Home Away From Home

    How to explain Seoul. Let's see. Where do I begin? I suppose I should start with the basics because that is the foundation for any good story, right? Or perhaps I should start in the middle and work my way out? To be perfectly honest, it probably wouldn't matter where I started because this weekend's escapade was such a blurry, crazy mess that it really doesn't even make sense to me! But let's start from the very beginning, because according to the Sound of Music, it's a very good place to start............. (cheers to you if you catch that reference, by the way!)

    So. I teach English at Jidong Elementary and live in a studio flat in Woncheon-dong. I am literally the exact replacement for the western English teacher, Kate, who taught at the school from 2009-2010. She flew out of Korea the exact same day that I flew in. I am living in the apartment that she did and have the exact same job that she did. So knowing this is how it would be, she was kind enough to leave me a note with some useful information about my neighborhood and how to get around, etc. In this information, she left the phone number of another English teacher, Tighe (pronounced Ty), who works at a different elementary school in Suwon and said that he would be more than willing to show me around and introduce me to some other foreigners. (Now, when I say foreigners, keep in mind that I am in Korea, so the term applies to people who speak English. I would say Americans, but the truth is, not many of them are from America. Most are Canadian, some are British, and some are Australian.) Anyway, I decided on Saturday afternoon that I should give Tighe a call to try and make some friends and perhaps learn a little bit more about living in Korea. He was very nice and asked me to join him and his friends in Seoul that evening for a night out. I figured this was a great idea - a chance to get to Seoul with someone who's done it, meet some people, and get to see more of Korea. Well.... have you ever made a decision in your life and then once you were in the thick of the results of that decision, decided that you could not have possibly been more wrong? Welcome to my weekend. About halfway thru the subway ride to Dongtan, a neighboring city where we went to collect some of our group, Tighe casually mentions that when this group goes to Seoul, it is an all-night, into the morning, and possibly the next day kind of adventure. 

    "I guess I should have said that before.... I hope you're down," he says. 

    Mind you, we are now just far enough away from home that there is no way I can find my way back on my own. So what else do you do? Be cool. 

    "Sure!" I say. "I can hang." 

    Right. 

    So we got to Dongtan and met at the apartments where a bunch of Hagwon teachers live. They are all around 23 years old, all single, all been in country for 6+ months, and all ready to party.  

    Ok, Laurie. You look younger than you actually are. People tell you that all the time! You can pull this off. Just don't be an old lady and no one will realize they are jail bait in comparison to you! 

    Now, don't get me wrong.... All of these people were very friendly and very welcoming, but at the same time, very much lookin' out for Number 1, if you know what I mean (and I don't mean my principal). We hung out for a bit while the girls finished getting ready (and I got eaten alive by mosquitos!) and then we headed out toward the bus station to catch the next ride into Seoul. The bus ride is all kind of a blur to me because I got caught between the boys arguing over football stats and the girls complaining about how old they're getting and what are they going to do with their lives now that their time in Korea is half over and they might have to be serious for a change.  

    Play along, Laurie. 

    "Oh my God, I know! Doesn't it suck getting old???"  

    Geez I'm a fraud.

    When we pulled up in Seoul, the neon lights were so bright you would think it was noon at 9pm! The city was bustin'! I mean, just crawling with people - and foreigners at that! My entire time in Suwon, I have not seen one non-Korean face, not one, and now all of a sudden I was surrounded! It was like that bus had hit light speed while I wasn't looking and we had been warped to New York City! Except, no. I know that's not true because everything around me is still in Hangul.....
    Once we hit the pavement, we were immediately off to the bars. I was following as closely behind Tighe as I could because if I lost him, I was screwed. We scurried down a narrow stairway into a noisy, steamy bar packed with people. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow. I thought for sure this was the last time I would ever see my group, or home, again! But somehow I managed to pull through and come out on the other side still with most of the group. The thing is though, when I say most of the group, that is exactly what I mean. Most. Not all. Some people just got left behind I guess because we moved right on to the next place and never looked back. 

    What?! They just leave people?! Oh no. I'm done for! Ok. Game face, Laurie. GAME FACE! Just. Don't. Lose. Them.

    The next bar was much the same, loud, bumping music, hot, sweaty air, and people everywhere! If you weren't pressed up against someone, you were taking up too much space. Everyone was dancing and drinking and smoking (Oh that's right! I almost forgot to tell you! Yeah, you can just smoke wherever you want. Crowded or not crowded, just light one up and if you ash on someone, too bad for them!) So as if trying to keep an eye on the group, trying not to be stepped on, and trying to look like I was having a good time wasn't enough, now I had to dodge the burning hot cherries that were whizzing past me from every direction!

    That's it. I am too old for this ish!

    Long story short, I spent the evening trying to keep my eye out for my group and avoiding the creepy Korean guy with really bad breath who kept asking me if I "like-ah the dance." (What?!) By the time everyone finished dancing, we waited for one of the guys to haggle with the police to keep himself from being arrested, we watched an inebriated, passed out Korean girl get dragged out of the club and down the street by some guy, we found the girl whose apartment we were staying at, they binged on street food, and we made it through the wild taxi ride home (I am completely tired, irritated, and painfully homesick by this point) it was about 4:30am. All I wanted to do was sleep and so finally, at the girl's apartment, I quietly curled up on a couch and didn't wake up until about 10am on Sunday. Two hours later, they were up and ready to go get something to eat (finally!) and after that they wanted to hit up another bar. This was the point at which I put my foot down.

    No. I'm going home! I haven't showered. I'm tired. I stink. Now it's raining. And I'm worried I might never get back if I stay with you people!

    So somehow I weaseled my way out of the next bar scene and got Tighe to give me subway directions. Once I got there, I was on my own and soaking wet from the rain, but it turns out everything on the subway is in English as well as Korean so it was very easy to maneuver. It took me about an hour to get home and let me tell you, I never thought the sight of busy little Suwon, 6,000+ miles from San Diego, could feel like home, but wow did it ever! I can tell you, I am sure that Seoul is amazing to visit (if you go with the right people and see the right places) but as for somewhere to live, for now I have never been more glad to be in Suwon.

   And so... Goodnight, Moon! I know that somewhere you are gazing down on all my loves back home. I hope that they might look at you and see me too....