Last night was pure confusion, but before I get into that I should let you all know that I'm no longer sick. The cold has subsided and I think I must give credit to my Korean acquaintances who supplied me with a non-stop barrage of remedies such as bottles of vitamin C drink, chicken-ginseng soup (samga-tang), and a vile tasting murky brown/green liquid that I think was devised to eliminate any psychosomatic illnesses (if being sick means having to drink this, no one will pretend - Buckley's has nothing on this stuff). Regardless, it seemed to work, so I thank them.
So yes, the confusion...
I had intended originally on spending my five day Chusok holiday (I've heard it referred to as Korean Christmas as well as Korean Thanksgiving, but I'll just call it Chusok) just relaxing, not going anywhere at all. This was partly due to being sick last week, partly due to a lack of funds to go anywhere. This plan was forestalled by Han Tae and the rest of the band (Yong and Dong Un). They insisted we go to Busan to see live bands. Yong has a car, they would pay for food and we would drink little to nothing. Inexpensive and convenient. They made it clear I had no real choice in the matter, plus it sounded fine to me.
So, we all met up at about 5:30 last evening and made our way to Busan. One of the first things they told me was that they'd never driven to Busan before and weren't exactly sure how to get there. I didn't think much of that as I was fairly certain the highway would be easy to find and road signs would be fairly helpful. For the most part, that assumption turned out to be true. We got a bit lost once we entered Busan, but finding Busan itself was no problem.
There was confusion once we arrived in the city as we didn't know exactly how to get to the university area. I was no help at first. I only knew the train and subway. However, once we finally did encounter the subway line, I became the guide. It is a strange experience to be a Canadian guiding three Koreans around a Korean city. I managed to get us where we wanted to be and after some parking issues, which will have a role to play later in the story, found us a place to eat.
I had eaten at this place before. I had scallops and noodles there the night I met all those new people from a couple of postings ago. My Korean friends did the ordering, as was expected. The food was not what I expected. It was Korean BBQ, but along with the regular pork were thick slabs of pig skin and bits of cow intestine. I turned off the part of my mind that screamed, "Good lord! You're not eating that, are you?!" and ate it. Both were remarkably flavourless. The textures were odd. The skin was softish while the intestines were quite chewy.
Anyway, after dinner we made our way to Soultrane and found out there was a big thing going on involving three bars and a whole lot of bands. We bought the passes and made our way inside. It was a completely different crowd than usual and I saw none of the people I know there other than those who work at the bar. We watched a bit of one band there who covered the likes of Good Charlotte and Blink182 and got bored fairly quickly.
Next up was Moo Monk. I had been there once before on my first trip to Busan. We walked in during a set of a woman fronted rock band. It was the first time I had seen a female in a band here. The drummer was also female. They were pretty good. They did an almost dead on version of You Oughta Know. We left after their set and made our way to the third of the three bars we had passes to get into.
I had never been to this place before. It's called Queen. We were greeted by the sound of creepy organ music. This very quickly changed into full on head banging speed goth metal. It was great. The guitarists and singer all did the whole twirling of their long, straight hair thing. The drummer was amazing. Everybody but the keyboardist was extremely active in their headbanging. She just passively stood there and played her music with an intent look on her face. It made for a good contrast. Unfortunately, I was the only one of the four of us who enjoyed it, the other three just found it humorous and quickly wanted to leave.
We went back to Soultrane where we watched another band that covered some bland pseudo-punk and at midnight my bandmates wanted to call it a night and go home.
At this point, we had to find the car. At first, we had parked right next to the subway station, but when we got to the restaurant we were told that the car would likely be towed if it were left there. So, Yong and Dong Un went to go move the car. They came back shortly and it was forgotten about. But now we had to find it again, and they weren't sure where it was. We wandered around the general subway station area, stopped for some food and some coffee and after making many wrong turns and doubling back frequently, we finally found the car.
This doubling back thing turned out to be a theme for the rest of the night. I can't count the number of times we pulled a u-turn because nobody was sure where to go to get back home. All I know is that we were at various points in construction sites, on barren, narrow country roads, and we ended up at the same toll booth about five times. Eventually we got ourselves on the main highway and made our way towards Miryang. However, we missed some turn offs along the way, apparently, as we suddenly found ourselves in the province to the north of the one we usually find ourselves in. We passed through Gyeongju and eventually turned around in Daegu and found the highway that would take us to Miryang.
All in all, a trip that costs 3000\ (approximately $3) by train and takes 45 minutes ended up taking 4 hours and likely costing a hell of a lot more in gas money. But hey, it was an adventure for sure.
I slept late today, obviously. Have spent all of it just lounging around, other than getting some groceries. I still have 3 days off. Not sure what I'm going to do. I have literally no money left and don't get paid until next weekend (or possibly even next Monday), which seriously curtails my possible activity. I'm sure I'll come up with something, though.
Guy
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Waiting for the drugs to kick in...
