UGH final catch up post!

OK I'm sick of writing about old stuff so this post will condense everything that happened up until now into one bite-sized update, easy for digestion.

Weekend number two in Seoul started with a bang. I worked devilishly hard the entire week so I played devilishly hard on Friday night. In fact, I would go as far as to say that night was entirely the work of the devil. Our usual entourage headed out to a mom and pop, shanty restaurant with really cool wallpaper to eat drink and be merry. This was to be my first night drinking soju, a characteristically Korean drink that resembles vodka except it is almost exclusively drunk straight and is horrifyingly abundant. After Charlotte left, it officially became boy's night, with Gord, Dio and I pouring drinks with complete disregard. Boy's night ended up becoming very very blurry and the next morning Gord and I were nursing some of the most wicked hangovers that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Soju is like the wild mustang of liquors; unpredictable, hard to tame and known to flip you over on your ass at any moment without any warning. Anytime you see a Korean businessman being helped into a cab at 9pm, it is most certanly the work of soju.

The cool restaurant with the cool wallpaper; the scene of the crime.

So anyways, Gord wrote off almost the entire next day, while I braved the sun and the flights of stairs and the crowds and went to Myeongdong with Charlotte. I had a Kraze Burger meal which was oh so delightful. I think I'm going to make a post in the future where I review all of the big hamburger joints in Seoul and comment on each. Stay tuned for that. Gord met up with us later and then him and I saw Watchmen while Charlotte went to do less manly things. On a side note, aside from a few qualms, I thought Watchmen was great!

Sunday we went to the zoo at Seoul Grand Park. Charlotte and I were pretty camera happy the whole time. We waited in the peacock zone for like, half an hour waiting for the peacocks to puff their feathers up so we could take a picture. The park was a good distance outside of Seoul and nestled in between a whole bunch of mountains. There was lots of walking up and down inclines, but the air was refreshingly clean. There were old ladies everywhere selling cups of boiled silkwork larvae as well, a "treat" with such a sickeningly characteristic smell that I cannot begin to describe. Koreans insist it's delicious, but I would be hard-pressed to try one, let alone invest in a whole cupfull of them.

Zoo pics.

When the weekend ended, I sighed at the thought of going back to school for a week, but it wasn't so bad. Really, the job had become almost second nature at that point. Any of the crap the kids would do to me just rolled off my back and was immediately forgotten by the time I punched out. They're so young and not invested in anything at all whatsoever, so I guess I learned something from them.

The week itself is pretty dreary. I hadn't invested in the materials to begin cooking at home so I ate out pretty much every night. There's a fantastic Japanese place near my apartment which serves all the comfort food I learned to love while I was in Tokyo like sushi, tonkatsu and tempura. Sometimes during the week I would meet with Gord and Charlotte briefly for dinner as well. However I should mention that absolutely no one eats alone at a restaurant in Korea, which is kind of frustrating. In Japan I would eat with all the other lonely businessmen at the food stalls, but here, eating alone, I feel like some kind of pariah. I usually pick out a quiet corner and try to sink in unnoticed. Being a foreigner already arouses enough stares anyways.

So yeah, other things I did to end my weekdays included, finally unpacking (yay me), reading my travel guides, listening to quiet music while staring at the wall and finally, heading to the PC rooms to catch up with the rest of the world. The people there came to know me pretty well, and it was less than a dollar and hour to use.

The next weekend eventually came and the three of us decided to spend an awesome Friday night at Home Plus, a 24-hour multi-story department store stopping for wares. It was the complete opposite of the previous Friday night and incredibly welcome. I picked up a toaster oven for about $20 as well as an ironing board and a really retro-future looking alarm clock. Gord and Charlotte got a huge amount of groceries.

Saturday Charlotte fell ill so Gord and I had a boys night and went to an FC Seoul soccer match. We were planning to just go to the World Cup Stadium and walk around, but there just happened to be a game on so we went in. And it's a good thing there was a game, because the stadium itself was kind of boring. The only funny thing they had was a "wedding zone" with chapels, a reception room and photo rooms. The chapels had TVs installed as well, no doubt for watching the game while giving your vows.

Anyways, Gord and I decided to root for FC Seoul because we were sitting in the home team section. They were playing Gangwon FC and it was pretty fun despite the biting cold. FC Seoul lost but I really didn't care because A: I was so cold and B: I really actually didn't care. Oh soccer! You and I have such a long, complicated history.

World Cup Stadium, like you needed a caption.



Gord and I getting into the spirit.

Game action.

