Who's a Canadian pop star?

Work had ended and the evening was young. We had been planning to go to the sauna and relax for a couple hours before we went out, but since we all seem to get off work at different times we never got it together. Don't worry, I'll go soon and report back to you. Since the sauna was not happening, I left work and went home in hopes of napping for awhile. The night before was Liam's first night, so we were out all night. He's another new teacher from Wales. Unfortunetly, I did not get to nap and, shortly after arriving home, Mike called. He and Joel were getting a drink down the road from me and wanted to know if I wanted to come out. So I grabbed my things and started the short walk.

The night was really pleasant with a cool summers end breeze that always reminds me of football season at UT. The smell of fish was in the air as usual, but it was not as potent. We met on the sidewalk and weren't sure what to do. The rest of the group was not answering their phones, so it was going to be the three of us. Joel suggested we go to Gangnam. Gangnam is a wild place with way too much going on much like everywhere in Seoul. We flagged down a cab and piled in. Joel had bought a few beers while they were waiting for me to arrive, so we drank them in the cab. That's right, in the cab. People do that all the time here. The ride was short but neat. It was a new part of Seoul for me so I was wide-eyed. We arrived at our stop, paid the driver and started our walk to the bar.

This area is different than mine. My area is more geared toward older wealthy people with kids. This area was more like a college town. The woman wore some pretty racey clothes and all the men were trying to look pretty sleek. We manuevered our way through the masses and arrived at our destination. The bar was on the third floor. We marched up the three flights of stairs. Joel and Mike walked right in, but I was amazed as I looked out the open window. There were bars and hofs and restaurants and clubs everywhere. They were on all floors and all of them were swinging. It was quite a site to see people eating on one floor, people drinking in a bar on the next and then people dancing in the club on the top floor. Imagine a doll house with an opened face displaying each room. That's what it was like, except there were balconies and open doors and windows. I turned to walk in the bar, but foolishly pumped into a young Korean girl with the acne of a typical fourteen year old. I apologized and she laughed and walked in the door. The bar was called Woodstock. It was a small dark bar with very loud music playing. The walls were lined with records and cds. Dave Matthews Band was playing when I entered. The song was Don't Drink the Water. Not a bad song, but I really do not like Dave Matthews. The neat thing was that they had all Western music in stock and you could write down a song and if they had it, they'd play it for you. The three of us sat down and ordered a pitcher. Next to us were these two older Korean men. They were 36 and 41 and very friendly. They, too, were ready for a night of fun.

They introduced themselves with a round of drinks on them and that started our evening with these guys. One of the guys was talking to Mike a lot since Mike can speak Korean. He was telling Mike what he did, what his friend did and all the small talk basics. At one point, he looked over at me and then went back to talking to Mike. I asked Mike what that was all about.

"He thinks you're very hansome and is wondering if you have a girlfriend" Mike translated.

I looked at Mike with a disgusted look on my face.

"What!? Why would he say that to me?"

"I think he wants to set you up with his daughter" Mike replied.

I was relieved that was his intention, but still thought it to be a bit odd of an interaction. Now, the man switched seats with Mike and came over to discuss things further.

"Where are you from?" he started to say, but stopped.

He sat there for a second just looking at me. I didn't know what to do except smile and drink my beer to ease the akwardness.

Then he shouted, "You look like a famous Canadian pop star! Are you from Canada?"

I told him I wasn't from Canada, but thanked him for the apparent compliment. So the night continued. We requested awful songs and had a great time there, but soon the older Korean guys wanted to go eat and offered to pay for us, so we left the music behind, walked down the steps and followed them to the next watering hole.

We walked around for awhile. The streets were packed. There were huge screens on the buildings that were playing music videos. There was this one great one. It was this popular Korean pop-star and he was doing this odd dance on the beach, waving his arms around with these young girls throwing food products at him. It was a serious video too. I haven't grasped the apeall of K-Pop yet. I hope I never do. So we made it to the restaurant and I noticed it was one of the places with the small tables. That meant I got to take my shoes off. So we ate, drank and carried on until about two or so. I have put their pictures up on webshots.

I went home before the other guys did and was excited about the possiblity of good nights sleep.
I got in the cab, got out at Hanti station and on my walk home I asked a guy for a lighter. What happened next will be the next post. Nothing violent or anything, so don't worry.