Friday, July 02, 2004
Nightlife on vacation
Last night I went out with KiSook and her friend (I can't remember her name off the top of my head). It was one of the worst "Bad Korea Days" that I'd had. I nearly left. So when I told KiSook that I was planning to leave, she said "come to the neighborhood where I work. We'll have dinner with one of my friends and have a good time before you leave." So I went.
We went to a restaurant and ate SamGae Tal, which is pork (I believe ... it's best not to ask), this mac daddy sauce, these vegetables with another mac daddy sauce and kimchi and lettuce. And we had soju. A LOT of soju. I had to make a stop to the bathroom to throw up at one point, which is pretty normal for Korea. You just go to the bathroom, puke up some kimchi, and then go back to the table and eat and drink more. Koreans, especially the men, learn how to walk drunk at an early age (Katrina made a Korean boyfriend, and he told her all about this).
Then we went to a noraebang where I was a shamefully enthusiastic participant. I think I did a couple of Guns N Roses songs, an Eminem song, maybe some REM, maybe some Simon and Garfunkle, and Paint It Black (twice, for some reason). The girls did mostly Korean songs. It was a lot of fun. I think that we were there for about an hour. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant and then I went home. I could only get halfway home on the subway before it close (yes, the f**king subway stops running around midnight), and then I had to try to get a taxi in the pouring rain.
The taxi drivers wouldn't pick me up because I wasn't Korean, and I almost got into a fight with one who refused to take me when he saw that I was "waygook" which means "foreigner." He was yelling at me in Korean and I called him "like a dog" which is the only korean insult I know. Eventually I got home, and Yun Jung talked me out of buying a plane ticket for 11am today.
Then tonight I went to see Katrina. She wound up with an extra ticket to the opening night of "Rent" here in Seoul. It was all in Korean, but it was still really good. We hung out, went to the show with the rest of the cast of "Cabaret" and then went back to the hotel. A few of us had a drink at the hotel bar, and I spent my time mostly talking to the bartender, who was Korean, in Korean. She said that she sees lots of waygooks, but none that could speak Korean.
Then it was time to get a taxi again. I got one, and the driver was pretty cool. We talked in Korean the whole time, and he even apologized for not knowing any English. I guess that he's 71 and a grandfather and has been driving a taxi for a while. We talked about food, and he was surprised when I told him that I love spicy food and kimchi chigae in particular. Koreans are always pleasantly surprised when you tell them that you like spicy food.
So tonight was pretty good. It was good to speak English and be understood.
We went to a restaurant and ate SamGae Tal, which is pork (I believe ... it's best not to ask), this mac daddy sauce, these vegetables with another mac daddy sauce and kimchi and lettuce. And we had soju. A LOT of soju. I had to make a stop to the bathroom to throw up at one point, which is pretty normal for Korea. You just go to the bathroom, puke up some kimchi, and then go back to the table and eat and drink more. Koreans, especially the men, learn how to walk drunk at an early age (Katrina made a Korean boyfriend, and he told her all about this).
Then we went to a noraebang where I was a shamefully enthusiastic participant. I think I did a couple of Guns N Roses songs, an Eminem song, maybe some REM, maybe some Simon and Garfunkle, and Paint It Black (twice, for some reason). The girls did mostly Korean songs. It was a lot of fun. I think that we were there for about an hour. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant and then I went home. I could only get halfway home on the subway before it close (yes, the f**king subway stops running around midnight), and then I had to try to get a taxi in the pouring rain.
The taxi drivers wouldn't pick me up because I wasn't Korean, and I almost got into a fight with one who refused to take me when he saw that I was "waygook" which means "foreigner." He was yelling at me in Korean and I called him "like a dog" which is the only korean insult I know. Eventually I got home, and Yun Jung talked me out of buying a plane ticket for 11am today.
Then tonight I went to see Katrina. She wound up with an extra ticket to the opening night of "Rent" here in Seoul. It was all in Korean, but it was still really good. We hung out, went to the show with the rest of the cast of "Cabaret" and then went back to the hotel. A few of us had a drink at the hotel bar, and I spent my time mostly talking to the bartender, who was Korean, in Korean. She said that she sees lots of waygooks, but none that could speak Korean.
Then it was time to get a taxi again. I got one, and the driver was pretty cool. We talked in Korean the whole time, and he even apologized for not knowing any English. I guess that he's 71 and a grandfather and has been driving a taxi for a while. We talked about food, and he was surprised when I told him that I love spicy food and kimchi chigae in particular. Koreans are always pleasantly surprised when you tell them that you like spicy food.
So tonight was pretty good. It was good to speak English and be understood.
