BACK IN SEOUL

So I am back in Seoul. I have returned to my love hotel oasis. This room has significantly fewer mirrors than my last spot but has a functioning desktop computer so I guess it's a trade off. It was an interesting trip here, in a way. I went out to hear a student play last night in Holland and when I returned at one in the morning, the lock of the gate outside my apartment was broken. Nothing could make it turn. I had just given up on the damn thing and was starting to make my way to the police station when, by an incredible stroke of luck, I ran into a security guard (once each night someone in a uniform comes round with a flashlight to check up on things.) He let me in through the adjoining building. I got into my place and went to sleep but woke up the next morning trapped. I beat on the door of the adjoining building for a while, but it was empty on a Sunday morning. I called students and asked them to get in touch with the front desk of the conservatory (that building IS open) but there was no answer. Finally around one o'clock another security guard sprang me and I hurried to the train station. The Sunday Dutch trains are often a joy and today's was no exception. We had to transfer to a packed air condition-less bus that puttered along at about 35 miles per hour and added an hour to our travel.

But that's all behind me now, and as the scents of kim chee and garlic waft into my love hotel room, I feel that all is right with the world. I met Chul Hoon Lee, my former student, the bassist who arranged the next two weeks of touring, and we hung out and talked over the plans for the tour. He tells me that we have a lot of great gigs to look forward to and that much of Seoul's young jazz scene will be hanging out with us, so I say, let's bring it on, Koreans!