Saturday, July 2, 2011

Karjam Leaves and I Practice Songpa Sandae Noli

July 1st, 2011

In the morning Karjam finished up and uploaded to Youtube another video, the making of "Losar Dodlih" featuring Yoon Jihee (and you can see Go Seokjin on the video, too). Please visit it and give it lots of love! 

Karjam finished packing and re-packing then we had coffee/tea with our landlady. One last lunch in Karjam's favorite of our local restaurants (I'm actually glad I don't have to eat there anymore, I'm so sick of their food!) Then we headed to the airport. There is a new airport subway train that departs from Seoul Station and has a check-in counter for some of the airlines, including Korean Air which Karjam was flying. This was a real life-saver as his bags were SO FREAKING HEAVY. We checked in and went through immigration (no line and no line) there, then boarded the subway to the airport with his two instruments and a small backpack with his carry on stuff.

I was really sad to say good-bye to Karjam at the airport. It sounds dorky, but I'm more in love with my husband now than I ever was before, seems to keep increasing. I wonder if there is a limit?

July 2nd, 2011

In the morning I worked on the computer in my empty house. In the afternoon right after writing something I –thought- was perhaps good I got on the bus and it turned out 박주현 Bak Juhyeon, our 대금 daegeum player was also on the same bus on his way to 송파산대놀이 Songpa Sandae Noli practice. So we talked, starting with me asking him to help me understand some ideas I'd been playing with in my writing from his perspective, which helped a lot, but also meant I have to change some stuff. Better to change now than later! 

At class we had a fairly good turnout (it wasn't raining). 함완식 Ham Wanshik, 김명하 Kim Myeongha, 함승헌 Ham Seungheon and his wife and son (his son is so cute!), 어원석 Eo Wonseok, 윤지희 Yun Jihee, the 피리 piri player who's name I never remember, plus the two elementary school kids, their mother, and a guy who has attended 5 or so sessions of a community class and wanted to practice with us.  Ham Sr. talked and played the janggu while Kim Myeongha led the dancing. The difference between Ham's motions and Kim Myeongha's motions are like night and day. I think I prefer Kim as his motions are very natural. However in a calculated attempt to keep Ham happy with me I danced with Ham's motions all day and I know he saw that. After a good practice of basic motions Ham Sr. decided to lecture new guy about the instruments which 1) Ham doesn't know that much about 2) the musicians are younger and lower in status and can't contradict him 3) he didn't even find out if new guy already knew about the instruments or not… which he probably knew as much as Ham knows. So I was a bit frustrated. We then did basic motions again and Kim Myeongha led Eo and Ham Jr. through two acts (Buk Noli and Omjung).

After class Yun Jihee and I went to dinner together and she grilled me about advanced studies in the US. She didn't seem concerned about English, she wanted to know more what type of studies were possible in what type of department. It was nice to feel I might be helping her, since she helped so much with Karjam's CD.

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