After being here for a while and witnessing the daily stumblings of many Koreans, I realized why alcoholism runs rampant here. It's all about the food they eat.
All food here seems to be paired up with an alcohol. The most eaten is some form of Korean BBQ, there are a few varieties. What goes best with BBQ is soju, which is basically a weaker form of vodka. The thing is, that you don't mix or chace anything after taking the shot. And Koreans are famous for cheersing and telling you to take "one-shot", which means down it! So it's usual to go through many bottles of soju while eating dinner. By then you're well on your way and tend to just keep going.
The second famous pairing is beer and chicken. Koreans love their chicken! There are so many restaurants that sell just different varieties of chicken and nothing else. This is also the popular food at baseball games.
So, in addition to the food pairings is the fact that the bars don't have a closing time. So, while you're drinking and making merry the time flies by without you knowing. And by the time you look at your watch is 5am or you see the sun coming up. Then you stand up and realize how drunk you are and still have to get some sleep before going to work the next day.
I mean, I wouldn't know this through experience or anything (wink, wink). I'm also used to stepping over many piles of vomit in the morning on the way to school. It's funny but at the same time it's a little sad. But, I don't really know how different it is from back home besides the bars closing at 2am.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Daily Routine
I just thought I'd let ya'll know what my dialy life consits of now. First, I wake up in the morning somewhere between 11 and 12. I don't leave my bed yet and just play on the computer. I then get up, take a shower, make some food, get dressed and ready. I leave my house around 1:50 to walk to school. I show up at school and play on the computer for a 1/2 hour (technically that's my prep time). I start teaching at 2:30 and go until 8:30, except on Wednesdays when I teach until 9pm. On Mondays I teach 6 classes, Tuesdays it's 5, Wednesdays I have 7 classes, Thursdays I have 5, and Fridays I only have 4. When I finish class I walk back home to drop my computer off and to change. I then walk the one block to my gym where my trainer kicks my butt daily! Well, one of them is really nice and the other one we call Nazi! He actually laughs when we're shaking with pain and fall over from muscle cramps! After that it's home time to play on the computer again!
I know, my life is sooooo difficult! Working my butt off 6.5 hours a day! ;-) I do get a wrench thrown into the works every once in a while. Like I head to Ice Bar on Wednesday nights over in Chundam, which is actually in Gwangju but it's about a 30 minute drive there. You drink beer out of ice mugs and when you finish you throw them at a target for a chance for prizes. Then I stay at Mandy's so I don't have to pay the $10 taxi fee and can take a $1 bus in the morning. Also, Thursday nights are when Kristina and I head out to the local bars in our area and have a pitcher of beer and talk. It's really nice to get out once in a while and relax, because there is no relaxing on the weekends.
Weekends are packed full of fun! Usually I end up going out on Friday nights to forget my students and have a few drinks. I'm used to getting home at like 5-6 in the morning. However, I have gotten home at 11:30 before. Then I get a few hours of sleep before I have to head to Chonnan University area where I meet up for Korean Club. Where we drink coffee and actually have intellectual conversations. I know, you're supprised. Me too! Then afterwards we head out for dinner, noraebang, and the bar. Sundays are reserved for recovery time. So, as you can see, there is no relaxing time in my weekends even though it's free time.
However, things will slightly change once Korean class begins again Saturday mornings. I won't be heading out Friday nights anymore because I don't make it up in the morning. So, my life will be moving at a slightly slower pace.
Life here moves at such a fast pace compared to back in Wisconsin. Here, there is always something going on and it's always fun. I'm having a hard time saying no and picking things. Right now I'm excited and doing everything. I'm living life burning both ends of the candle. Might as well do it while I'm young, American standards because we all know I'm over the hill by Korean standards being 26/27 years old here!
I know, my life is sooooo difficult! Working my butt off 6.5 hours a day! ;-) I do get a wrench thrown into the works every once in a while. Like I head to Ice Bar on Wednesday nights over in Chundam, which is actually in Gwangju but it's about a 30 minute drive there. You drink beer out of ice mugs and when you finish you throw them at a target for a chance for prizes. Then I stay at Mandy's so I don't have to pay the $10 taxi fee and can take a $1 bus in the morning. Also, Thursday nights are when Kristina and I head out to the local bars in our area and have a pitcher of beer and talk. It's really nice to get out once in a while and relax, because there is no relaxing on the weekends.
Weekends are packed full of fun! Usually I end up going out on Friday nights to forget my students and have a few drinks. I'm used to getting home at like 5-6 in the morning. However, I have gotten home at 11:30 before. Then I get a few hours of sleep before I have to head to Chonnan University area where I meet up for Korean Club. Where we drink coffee and actually have intellectual conversations. I know, you're supprised. Me too! Then afterwards we head out for dinner, noraebang, and the bar. Sundays are reserved for recovery time. So, as you can see, there is no relaxing time in my weekends even though it's free time.
However, things will slightly change once Korean class begins again Saturday mornings. I won't be heading out Friday nights anymore because I don't make it up in the morning. So, my life will be moving at a slightly slower pace.
