What a first night it was...

After being picked up at my place by Rhett, we cruised over to his place via motorcycle. Rhett has been here for four years and is about to sign on for another year. He'll be here for life. He's working on his Korean in hopes of going to grad school here. He speaks very well and I've been lucky that he, as well as the other teachers, have helped me with the language barrier. It is going to be hard for awhile, but I'll pick up the language soon.

I have not been here long, but trying to speak Korean and think Korean is slighly alterting my accent, or lack there of accent I guess. Speaking Korean requires one to use their tongue differently than when speaking clear English. This synthesis is making my voice sound more like a northern mid-westerner. You might be thinking that's because there are a lot of Canadians here teaching (not at my school though) and that's why. You might be right, but it doesn't sound Canadian. Who knows? Back to the first night...


As I said we were on a motorcycle, which to me is funny to imagine anyways. I never thought I'd be on the back of a motorcycle in Korea. I had no helmet and was a little concerned anout my safety and legality. I asked Rhett about this and he dismissively replied, "This is Korea." That attitude is prevelant with the teachers I think. There doesn't seem to be much we can't do. I'll go into detail on that concept as time goes by. So on the way there I was still shocked by the traffic. There was so much of it and it was clearly evening by then. There were people cruising in and out of traffic on motor-scooters and motorcycles without any regard for their own safety. The Koreans mostly drive the scooters and all of the delivery drivers drive them. Some have pizza on the back, some have chickens and other have toilet paper. They are all different.

So we arrived at Rhetts and that's where I met the some of the teachers. I walked in the door to Rhett's apartment and, without thinking, forgot to remove my Chaco's (sandals for those of you who do not know). I was corrected quickly. This suprised me. I didn't think that the other foreigners would adhere to the customs that much, but they do. So I sat down on the couch that Rhett told me he had scavenged from the garbage. Gross right? I know I think of the bums in the fort when I hear "scavenge", but it's different here. The Koreans throw out furniture that is still in great condition and since there is no Goodwill here, they just chuck it out. So, sitting in this apartment full of second-hand furniture which seemed to contain no bed, I waited to meet the people who would be my friends for the year. First came Joel.

Joel is from Baton Rouge, LA. He is 28 years old and planned on being in the States this year for grad school in New Orleans, but was turned off when he went home to a hurricane devastated city. So he came back, but made it clear that he wants this to be his last year. He went to The University of New Orleans and studied history. He walked in the door wearing reasonably nice clothing: a white buttton down, nice jeans and black leather shoes. Don't let his clothes fool you. He does not act as proper as it may seem. He has a foul mouth and loves to use it. He also does a great Mayor Ray Nagin impersonation. It's hilarious.

Mike walked in the door next. He is a quarter Japanese. He has been in and out of Asia his whole life. He also is planning on staying here for life. He has not yet made his mind up whether he'll stay in Korea or go to Japan. I think he likes it here more, but knows there are more oppurtunities in Japan. He studied at The University of Chicago where he obtained his degree in International Business. He is also fluent in Korean and Japanese, so he has a leg-up on the rest of us.

Then came Aaron and Gina. Aaron is 24 and from Chicago. He went to The University of Chicago as well, but did not know Mike. They are of a different breed. Aaron studied Philosophy there and just recently signed another one-year contract. Gina is Aaron's girlfriend of nine months. She is Korean, but lived in Australia for ten years during her middle school and high school years. I'm not sure if I can tell whether her accent was altered by her time there, but I'll keep my ears open. These two have been very helpful so far. They have shown me around, called me a lot and kept me informed on what is going on. They are great people.

So we were drinking for a few minutes at Rhetts place while we were waiting for the rest of the people to get there. Rhett had given me a beer called OB. From what I hear it is like the Natural Light of Korea. Mmmmm right? They were drinking Cass. I prefer Cass to OB. So while we were drinking they kept on referring to another teacher who was on his way by the name "Nosey". I assumed they were referring to his nose and knew that it was a matter of time until the size of my nose became the topic of conversation. Sure enough, that came next. "Well, you might be competition for him." joked Joel. I didn't care. The size of my nose has always been something to joke about with friends. I'm glad that they felt comfortable enough to joke like that with me already. So in comes "Nosey", but his name is Dave Lohman really. He is from Pennsylvania and studied Music. He loves classical music and claims to have a beautiful baritone singing voice, but I have gotten to hear it yet. He sang at a wedding a few months ago. He was not proud of it though because he sang "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic. I'm not sure where he went to school, but he is on facebook, so I'll find out soon. Dave is the youngest, but only by two months. Next is me and then from there I'm not sure.

So the six us headed out to the bars, walking in the middle of the road and being loud as can be. We reached our destination. It was a local bar and restaurant filled with loud and drunk Koreans. I heard that these people were discreet and that might be true during the work week, but when that alcohol gets to them they get wild. The entrance of the bar was at the bottom of some steps. We walked up them, passing drunk and soon-to-be passed out Koreans. They were swaying back and forth and using the wall for support on their way down to the street. We found our way to our table and, without hesitation, ordered beer and liquor to the table. Next came rice, squid and some vegetable dish. Those of you who eat with me on a regular basis know that I don't really care for spicy food or really anything like that, so you can imagine my apprehension, but I didn't really have an option. The food came and was placed in the middle of the table. I looked around to see how everyone else approached it. I didn't want to make any errors. They grabbed their chop sticks and ate right off the communal plate in the middle. The drinks are communal as well. If you get a liqour of some sort it's in a bottle and you pour shots for yourself when you want. The beer is served in huge pitchers. Luckily, you get you get your own glass for that. The rice wine, which is white and served in what's called a kettle, is gross. If you haven't had it before I can't explain it to you. I will not be drinking that this year. The water is served in a dog bowl, literally. It's a metallic bowl that has ice and water in it. Everyone at the table shares it too.

So more teachers came as the night progressed. Ben, from Wales and Nate, from Ottawa slipped in during the course of the night. They are great guys as well. We stayed there until around 4:30 or so that morning and had a great night filled with arm wrestling, talking, arguing, shot after shot and much more. Dave actually passed out in the bar and Rhett decided to put his own underwear on Dave's passed out head which would be accompanied by an opened umbrella. Pictures were taken and when he woke up he laughed it off. We left at this point and most of us went home. I, however, continued on with Ben, Aaron, Gina and Jase (a korean teahcer) for a little more drinking and eating. I was suffering from jet lag and was not tired. After a couple more hours of beer and Sake at a Japanese restaurant we walked home. I did not know where I lived so Aaron and Gina walked me there in the early morning rain. On the way there, we came across a very well-dressed Korean man who was face down in the street, soaking wet, waving his phone around and yelling something that I couldn't understand. Later I heard he was put in a cab by the police.


My first night was a lot fun and these people made me feel good about what I'm doing. If I did not have them I'm not so sure I'd be able to do this. Of course, they are not comparable to my friends at home whom I love and miss...