Well, I'm sick. This is my first, non-alcohol or head smashing induced illness in Korea. It's not fun. I'm completely stuffed up, but hopefully the incessant sneezing will take care of that soon. The director of my school brought me some medicine at the end of the day. I have no idea what it is. Two capsules of some sort and a pouch of something. The stuff in the pouch looked like food for miniature rabbits but tasted oddly like tea. As I said, I have no idea what it was, but I apologize in advance if this update becomes painfully incoherent as it starts to take effect.
The illness actually started on Friday night, a slight scratchiness in my throat. I went out with my fellow aliens that night, again had a great time. Leave it a guy who's been here for five years (Matt) to find to places in the city that have a good atmosphere. This time it was a very nice BBQ restaurant. The food was tasty, the side dishes were plentiful and varied and it was pretty cheap. After that we migrated to Blue Moon and ordered giant armour-plated jug of beer after giant armour-plated jug of beer. It was fun. After a few hours of merriment there, we still felt like enjoying ourselves and made our way down the block to a late night restaurant. It was there that I finally tried the infamous silkworm larvae of Korea. Mmm-mm, was it nasty, but I can now add silkworm larvae to the list that was started in Mexico with grasshoppers. After that, it was pretty late and everyone dispersed. I hung out with Laura, sitting around talking for a few more hours, finally got to bed by 4:30 am.
On Saturday, I felt awful. I slept late, my throat was worse (gee, I wonder how that happened, what with all the drinking and bar talking and staying up late). I decided early that I wasn't going to make it to Busan that night. I was wrong, but I'll get into that later. I hung out with Laura for a while, but we both were feeling pretty rotten so it didn't last long.
At 8:00 that night I decided that I needed to do something and I decided that I wasn't too late to make it down to Busan to see Astroboy's final show. I knew it was a bad idea, having already cancelled on Han Tae and informed my friends in Busan that I wouldn't be there as well as being very tired and increasingly sick, but I did it anyway. It proved to be an even stupider decision than originally estimated. When I got to Soultrane, I was quickly ignored by the friends that were there. Feeling a little odd and realizing that I still had a half hour or so before the show started, I went over to Crossroads. Again, I was mightily ignored by those I knew, with the exception of the people behind the bar, including Hyuk, the guitarist/singer for Astroboy. But he was busy getting ready and didn't have much time to talk. I had a beer, and made my way back to Soultrane for the show. The show was great. It's sad that it was the last.
Right before the show, Jonathan showed up and he was his usual friendly self. After the show he seemed to take in the situation of me being ignored and offered to take me to a different club where he was DJ-ing that night. I went. I did not have a good time. It was a typical dance club scene, which is not what I'm into. The only person I knew was very busy putting on the music. I got irritated quickly and fled after about an hour.
Fleeing was a strange decision as I was in a part of the city I didn't know at about 3:00 in the morning. The busses/subway weren't running and I had no more money for a room or a taxi to the train station. Being me, I used my map studying skills and walked to the train station. It took two hours. That was fine as it got me there right on time to catch the first train home.
I slept very deeply on Sunday. I still got up by noon and ended up spending the day with Laura and Alex. I finally got to see the places where other foreigners live in Milyang and I am very jealous. Laura's place is tiny, yes, but its clean, bug free, the ceiling doesn't leak and it has actual cupboards and drawers as well as laundry facilities. Alex's place is amazing. At home, her place might be considered slightly small, but it's not really. It was extremely nice. The colours chosen are soft and soothing, it has an air conditioner and private laundry facilities. It was a dream apartment, and by that I mean I would kill for it at home, not just here. Anyway, Sunday ended up as another very late night.
Monday was a long day. I started off feeling ill, but strangely got better as the day progressed. Tuesday was perfectly fine, health-wise. My throat was still a little sore, but seemed to be getting better. Han Tae took me out for lunch, a yummy bowl of dolsot bibimbap, and I also had spicy-ish chicken that was cooked with a combination of a grill and a hair dryer with Laura that night. It was good.
I slept great Tuesday night and woke up feeling wonderful today. Han Tae came by for lunch and brought along Yong, the other guitarist for our fledgling band, which we have decided to call Junior Panthers. Don't know if that name will stick, but we'll see. Anyway, all was going relatively well until I got to work. Gradually, I descended into this current state of abject illness.
Speaking of which, I am starting to feel the drugs coming on. I'm a bit loopy and can feel myself starting to float a bit. I should stop typing now.
Guy
The illness actually started on Friday night, a slight scratchiness in my throat. I went out with my fellow aliens that night, again had a great time. Leave it a guy who's been here for five years (Matt) to find to places in the city that have a good atmosphere. This time it was a very nice BBQ restaurant. The food was tasty, the side dishes were plentiful and varied and it was pretty cheap. After that we migrated to Blue Moon and ordered giant armour-plated jug of beer after giant armour-plated jug of beer. It was fun. After a few hours of merriment there, we still felt like enjoying ourselves and made our way down the block to a late night restaurant. It was there that I finally tried the infamous silkworm larvae of Korea. Mmm-mm, was it nasty, but I can now add silkworm larvae to the list that was started in Mexico with grasshoppers. After that, it was pretty late and everyone dispersed. I hung out with Laura, sitting around talking for a few more hours, finally got to bed by 4:30 am.
