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):

Milyang Station

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.

So, the bar...

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