videos (including videos of the groups dancing).  At Olympic Park, there was also an urban art exhibit:

While I am not a "big-city type of girl," Seoul has definitely grown on me.  I don't mind public transportation - in fact, I love it.  There is always something to do, nay - a variety of things to do each day.  Sure, I get irritated with the huge crowds, but for an enormous city, Seoul is fairly quiet - there are the typical noises of busy city life, but the people, collectively, are peaceful.  A week ago, I'd never thought I would feel comfortable here, but I truly do.  While this city is exponentially larger than where I'm from, I now believe people when they tell me that it's a relatively safe place to be; generally speaking, "maintaining face" (i.e. respect, a good image, etc) is more important than someone else's material items.  It's a fundamental cultural difference between American and Korean culture (again, generally speaking) that gives me hope for humanity when the homicide count continues to climb in Toledo.  When we struggle with the language barrier to order a meal, the Korean waitresses smile and demonstrate patience you'd never see in the U.S. if the roles were reversed.  Many people I know express annoyance when they hear people speaking in a language other than English in the U.S.; sometimes I wonder if people here experience similar irritation when my friends and I are laughing and talking in English at restaurants and on the subway.  My guess is that (generally speaking) people are not annoyed, because they understand and accept that English, Korean, and other languages are on a level playing field.  They are used to foreigners speaking in other languages in their city, and they are not irritated when I cannot understand them.  Surely, there are exceptions, and I am certainly not putting down the home I love.  If collectively, American culture could begin to shed its elitist mentality and welcome other ideas, languages, and methods, I think a lot of our problems could be solved.   

Not sure how I got to this point from where I was when I began this post, especially since it's a "mini-series" post, but there you have it.  Good night!