Afterwards, Gord got a text message from his friend Min, to meet at Hapjeong station, a few stops up the line. I was expecting a night of dinner and drinks, but I wasn't expecting Min to lead me into a fully loaded practice space and have me drum for his band. Apparently Gord told him about me and how I was a drummer, and apparently he couldn't wait to meet me and see if I was interested in drumming for his band. So I gave it a go, and everyone was impressed, or at least satisfied with my playing. They practice one a week for about an hour, which seemed like a modest proposal, so yeah. I am now part of a Korean five-piece jam band.

After that we headed to Hongdae to cap off the night with galbi and conversations that ranged from deep and compelling to shallow and awkward. Boys night part 2 ended much better than boys night part 1, which I will forever use as the benchmark for how ridiculous a night can get.

Hongdae at night.

The next day I went to Hongdae with Charlotte to meet with two of her friends working for YBM in Daejon, a city south of Seoul. We went to the Bauhouse Dog Café, a place where you can hang out with a whole swarm of dogs while you drink iced tea. I had already seen pictures of this place on Charlotte's Facebook, but it was even more surreal in real life. Dogs of all kinds everywhere, running around, jumping up on tables, and the whole place smelled like pure piss. The bathroom there smelled better than the rest of the café. The dogs were hilarious though. We dined on tacos before bidding the visiting couple adieu.

So many dogs!

You can buy them treats of you like. They don't give you the time of day otherwise.

People can bring their own dogs if they like. This little guy was terrified of all the other dogs.

Eventually he came out and socialized.

This poor pup is too ugly and needs extra love.

Then it was back to the work week. This was the week I discovered wifi on my balcony, so I spent most of my evenings freezing my ass off, huddled on a lawn chair cursing my poor connection. By Friday I had right proper internet though. I also was shocked to find that not only had they installed the internet, but they brought me a TV that I had been bugging them about for a while, with cable! So now I have wacky Korean TV at my fingertips. My apartment is finally coming together and it won't be long before I post a video tour on here. It's still a bit far from an ideal state, but once I get a few things cleaned up and sorted out I'll have one up before you know it.

Also, I finally got a haircut. My hair was getting way way too long and was doing that wispy wave thing that has never been in vogue in any decade, so I went to a little shop near Gord's place. The guy gave me this total Asian do which, by itself looked pretty decent, but after he applied a generous amount of product to it, I looked like the sixth member of Big Bang. Pictures later, maybe.

The next weekend creeped up very quickly. Friday the trio of us went to a chicken and hof. Bars here are called hofs, and always have a neon HOF sign outside. Chicken and hofs are pretty abundant as well and satisfy two indulgences in one, fried chicken and ice cold beer. We ordered a pitcher of beer which looked like a mini cold fusion reactor as well as this delightfully tangy chicken dish.

Afterwards we hung out in front of a convenience store for an hour or so. I should mention however that convenience stores here actually encourage people to hang out in front and, as so, set up tables and chairs for customers to kick back and eat snacks and drink beer on. This particular Friday was also extremely mild (about 17 degrees), so it was perfect for maxing and relaxing. There were tons of college students doing the exact same thing as well so it made for a cheap night out at a bar, minus the actual bar. We had a blind taste test between 6 brands of beer so Gord and I could choose our favourite. Gord chose Hite while my drink of choice ended up being Cass. Great night! There was even an arcade right next to the convenience store!

Saturday, Gord and Charlotte both got sick (probably sick of me, right guys?), so I headed home. I was to meet up with Min for band practice at 6, but afterwards was up in the air. So I called up Myriam, who I knew from back in Ottawa, and we agreed to meet up in Hongdae at around 8. Until then I cleaned my apartment a bit and learned how to use the gas range. I also went to Hongdae early to walk around and take pictures before walking to Hapjeong. Band practice was good. I met the fifth member of the group, and we all learned an entire song start to finish. After that we all met up with Myriam and ate at a very characteristic-looking Korean restaurant. It began to pour at this time as well. I met a lot of her friends and stayed out until 11:30, a risky move, as Hongdae is really far from where I live and the trains stop running at midnight. I caught the last train home as well as the last bus home and both were sardine-can packed. The Saturday night Whopper stops I forecasted in my previous entry were right on the money.

Cool installations in Hongdae

The next day was spend cleaning and hooking up my TV.

AND NOW I'M CAUGHT UP!!!! Which is great because now I can finally blog about my day, the day it happens! Sorry this took so long. Keep reading and subscribe if you haven't already! Also, comments are much appreciated!

Till next time!