A Night at the Nite and a Day at the Beach

I will be in Canada in about 36 hours - w00t! I'm currently at school for my very last day. It's kinda weird because I actually have no classes. So, to spend the time, I'm blogging and reading my book. Altogether not a bad way to pass the hours. I had two fun stories from weekends past, I'll start with July 6th:


A Night at the Nite


In Korea, nightclubs are simply referred to as "nite", pronounced "nah-ee-tuh". There's a famous nite in Gwangju called DongYang. It's enormous and the roof opens up. Carol and Riann both missed eachothers' birthdays earlier in the year, so they decided to have some fun together to make it up. Neither Carol nor I had ever been to DongYang, however Riann is a seasoned vet, so we thought it's be an adventure. Mel, unfortunately couldn't join us because she was leaving for Japan the next day. All in all, there were about 10 of us.


After getting pretty at the motel, we headed over to the nite. Dudes in suits looking very important were everywhere. According to HangBin, niteclubs have lots of power because they are run by gangsters, and I don't doubt it. The first floor had too many tables to count, a sizeable dancefloor (which we took full advantage of) and an enormous stage complete with an obscene amount of lights.


Our table was on the 2nd floor, which was built like a mezzanine so much of the 1st floor and the stage were visible. Naturally, it was ear burstingly loud, but whatever, it was worth it. We all danced the night away (almost non-stop from about 12-3am) which, in the end, did not bode well for those of us in heels. But hey! we looked sexy, right Carol?



The musical venues were also very different from what I am used to in Canada. Instead of a DJ off in a booth somewhere spinning sick beats, the DJ's here were very much a stage act. They would leave their turntables and dance and get the crowd pumped up. Our group of foreigners were relatively close to the stage, so we got mentioned by the DJs a few times. Over the mic, we were subject to questions "Where are you from?" and "What time is it now?" HA!


They also had a male troupe of strippers which Carol and I found quite amusing. They were taking themselves rather seriously while we were laugh and whooping delightedly. They were not strippers in the sense that they take their close off for money, it was more of a choreographed dance where they happened to systematically take off their clothes. They all had dragon tatoos of some kind adorning their torsos which, apparently, is a clear symbol of being a gangster. Personally, I think they're trying to make their skinny bodies look a little more fierce. *rawr* gentlemen, *RAWR*.


They never actually got nudey, with the exception of one dude. What happened was the main guy was gyrating at the front of the stage in what looked like a leather diaper, he finally stripped to reveal a fancy thong. Meanwhile, behind him, some other dudes brought out a large white sheet behind which another guy completely shed his knickers and started dancing. Shadows don't lie, my friends, he was flapping everywhere. And of course, in the end, they dropped the sheets and we got a glimspe of the family jewels for a second before the lights went out. awesome.


They opened the roof a few times throughout the night, and as cool as it is, it's also very practicaly as it let out all the smokey air the aerated the place a bit. As for the lights, I don't know too much about programming a light show, but I'm fairly certain there was a dial and it was set to "seizure inducing". I'm not complain, though, because doing the robot always looks better under strobe lights ;)

All in all, the night was awesome. I made it to sleep by 5am, which isn't so bad. My feet were mad at me for a while, but I sat down and gave them a talking to about sometimes having to sacrifice comfort for fashion. They begrudgingly ascented.
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A Day at the Beach - MudFest 2007


This past weekend, we took a roadtrip to Boryeong for their annual mudfestival. HangBin was kind enough to offer his car, so it was him and four ladies: me, Carol, Mel and her friends Drea who is visiting from Canada. We said "HangBin and his bitches" but he was slightly uncomfortable with that :D

After 3 weeks of cloudy skies and rain, the gods smiled upon us and offered us two perfect days of weather. It was clearer than it has been here in months, sunny and hot, hot, hot!


We arrived Friday night, had a few beers at the beach then headed back to our digs for the weekend. HangBin's borther's girlfriend (follow that?) works in Boryeong, so she offered up for apt for the weekend. nice!! (reason number #431 why Korea is awesome). The next day we headed out around 10:30 to get muddy. Once there, we noticed it was beer o'clock so we acquired some. After finishing the first drink, we decided it was time to get serious. We went down to the beach where there were table set up with buckets of mud and paint brushes. Within minutes, we were covered. Somehow, my handprints found their way into several bosoms and buttocks.

BERFORE

AFTER

HANGBIN AND HIS BITCHES

So, after mud wrestling for a while, we went back the beach to frolick in the ocean and de-mud ourselves (all the while with a beer in hand, naturally). A grumbly in our respective tumblies told that yes, it was about time to eat lunch. We indulged in over priced club sandwiches. Delish! We also thought it would be a good time to reapply the sunblock. But alas! the damage was already done. Scrubbing off the mud in the ocean also took off our first layer of sunscreen, then we lazed around the beach before lunch. The result: several lobsters. It's now 4 days later and I'm still a little pink in the shoulders...not good.