On Saturday, I felt awful. I slept late, my throat was worse (gee, I wonder how that happened, what with all the drinking and bar talking and staying up late). I decided early that I wasn't going to make it to Busan that night. I was wrong, but I'll get into that later. I hung out with Laura for a while, but we both were feeling pretty rotten so it didn't last long.
At 8:00 that night I decided that I needed to do something and I decided that I wasn't too late to make it down to Busan to see Astroboy's final show. I knew it was a bad idea, having already cancelled on Han Tae and informed my friends in Busan that I wouldn't be there as well as being very tired and increasingly sick, but I did it anyway. It proved to be an even stupider decision than originally estimated. When I got to Soultrane, I was quickly ignored by the friends that were there. Feeling a little odd and realizing that I still had a half hour or so before the show started, I went over to Crossroads. Again, I was mightily ignored by those I knew, with the exception of the people behind the bar, including Hyuk, the guitarist/singer for Astroboy. But he was busy getting ready and didn't have much time to talk. I had a beer, and made my way back to Soultrane for the show. The show was great. It's sad that it was the last.
Right before the show, Jonathan showed up and he was his usual friendly self. After the show he seemed to take in the situation of me being ignored and offered to take me to a different club where he was DJ-ing that night. I went. I did not have a good time. It was a typical dance club scene, which is not what I'm into. The only person I knew was very busy putting on the music. I got irritated quickly and fled after about an hour.
Fleeing was a strange decision as I was in a part of the city I didn't know at about 3:00 in the morning. The busses/subway weren't running and I had no more money for a room or a taxi to the train station. Being me, I used my map studying skills and walked to the train station. It took two hours. That was fine as it got me there right on time to catch the first train home.
I slept very deeply on Sunday. I still got up by noon and ended up spending the day with Laura and Alex. I finally got to see the places where other foreigners live in Milyang and I am very jealous. Laura's place is tiny, yes, but its clean, bug free, the ceiling doesn't leak and it has actual cupboards and drawers as well as laundry facilities. Alex's place is amazing. At home, her place might be considered slightly small, but it's not really. It was extremely nice. The colours chosen are soft and soothing, it has an air conditioner and private laundry facilities. It was a dream apartment, and by that I mean I would kill for it at home, not just here. Anyway, Sunday ended up as another very late night.
Monday was a long day. I started off feeling ill, but strangely got better as the day progressed. Tuesday was perfectly fine, health-wise. My throat was still a little sore, but seemed to be getting better. Han Tae took me out for lunch, a yummy bowl of dolsot bibimbap, and I also had spicy-ish chicken that was cooked with a combination of a grill and a hair dryer with Laura that night. It was good.
I slept great Tuesday night and woke up feeling wonderful today. Han Tae came by for lunch and brought along Yong, the other guitarist for our fledgling band, which we have decided to call Junior Panthers. Don't know if that name will stick, but we'll see. Anyway, all was going relatively well until I got to work. Gradually, I descended into this current state of abject illness.
Speaking of which, I am starting to feel the drugs coming on. I'm a bit loopy and can feel myself starting to float a bit. I should stop typing now.
Guy
Thursday, September 16, 2004
We're not alone out here... I've been discovered by aliens.
Since making my last posting, where I predicted that this week would likely progress in a remarkably similar fashion to last week, things have changed significantly.
It turns out that I am not the only foreigner who lives in Milyang. In fact, there appear to be quite a few. I met four of them last night. One of them, Matt, has lived here for 5 years. He was randomly looking around for Milyang related stuff online and stumbled across this blog. In turn, he invited me to join him and his co-workers for beer last night.
It was a great time. He works with a guy named Sean, whom I had met once before at a bar (yet strangley neglected to mention it), and a girl named Laura who has been here about 6 weeks. As well, another lady by the name of Alex joined us, she's been here about six weeks as well. She works at a different school altogether. Matt's girlfriend, Ji Yeon, also came along. I am still a bit amazed that I haven't run into these people before, with the exception of Sean whom I had run into once.
Anyway, we all met at a place called Hof Village. I'd been there once before with James a while back. It has a big sign outside proclaiming it be a "Western Bar." We sat around, getting to know one another for a while, ordered some food, drank some beer. The food was fairly typical, but one part is worth mentioning. The menu called it turkey. Matt and Ji Yeon called it turkey. All of my senses called it ham. It looked like ham, it smelled like ham, it felt like ham, it even sounded like ham, but most importantly, it tasted like ham. Laura, Sean, Alex and I were assured that it was turkey. It came with a bone. A large leg bone. I really wish I could have taken it home and looked more closely at it to determine whether it was turkey or pig. You'd think it should be blantanly obvious, and well, it probably should be for a guy that took a faunal remains analysis course (which I have), but it wasn't. They took the bone away before I could grab it, so that opportunity was lost. Regardless, it tasted good with mustard.
