Monday, May 30, 2011

Culture is not a barrier.

In Culture centre, Busan. [with Key and Hansen]
Singing Arirang before we ended our last performance in Andong.
That's me in yellow receiving a bouquet of flowers from the Andong Municipal on behalf of the Malaysians.
Our norms. Bowing everytime we finished a performance.
A photo with all the L.O and staffs who took really good care of us. That was our last performance in Andong. We cried a lot.


I went to Andong, Korea last year for a maskdance festival. It was grand. Such a big festival. I was really excited because Korea has always been the number one country I seriously want to go. The Korean wave was one of the reasons besides their heart-wrenching dramas. One thing that worries most of my groupmates were language barrier.

I wasn't that worry because I've prepared myself with normally conversed lines and I've trained myself watching Korean dramas. So, I can just guess what they say through their expressions and tones. I was right when we were in Korea. Language is not much of a barrier. As long as we want to communicate, there will will always be the universal language which is the sign and body language. As dancers, we were really good at it.

We found lots of different culture when we were there. How open Koreans are when it deals with sex. Their eco-friendly toilet system which uses less water. How they preserve their nature. How friendly they are towards their guests. Their healthy eating habits and their pleasant manners.

One thing that I can share about them is. If you are being really good to them, they will treat you million times better. I am confident because I've experienced it not once but a couple of time with different people. One of them is the manager who was incharged of the Dokdo Island booth.

I was taking care of the Malaysian booth with Abg Aman and Abg Bear. Our booth was side by side with the Dokdo Island booth. People were just passing by. They just looked but they didn't stop. I guess they were rushing. That's why they couldn't stop. I was a bit bored. So, I took out my book and practiced singing Arirang with Asdi, my fellow goupmates. I taught him how to sing it. We were singing. Suddenly one of the men sang together with us. That was memorable. After we finished, they applauded us. I remembered one of them saying 'chalanda' which I knew it means great( Korean dramas' effect). There were all smiles and impressed facial expressions.

They felt appreciated seeing people who appreciates their culture. They were really nice. I would never be able to delete the memory from my brain. When I was in Korea, I thought that I was at home. Never for once I felt homesick. Every memory that I have about Korea are just good memories.

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