Lions and Tigers and Beavers

Sunghun took me and Eun-hyuk to the zoo yesterday! I love the zoo.

The zoo is kind-sorta attached to a museum and an amusement park, and all three are stretched out around this lake. To get to the zoo, we took a gondola. The operators were manhandling people in and out of their seats, so I guess they have to deal with a lot of people who don't know how to get on and off a moving chair. I was a little indignant at first, but I don't know how to say, "I've been skiing since I was five and I don't need help to get on a damned chairlift!" in Korean.

The crazy thing about this zoo was how close you could get to the animals. 

At times I had to suppress the urge to slap someone's hand away and yell, "Wild animal! No touchie!"

A guy near me was tearing off hunks of bread and throwing them to the bears, like they were ducks. When the bears started eating them, he got excited and started teaching his kids to do it. As someone who was once a zoo volunteer, I wanted to tear my hair out.

We got insanely lucky and got to see the tigers and then the lions being fed. The zookeepers threw whole chickens from the top of the enclosures. I'm not sure I liked their methods, since it seemed like they were deliberately feeding them in a way that would encourage them to fight, and sure enough all the lions were bloodied by the end. It was clearly orchestrated to get the best crowd reaction, and it made me a little mad. Still, it was pretty dramatic and I have the video for you here. (Since I'm in Korea Youtube won't let me upload). Watch until at least 2:40; the lions move right underneath me around then.

I went out with Drew and his friends last night. They were all really nice, but I was hoping to do Korean things like drink soju and sing karaoke, and I think I happened to catch them on the night they just wanted to go be Americans for a while. We went to Itaewon, which is known as "Little America," and watched a soccer game in a smoky, loud sports bar. I bowed out early, and I hope I didn't offend anybody by it because I really like them and I'd like to hang out with them another time.

I've discovered a new webcomic. It's called Hanna is Not a Boy's Name and it's amazing. It's sort of lighthearted horror/urban fantasy, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. It's also narrated by a zombie who is hotter than he has any right to be.