After the Western Bar, we made our way to a place that is about a 30 second walk from my apartment. This place, called Sor, is absolutely amazing. It is so retro 60's-70's and in a very classy lounge kind of way. I love it. The booths are like little rooms with beaded curtain entrances. The lighting and walls give it the perfect atmosphere. In fact, I think it may be the first place I've been to in Korea with a real atmosphere to it. The owner, an interesting Korean guy who used to play guitar and now plays the drums due to a hand injury, has a rather large wall full of old records. He played us specially selected songs all night and sat at the table with us for long periods of time. We drank beer and lemon flavoured soju (very tasty) and talked about work, speaking Korean, music and many, many other things.
All in all, last night was probably the most comfortable I've felt in this city yet. Thank you Matt for contacting me. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed my time with Edward or HanTae or James or Cathy, but this was the most comfortable yet. Everyone was so great.
I'll stop gushing now.
As said before, I'll be backin Busan again on Saturday to watch Astroboy's final show. Laura said she'd like to come along and Han Tae said he would, too, so it should be a blast.
That's all.
Guy
It turns out that I am not the only foreigner who lives in Milyang. In fact, there appear to be quite a few. I met four of them last night. One of them, Matt, has lived here for 5 years. He was randomly looking around for Milyang related stuff online and stumbled across this blog. In turn, he invited me to join him and his co-workers for beer last night.
It was a great time. He works with a guy named Sean, whom I had met once before at a bar (yet strangley neglected to mention it), and a girl named Laura who has been here about 6 weeks. As well, another lady by the name of Alex joined us, she's been here about six weeks as well. She works at a different school altogether. Matt's girlfriend, Ji Yeon, also came along. I am still a bit amazed that I haven't run into these people before, with the exception of Sean whom I had run into once.
Anyway, we all met at a place called Hof Village. I'd been there once before with James a while back. It has a big sign outside proclaiming it be a "Western Bar." We sat around, getting to know one another for a while, ordered some food, drank some beer. The food was fairly typical, but one part is worth mentioning. The menu called it turkey. Matt and Ji Yeon called it turkey. All of my senses called it ham. It looked like ham, it smelled like ham, it felt like ham, it even sounded like ham, but most importantly, it tasted like ham. Laura, Sean, Alex and I were assured that it was turkey. It came with a bone. A large leg bone. I really wish I could have taken it home and looked more closely at it to determine whether it was turkey or pig. You'd think it should be blantanly obvious, and well, it probably should be for a guy that took a faunal remains analysis course (which I have), but it wasn't. They took the bone away before I could grab it, so that opportunity was lost. Regardless, it tasted good with mustard.
After the Western Bar, we made our way to a place that is about a 30 second walk from my apartment. This place, called Sor, is absolutely amazing. It is so retro 60's-70's and in a very classy lounge kind of way. I love it. The booths are like little rooms with beaded curtain entrances. The lighting and walls give it the perfect atmosphere. In fact, I think it may be the first place I've been to in Korea with a real atmosphere to it. The owner, an interesting Korean guy who used to play guitar and now plays the drums due to a hand injury, has a rather large wall full of old records. He played us specially selected songs all night and sat at the table with us for long periods of time. We drank beer and lemon flavoured soju (very tasty) and talked about work, speaking Korean, music and many, many other things.
All in all, last night was probably the most comfortable I've felt in this city yet. Thank you Matt for contacting me. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed my time with Edward or HanTae or James or Cathy, but this was the most comfortable yet. Everyone was so great.
I'll stop gushing now.
As said before, I'll be backin Busan again on Saturday to watch Astroboy's final show. Laura said she'd like to come along and Han Tae said he would, too, so it should be a blast.
That's all.
Guy
Monday, September 13, 2004
When exactly does night become morning?
Well, as promised, I went to Busan. I've actually been twice since I last posted. That sangria party I mentioned last time was actually this past weekend, not the one before as I previously thought, but no matter (I'm really not sure what it was all about, actually, as nobody was drinking sangria from what I could see and it just seemed like a rather typical Saturday night at the bar, but I'll talk about it more later). Fun was had on both trips, regardless.
The first of the two weekends was quite a lot of fun. Until I hit the bar on Saturday night, I had a bit of a running commentary going on in my notebook, so I'm going to just copy it here (it's so much easier that way) with maybe a few slight edits for the sake of grammar and the children (won't anybody think of the children!!!). Anyway, here it is (it will be followed by a report of this past weekends shenanigans):
Well, I ended up staying at the bar for a good ten hours (actually, alternating between two, Crossroads and Soultrane, but they're across the street from each other and owned/staffed by the same people so they might as well be one place) . I drank, I talked about books and music, I danced until 5am. After that, I was pretty tired, so I caught a train home to Milyang and passed out.
