Should auld acquaintance be forgot...

Happy 2008, everyone! I had a great New Year's celebration with a somewhat random assortment of friends, acquaintances, and strangers. This week has been a blast thus far, since my classes officially finished on the 28th. Somehow, Dean and I ended up in Hongdae Friday, Saturday, and last night/this morning! We'd been paid, were happy to have friends close by, and just wanted to enjoy ourselves. Kirsten came back from her week at home two nights ago, so she was keen on getting together for dinner and then some festivities. So Dean, Kirsten, and I went to our favorite Korean grilling restaurant nearby our apartment, got 3 sets of beef, a bottle of soju, and had a great dinner.

Afterwards, Dean and went to Sinchon (close to Hongdae) to meet up with our friend Jongman and his Korean friends. Kirsten and I went to Hongdae together and ended up at Gab Bar. It was the first time Kirsten and I had been out together with no one else in a really, really long time--since like...college. So we enjoyed our cheap cocktails (a spectacular 3,500 won per drink!), the old school hip hop, and just talked. An hour or so later, we were joined by my friend Richard (from England, also working with SMOE) and his ladyfriend, then a while later, Dean showed up with a whole gaggle of Korean guys. We counted down the New Year in our small bar, then decided to hop to another place for some food. There, we also met up with Aerim! It was around 1:30 AM by that point, so we went to another grilling house and ordered a lot of pork. We were there for another two hours before we realized that the people probably wanted to close. As soon as we stepped outside, the owners turned all the lights off. Oops. Still wanting to stay out, we ended up at ANOTHER bar close by, which was comfy and warm.

By then, it was 4 AM, and many of us were faced with the same question: do we leave soon and try to find a taxi home? Taxis have been really difficult to get in Hongdae recently--even though hundreds of them flood the streets, many illegally ask for 3 times the normal rate (since they know it's cold and we have no other options), and many just shoo willing customers away as soon as they try to approach. OR...do we wait until 5 when the subway opens and take the train home? We all decided to stick it out, although one of our party fell dead asleep on the table. So at 5 AM, we walked to the subway, waited another 30 minutes before the first train actually left, and were back in our apartments around 6:15 AM.

It was a surreal experience, but it was a memorable night/morning in Korea. This city has such an electric energy and nothing really stops. If you go out in Seoul, you're pretty much guaranteed a good time--something spontaneous or random will happen and it will spark something even weirder or more amusing. Our circle of friends is a melting pot of native English speakers from England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, while we have also been making some great Korean friends. It was a great way to end the old year and begin the new.

On Saturday, Dean's co-teacher, Mrs. Eom, invited us over for lunch at her apartment! It was our first time in a family's home and it was a great time--her whole family was sweet as can be. This is her with her youngest, but she has two older daughters, both of whom speak spectacular English.


"I remember back in the day." This is spray painted on a wall in the Hongdae underground.


Saturday night was spent in Hongdae with a lot of our TLBU mates who are back in Korea for the winter camp!! Here is me, Kevin (our boss), Tara (from Ireland--she was my teaching partner!), and Junior.


Jongman and Aerim at the pork place.


There was almost a really bad fight between two men in our group and it was pretty heated for about 30 minutes. Kirsten, Amber, and I were quite worried but Aerim shrugged it off saying, "This is just what Korean men do when they drink too much--don't worry about it."