Life here moves at such a fast pace compared to back in Wisconsin. Here, there is always something going on and it's always fun. I'm having a hard time saying no and picking things. Right now I'm excited and doing everything. I'm living life burning both ends of the candle. Might as well do it while I'm young, American standards because we all know I'm over the hill by Korean standards being 26/27 years old here!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Booking Clubs
So, this is actually from a while ago but I've been too busy to type anything into my computer. Sorry about that.
Anyways.................................
In Korea what they call their nightclubs are actually booking clubs. So, you pay your basic fees for the table that includes a fruit platter and the amount of alcohol you want. I went with my Korean friend Gail and we went to a wiskey table and that's very expensive. It's the first level down from the VIP private rooms. So, for the bottle fo wiskey, 3 beers, 3 cans of tee, and the giant fruit platter it was $260. But, it was totally worth it. Since we were at an expensive table, we were brought to the rich boys' tables. Oh, I should probably explain a little better.
So, once you get your alcohol and have a drink all of a sudden a waiter comes up and grabs you by the arm and leads you to another table full of guys. You are then poured a drink by the guys and talk to them. If you like them you can stay, if you don't you can leave. So, it's kinda like speed dating.
Even though this club supposedly doesn't allow foreigners, which it said right on the door, I was immediately grabbed by the waiter guys so I quickly grabbed Gails arm as we were drug up past the hour long waiting line. I totally felt like a celebrity. Then we were brought to the awesome table. After that, because I was a white, light-skinned foreign girl I was really popular. I was brought to table after table, even though I can't speak Korean and they can barely speak any English. I still had the time of my life. We danced, drank, talked, watched the shows they had playing, and made merry!
At like 3:30am, which is very early for leaving the club we decided to make like a baby and head out. When we got to my area, we both got phone calls from two of the guys. So, they came to my area and we then went to another bar that was still open at 4am. We drank more soju, ate food, and ate some bugs. Actually, it's a deep fried silk worm called bundeggi. It just tasted like wet cardboard.
After we got kicked out of there at like 7am we went to my apartment and kept drinking. These Koreans are freaking champions!! I totally fit in with this crowd. So, it was a sleepover of 4 in my one room apartment. I was on the floor with one Korean and Gail stole the bed with the other Korean.
The funniest thing was that I was supposed to go to my coworkers wedding the next day at 11 but I totally missed it. I lied and said I was sick. Because I was actually full on drunk until 3pm the next day. Good thing that I only do this once every 4 months or so. It's a totaly marathon. You drink before you go to the club, where you start at like 8pm with dinner, then you go to a few bars, hit the club at 12am, and then drink until about 8am! That's 12 hours of drinking soju! Between Gail and I, we went through 6 bottles of soju and a bottle of whiskey in one night, well a half a day ;-)!
But, the point of the story is that it's a fun new experience and I'm meeting great people.
Anyways.................................
In Korea what they call their nightclubs are actually booking clubs. So, you pay your basic fees for the table that includes a fruit platter and the amount of alcohol you want. I went with my Korean friend Gail and we went to a wiskey table and that's very expensive. It's the first level down from the VIP private rooms. So, for the bottle fo wiskey, 3 beers, 3 cans of tee, and the giant fruit platter it was $260. But, it was totally worth it. Since we were at an expensive table, we were brought to the rich boys' tables. Oh, I should probably explain a little better.
So, once you get your alcohol and have a drink all of a sudden a waiter comes up and grabs you by the arm and leads you to another table full of guys. You are then poured a drink by the guys and talk to them. If you like them you can stay, if you don't you can leave. So, it's kinda like speed dating.
Even though this club supposedly doesn't allow foreigners, which it said right on the door, I was immediately grabbed by the waiter guys so I quickly grabbed Gails arm as we were drug up past the hour long waiting line. I totally felt like a celebrity. Then we were brought to the awesome table. After that, because I was a white, light-skinned foreign girl I was really popular. I was brought to table after table, even though I can't speak Korean and they can barely speak any English. I still had the time of my life. We danced, drank, talked, watched the shows they had playing, and made merry!
At like 3:30am, which is very early for leaving the club we decided to make like a baby and head out. When we got to my area, we both got phone calls from two of the guys. So, they came to my area and we then went to another bar that was still open at 4am. We drank more soju, ate food, and ate some bugs. Actually, it's a deep fried silk worm called bundeggi. It just tasted like wet cardboard.
After we got kicked out of there at like 7am we went to my apartment and kept drinking. These Koreans are freaking champions!! I totally fit in with this crowd. So, it was a sleepover of 4 in my one room apartment. I was on the floor with one Korean and Gail stole the bed with the other Korean.
The funniest thing was that I was supposed to go to my coworkers wedding the next day at 11 but I totally missed it. I lied and said I was sick. Because I was actually full on drunk until 3pm the next day. Good thing that I only do this once every 4 months or so. It's a totaly marathon. You drink before you go to the club, where you start at like 8pm with dinner, then you go to a few bars, hit the club at 12am, and then drink until about 8am! That's 12 hours of drinking soju! Between Gail and I, we went through 6 bottles of soju and a bottle of whiskey in one night, well a half a day ;-)!
But, the point of the story is that it's a fun new experience and I'm meeting great people.
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