The intervening week was pretty nondescript. The groupies have settled down a bit. They still gather about when they see me, but they seek me out less and are far quieter about it. As well as groupies though, I've discovered that one of the little girls in my kids class, Suzy, has a crush on me. Cathy said she thought so but I didn't believe her until I found a crayon picture on my desk of myself and Suzy surrounded by a heart (she labelled us both). She later made me put the picture in my daytimer. It's so cute.
Well, onto this most recent weekend, which was also a lot of fun. It started off inauspiciously, though. Everybody I was supposed to meet up with in Busan on Saturday cancelled on me (Han Tae cancelled earlier on Friday, Cathy cancelled that night, and Edward just didn't show up). None of my Busan friends were at the bar when I got there, either. I sat around by myself for a few hours, talking to the cute bartender girl (who's university major is German literature of all things), watching another bartender (who is also the bassist for Astroboy) do card tricks, and generally just doing nothing.
After a while of this, a very attractive Korean girl invited me to join her and her friends. I was startled, but quickly agreed. They were all very friendly and we all talked for a while. Her friends are very nice, and they were very drunk. After a bit, they decided they wanted to go for food and invited me along. We had tasty scallops and yummy soup and intoxicating soju. We talked a lot more, drank a whole bunch, then we finished the food and she and her friends left. I went back to Soultrane.
I was really drunk by this point and suddenly found myself alone again. I decided to dance away my frustration, but it was really crowded on the dance floor and nobody would let me actually dance with them (everyone turned their backs to me), so I just ended up more frustrated. I drank some more, then decided I needed some air.
I went outside, sat on the curb and put my head on my arms. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, really. Frustration and alcohol are never a good mix. Anyway, I was sitting like this for a while when I felt someone tap my head. I looked up and there was a girl, a fellow alien, standing there. She asks if I'm ok and I say I'm fine and she says ok and leaves. I figured that was the end of that and put my head back down. Moments later, though, she comes back with her friend and they ask me how to get to Crossroads. I take them there.
We get some beer, sit down, and chat. The girl who tapped my head is from Vancouver. Her name is Jocelyn. She's been here for almost exactly the same amount of time that I have. Her friend is from England and has been here for 9 months. Her name is Catherine. They're staying in Seoul and had come down to Busan for the weekend.
Catherine ended up leaving early (well, relatively as it was about 3:30am by this point). Jocelyn and I sat around drinking and talking, then this guy from New Zealand joins us. He's a little older than me, and has this intense, almost creepy way about him. He was nice enough though, a lot of fun to talk to. His name is Adam. We end up closing the bar down, but still wanted to go do stuff. The suggestion is made to find a karaoke room (nori-bang). Trying to figure out the controls at those places is difficult. We struggled mightily. After some fiddling and button pushing, a good time was eventually had by all.
It was light out when we emerged and I eventually stumbled back to Milyang for some much needed sleep.
Well, it's Monday night now. I'm going to assume that the rest of this week will go much the same as the others, but if not, I'll let you know. I'll most likely be back in Busan on the weekend as its Astroboy's final show (the singer/guitarist has to take his requisite 2 years in the army now). I don't want to miss that.
You'll hear from me soon, I'm sure.
Guy
The first of the two weekends was quite a lot of fun. Until I hit the bar on Saturday night, I had a bit of a running commentary going on in my notebook, so I'm going to just copy it here (it's so much easier that way) with maybe a few slight edits for the sake of grammar and the children (won't anybody think of the children!!!). Anyway, here it is (it will be followed by a report of this past weekends shenanigans):
Milyang StationSo, the bar...
Everyone here looks so damned young. How old are those two girls? They could be 12. They could be 23. I have yet to guess anyones age right here. I think I'll just give up. Train will be here soon. Yay! Food when I get to Busan. Food makes me smile.
At a coffee shop near Pusan University
I really wish I lived here. There's so much going on. This area in particular is great. So many shops, restaurants, bars, and the people watching is absolutely fantastic. I also like how here, while I'm still considered a bit of a freak, the reaction is more subdued. It's more a sort of "Oh, look, another one" kind of attitude as opposed to the "Oh my god! Look at the Alien!!!" reaction I still get in Milyang, even after three months.
All I can think of to write about is girls right now. I like to think its just an interest of mine, along the same lines as my interests in music, beer, food, books, and art. I'm not even really looking at them in a lustful way, although I suppose it is always there, at least in the background. But I would consider myself more of an appreciator of beauty in its many forms than I would consider myself just some horndog guy looking for hot chicks, however I could just be putting a nicer sounding phrase on the same thing. But in a way, it is true. It's not like I feel the need to possess all these girls, just like I don't need to possess every nice piece of art I see. That said, I could sure use a good painting or two in my apartment to make it more appealing to live in. I'll just let that topic go for now. Miss you Debb!