Anyway, the rest of the afternoon was spent lazing under the shade of a tiny tree and swimming. Once we realised our sunscreen folly, we were pretty sore and tired so we went back to our abode, showered and went out for dinner - Sam Gyeop Sal (Korean BBQ) - yummy!

I declined going back to the beach as I had, almost certainly, a touch of sunstroke. The other girls went out for a while. Apparently the beach was even busier at night time - wall to wall people. YIKES!

Anyway, I had a great time with my man and my ladies. Drea is pretty awesome, so I'm happy she came along. As I type, Drea and Mel are in Bali, draped on a beach, drink from a coconut. jerks. I think HangBin is slightly scarred, however from spending a weekend with 4 foreign women. poor guy.

If you want to see more pictures of MudFest and the Nite, click on the link to my Flickr photos!

To those of you in Canader...see you soon!!!

lately

I've been lazy reporting the haps...I'm sorry. The thing is, little things happen everywhere and I think "I should blog about it" and then I forget. I blame old age - not necessarily mine, but just in general - seems like a worthy scapegoat.

Anyway, here are snippets:

Matt's Live Music Party in Sajik Park!
On June 23rd, my good friend Matt held his second open mic night at a community center in a park in Gwangju. The weather was atrocious, but we were indoors so party on!

Now, for those of you who don't know the dude, I met Matt last year as he was part of the same Canadian Connection program. I basically instantly thought he was cool, but had no idea of the extent of his awesomeness. At the start of my second year here, he left, but quickly came back to start working at a Hagwon (private academy) in Gwangju (the big city). He is a very talented musician and in Gwangju found many things to inspire writing, composing and experimenting. Along his journey, he met all manner of aspiring musicians in Gwangju. There is a music scene available for electric rock bands, but he quickly discovered that there weren't many (or ANY) venues for accoustic musicians (and interesting breed of which he is a member). Instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, he decided to make himself a square hole. He's the type of guy to go exploring and along the way he has met some very interesting "off the beaten path" Koreans. One was a dude who runs a small community center and I believe also has a love for music. The community centre has a piano, drums, a stage and a noraebang machine. Thus the idea for his first live accoustic music party was conceived. His second of such parties was on a much grander scale and, despite the weather, was an enormous success. Matt hosted, playing the odd song here and there in between sets of other musicians who hailed from Gwangju as well as other areas in Jeollanamdo. Over the course of the night upwards of 60 people came and went. The sets were eclectic including folk, country, piano, instrumental guitar, and some good old classic rock. Not only was it fantastic to immerse myself in live music, but it's also great that these musicians now have an outlet for their talents beyond the living room.

I just want to say thanks to Matt. I've told you before, but here it is on the internet - you should be proud of what you're doing. You're opening doors and starting something in Korea that will hopefully go on for a long, long time!
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MBC TV...Look out!
While I was at my last teacher camp, the national TV station, MBC, visited us to film parts of the speech contest we held. I guess the English language program for Korean English teachers in Jeollanamdo is second to none in Korea, therefore worthy of national TV.

Anyway, after the Koreans did their bit, the foreigners were surprised with a short stint on TV. I happened to be the Head Teacher at the camp, so I was beckoned to the front to speak to the trainees. I asked what I should talk about - the answer was "everything". Awesome. Anyway, I went up and started yammering on about something. I think I gave my "no apologies" speech. Anyway, after about 2 or 3 minutes I ran out of material but the camera was still rolling. The director said "Just repeat what you said". aaaaahahahahaha!! sure, no problem. By the way, the second time through my speil, the camera was no less than 30cm from my face. distracting? mayhaps.

After that was over, some other instrustors and trainees were filmed while having a group conversation. contrived? possibly.

Unfortunately, I missed the airing because I was playing volleyball, but I heard I was on there for about a minute - nice!

The funniest thing was, about a week later, I was stopped outside the grocery store in lil ol Boseong where a woman grabbed my arm, stopped me and said "TB!!" it took me a second, but she was actually saying "TV". Huh, that's kinda cool...I was recognised by a stranger!
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Ways in Which I have Become Korean

• Korean boyfriend
• Regarding the above: I no longer feeling ashamed to wear "couple style", except for if I'm around other foreigners
• I answer negative question the Korean way (ie, I answer yes when in Canada, I would answer no)
• I burp whenever, wherever (it's liberating, and some of you may wonder "how's that different from before?)
• I crave spicy hot soup when feeling nauseous
• I pass things only with my right hand
• I bow when I first meet someone
• I suck air in through my teeth when I'm thinking about the answer to a question
• I say "unh" instead of "uh-huh" or "yeah"
• I say all manner of Konglish phrases including "Take a rest"
• I have, on occasion, taken a nap at my desk at work
• When kids are talking in my class I say "YAH!" to get their attention.
• When gesturing for someone to "come here" I do it Korean style - palm facing the floor
• I text message on my phone more often than actually calling someone

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I'm coming home a few days early!! Instead of July 22, I'm coming July 19th. w00000t! For those of you at home who read this, watch carefully and you'll notice my Koreanisms^^