So, how long should I stay here (the coffee shop, not Busan)? I'm not sure what else to do. It's still very early (mid afternoon) and I've decided that I have nothing I really need to do at all. If the music here was in any way decent I'd consider staying here for a few hours, but it's fucking terrible. Maybe I'll go looking for a good stationery store. They're always entertaining here and I need a few things anyway. Yeah, I'll go do that.
Comfy internet/coffee place, still near Pusan University
I like this place. The couches are really comfy and the internet is free. Sure the coffee is horrbly weak and highly overpriced, but it all balances out. If I can spend 3000\ on a bad cup of coffee but manage to stay here for a few hours, it's no waste. The stationery store was fruitful. I just can't enough of the great sayings and pictures on Korean notebooks. They're just so much fun. I had sushi for lunch. So good. I am satisfied and content right now. I've only been here a few hours and I can already call this trip a success. Next up is dinner and drinking. I found a Mexican restaurant I may go to for dinner, but I don't know if it will be worth it. I get the feeling Korean style Mexican food will leave something to be desired. Another option is Chinese. That spicy seafood soup Dave recommended to me sounds great. We'll see.
Mexican Restaurant
Well, here I am. It's expensive, that's for sure. The pictures on the menu look good, though, and the restaurant itself is very nice. A bit warm though. The music is interesting. I've now heard three songs: Flashdance, Ain't No Mountain, an a rather interesting 60's chamber pop song (and no, I actually have no idea what chamber pop is, but the phrase seems to fit so I'm keeping it). Oh... new song. The theme from Fame. Flashdance and Fame separated by two completely non-80's dance drama related songs. Interesting.
Ahh. It's much cooler by the window.
You know what? I'm really tired of eating alone. It's fairly rare that I take a meal with someone. Well, the nachos have arrived (cheapest thing on the menu). No company, though. I could ask the waiter to join me, but he seems otherwise occupied. As expected, fake cheese, but everything else looks good. There's even guacamole. Now the taste test... Hmm, not bad. The guac is decent and there are actual jalapenos. the salsa is a bit weak and I already mentioned the cheese.
Well, I thought the music mix couldn't get stranger, but it has. How does one follow Boney M and Donna Summer with Chris DeBerge? It's just not right. I have to get out of here. The nachos and the music are depressing me. Bar time.
Well, I ended up staying at the bar for a good ten hours (actually, alternating between two, Crossroads and Soultrane, but they're across the street from each other and owned/staffed by the same people so they might as well be one place) . I drank, I talked about books and music, I danced until 5am. After that, I was pretty tired, so I caught a train home to Milyang and passed out.
The intervening week was pretty nondescript. The groupies have settled down a bit. They still gather about when they see me, but they seek me out less and are far quieter about it. As well as groupies though, I've discovered that one of the little girls in my kids class, Suzy, has a crush on me. Cathy said she thought so but I didn't believe her until I found a crayon picture on my desk of myself and Suzy surrounded by a heart (she labelled us both). She later made me put the picture in my daytimer. It's so cute.
Well, onto this most recent weekend, which was also a lot of fun. It started off inauspiciously, though. Everybody I was supposed to meet up with in Busan on Saturday cancelled on me (Han Tae cancelled earlier on Friday, Cathy cancelled that night, and Edward just didn't show up). None of my Busan friends were at the bar when I got there, either. I sat around by myself for a few hours, talking to the cute bartender girl (who's university major is German literature of all things), watching another bartender (who is also the bassist for Astroboy) do card tricks, and generally just doing nothing.
After a while of this, a very attractive Korean girl invited me to join her and her friends. I was startled, but quickly agreed. They were all very friendly and we all talked for a while. Her friends are very nice, and they were very drunk. After a bit, they decided they wanted to go for food and invited me along. We had tasty scallops and yummy soup and intoxicating soju. We talked a lot more, drank a whole bunch, then we finished the food and she and her friends left. I went back to Soultrane.
I was really drunk by this point and suddenly found myself alone again. I decided to dance away my frustration, but it was really crowded on the dance floor and nobody would let me actually dance with them (everyone turned their backs to me), so I just ended up more frustrated. I drank some more, then decided I needed some air.
I went outside, sat on the curb and put my head on my arms. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, really. Frustration and alcohol are never a good mix. Anyway, I was sitting like this for a while when I felt someone tap my head. I looked up and there was a girl, a fellow alien, standing there. She asks if I'm ok and I say I'm fine and she says ok and leaves. I figured that was the end of that and put my head back down. Moments later, though, she comes back with her friend and they ask me how to get to Crossroads. I take them there.
We get some beer, sit down, and chat. The girl who tapped my head is from Vancouver. Her name is Jocelyn. She's been here for almost exactly the same amount of time that I have. Her friend is from England and has been here for 9 months. Her name is Catherine. They're staying in Seoul and had come down to Busan for the weekend.
Catherine ended up leaving early (well, relatively as it was about 3:30am by this point). Jocelyn and I sat around drinking and talking, then this guy from New Zealand joins us. He's a little older than me, and has this intense, almost creepy way about him. He was nice enough though, a lot of fun to talk to. His name is Adam. We end up closing the bar down, but still wanted to go do stuff. The suggestion is made to find a karaoke room (nori-bang). Trying to figure out the controls at those places is difficult. We struggled mightily. After some fiddling and button pushing, a good time was eventually had by all.
It was light out when we emerged and I eventually stumbled back to Milyang for some much needed sleep.
Well, it's Monday night now. I'm going to assume that the rest of this week will go much the same as the others, but if not, I'll let you know. I'll most likely be back in Busan on the weekend as its Astroboy's final show (the singer/guitarist has to take his requisite 2 years in the army now). I don't want to miss that.
You'll hear from me soon, I'm sure.
Guy
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
I've got groupies. The doctor gave me an ointment, said it should clear up soon.
Well, first off, I'll apologize for taking so long to update stuff. My computer here has been fairly messed up for some time now and it finally died on the weekend. No one is quite sure why it died, but it did. However, they have quite generously replaced the dead one with a different, and much better computer. I am quite pleased, despite the loss of my files.
Keeping on the topic of computers, the ones from the school disappeared overnight (further increasing my gratitude towards them for putting a new one up in my room). It seems someone climbed in a window and took the two computer towers away, but nothing else. The printers, monitors, keyboards, a TV, Cathy's cellphone, and various other things of value were left untouched. Everybody is very confused. The police came by and everything.
Other than the computers disappearing, things school-wise have seemed to straighten themselves out. I have been absolutely guaranteed by the owner that the school will not close. As well, they have altered my pay schedule, telling me that this way they can promise to get me all my money on time, every time, which is good. They'll be adding the intervening days between when I was supposed to get paid and when I actually am to my total. To top off the good news about the school, I am very happy to be back to the regular schedule of starting at around 1:00 pm and finishing at 7:00 pm. The summer schedule was truly starting to wear on me (that and the extraordinary heat). The bad news concerning the school is that James quit about a week and a half ago, so its just me and Cathy running all the classes now. Strangely, though, things seem more organized than before.
In some entertaining news, I discovered on Monday that I seem to have developed groupies. I wouldn't say it if I wasn't absolutely certain about it. I'm not an ego type of guy, but these girls, all about 14-15 years old, are truly acting like groupies. When I go outside and they see me, they scream and run up to me to talk to me. As well, they hang around outside the school, looking in windows of classrooms I'm teaching in and waving to me. To top it all off, they actually squealed and yelled to me from across the street, "EEEEEEEEK! We love you Steve!" I am seriously not exaggerating any of this. They even bought me ice cream. I'm just not sure how to deal with this. Their numbers are growing, too. On Monday, there were just two of them. Yesterday, there were three. Today there was a whole pack of waving, giggling, and squealing teenage girls watching me teach. I am truly baffled by this phenomenon. It's distracting to say the least, but also pretty humorous. I'm sure they'll settle down soon enough. I'm no Beatle.
Speaking of which, I may be the first person ever to develop groupies, then start a band. Well, ok, I haven't truly started a band, but Han Tae (the only one of the guys from the TOEIC who still comes to class) and I have decided to start practicing songs together. He sings but plays no instrument, I play guitar but don't sing. Plus, we seem to have similar tastes in music, so it should all be good. I may even attempt to strengthen my ties to the people who run those bars I like in Pusan and eventually try to get us a gig there if we feel confident enough.
Speaking of Han Tae and the university class, I went out for beer with him and Chang Won on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun. They both want to meet all my friends and seem almost excited as I am that Debb will be coming out here this winter. As well, they want to come visit me in Canada next year sometime. On a slight side note regarding Han Tae, he gave me this packet of yellow powder the other day. It was apparently vitamin C, but really it was Fun Dip with out the candy stick. Healthy Fun Dip, how great is that? He also gave me a stick of nicotine gum, which I thought was very odd as he knows I don't smoke. But then again, chewing gum isn't smoking, is it?
So yes, it appears that since I mentioned feeling lonely and isolated on here, my social life has greatly improved. I've also been invited to a Sangria Party on Saturday in Pusan by the girl I had my great music talk with last time I was there, Remi (whose family name is Doh, which, when said in the proper Korean order of family name first, makes her name Do-Re-Mi, interestingly enough). I'm not sure what a Sangria Party entails other than drinking sangria, but I'm sure going to find out.
In more traditional Korean culture news, I watched some traditional dancing on Sunday. It was rather interesting, especially the audience participation. People, caught up in the drums and rhythm, would come out of the audience and join the dancers, sometimes taking their drum or horn away from them to play it themselves. There was also this tug-of-war type thing using a large rope ring with ropes extending off of it that people pulled in every direction, thus making the large ring not move. Eventually one side was declared the winner by a guy standing on the ring. Don't worry if you don't understand, I don't think I do either, and I watched it happen. Hopefully my pictures will turn out and I can help clarify it a bit for you
later.
Anyway, I'm doing a lot better since the last time I posted. I have started to get cravings for some home food, though. I still love Korean food, don't get me wrong, but a nice big slice of baked ham or a salmon steak or some real cheese or good beer that doesn't cost $6 a bottle or... ack, I should stop.
So yeah, I'll be in Pusan again on the weekend for that Sangria Party. I promise to post more often now that I have a computer again.
Guy
Keeping on the topic of computers, the ones from the school disappeared overnight (further increasing my gratitude towards them for putting a new one up in my room). It seems someone climbed in a window and took the two computer towers away, but nothing else. The printers, monitors, keyboards, a TV, Cathy's cellphone, and various other things of value were left untouched. Everybody is very confused. The police came by and everything.
Other than the computers disappearing, things school-wise have seemed to straighten themselves out. I have been absolutely guaranteed by the owner that the school will not close. As well, they have altered my pay schedule, telling me that this way they can promise to get me all my money on time, every time, which is good. They'll be adding the intervening days between when I was supposed to get paid and when I actually am to my total. To top off the good news about the school, I am very happy to be back to the regular schedule of starting at around 1:00 pm and finishing at 7:00 pm. The summer schedule was truly starting to wear on me (that and the extraordinary heat). The bad news concerning the school is that James quit about a week and a half ago, so its just me and Cathy running all the classes now. Strangely, though, things seem more organized than before.
In some entertaining news, I discovered on Monday that I seem to have developed groupies. I wouldn't say it if I wasn't absolutely certain about it. I'm not an ego type of guy, but these girls, all about 14-15 years old, are truly acting like groupies. When I go outside and they see me, they scream and run up to me to talk to me. As well, they hang around outside the school, looking in windows of classrooms I'm teaching in and waving to me. To top it all off, they actually squealed and yelled to me from across the street, "EEEEEEEEK! We love you Steve!" I am seriously not exaggerating any of this. They even bought me ice cream. I'm just not sure how to deal with this. Their numbers are growing, too. On Monday, there were just two of them. Yesterday, there were three. Today there was a whole pack of waving, giggling, and squealing teenage girls watching me teach. I am truly baffled by this phenomenon. It's distracting to say the least, but also pretty humorous. I'm sure they'll settle down soon enough. I'm no Beatle.
Speaking of which, I may be the first person ever to develop groupies, then start a band. Well, ok, I haven't truly started a band, but Han Tae (the only one of the guys from the TOEIC who still comes to class) and I have decided to start practicing songs together. He sings but plays no instrument, I play guitar but don't sing. Plus, we seem to have similar tastes in music, so it should all be good. I may even attempt to strengthen my ties to the people who run those bars I like in Pusan and eventually try to get us a gig there if we feel confident enough.
Speaking of Han Tae and the university class, I went out for beer with him and Chang Won on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun. They both want to meet all my friends and seem almost excited as I am that Debb will be coming out here this winter. As well, they want to come visit me in Canada next year sometime. On a slight side note regarding Han Tae, he gave me this packet of yellow powder the other day. It was apparently vitamin C, but really it was Fun Dip with out the candy stick. Healthy Fun Dip, how great is that? He also gave me a stick of nicotine gum, which I thought was very odd as he knows I don't smoke. But then again, chewing gum isn't smoking, is it?
So yes, it appears that since I mentioned feeling lonely and isolated on here, my social life has greatly improved. I've also been invited to a Sangria Party on Saturday in Pusan by the girl I had my great music talk with last time I was there, Remi (whose family name is Doh, which, when said in the proper Korean order of family name first, makes her name Do-Re-Mi, interestingly enough). I'm not sure what a Sangria Party entails other than drinking sangria, but I'm sure going to find out.
In more traditional Korean culture news, I watched some traditional dancing on Sunday. It was rather interesting, especially the audience participation. People, caught up in the drums and rhythm, would come out of the audience and join the dancers, sometimes taking their drum or horn away from them to play it themselves. There was also this tug-of-war type thing using a large rope ring with ropes extending off of it that people pulled in every direction, thus making the large ring not move. Eventually one side was declared the winner by a guy standing on the ring. Don't worry if you don't understand, I don't think I do either, and I watched it happen. Hopefully my pictures will turn out and I can help clarify it a bit for you
later.
Anyway, I'm doing a lot better since the last time I posted. I have started to get cravings for some home food, though. I still love Korean food, don't get me wrong, but a nice big slice of baked ham or a salmon steak or some real cheese or good beer that doesn't cost $6 a bottle or... ack, I should stop.
So yeah, I'll be in Pusan again on the weekend for that Sangria Party. I promise to post more often now that I have a computer again.
Guy
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