An Update

Hey all, I'm sitting in my office on a Saturday afternoon, watching the sun toying with the idea of peeping out from behind the clouds (psst, do it Mr. Sun, I dare you!) and waiting for a student to arrive. I had this same student two weeks ago, he books multiple classes on Saturdays and then usually only shows up to the last one. If he wants to ditch his last class... that would be okay... Er, I mean I huge hassle for me.... I'd get off an hour early and who wants that?!
Last night I went out for sam gip sal (I'll learn the spelling some day, maybe..) with the work gang and our new coworker. He's lived in Korea before so he brought a whole bunch of his friends and it was fun to meet some new people. Tyler and I called it early last night and I was home and in bed by 11:30pm.
Last weekend I was really spontaneous, I took an impromptu trip down to Busan because a friend from college was in Korea visiting one of their friends from high school. I'd been really wanting to get out of the city so a familiar face was all the incentive I needed. I'm actually really pleased with myself, I woke up Saturday morning expecting to bum around Seoul and after a quick phone call I found myself sitting on the KTX (Korean version of Amtrak) talking to my new friend Seong Jin about korean grammar as I watched the Korean countryside out of my window.
The KTX was great because I got to see a completely different part of Korea. Busan is on the southern coast, so I passed through almost the entire country. I saw farms and small cities, it was great.
For anyone trying to start conversations with Korean people, all you need is korean homework. I've never successfully studied my Korean on public transportation because as soon as I start looking at my flashcards, my neighbor taps my shoulder and asks me, "you're studying korean?!" I feel like one of those frat boys that takes a cute puppy to a beach and walks in near the bikini clad girls. Seong Jin and I ended up talking for the entire ride and he was humorously irritated when I told him I was visiting a guy.
"So... why are you going to Busan."
"To visit a friend from university."
"How do you know HER?"
"I know HIM from university."
(insert side eye) "hmph, him?"
Woah, woah, buddy we just met, a little ealry for the jealous card. The trick is to pretend you aren't jealous in the beginning and once you've roped me in, then you release the full-on crazy!
After I got to Busan I took a taxi to my friends-friends apartment. I have to admit my jealousy was rapant when I saw he lived in a nice, new, high rise apartment (grr) and then we took an elevator (double grr) up to his funished (ra!) and spacious studio (oh, thats it!). We went out and had some dinner at a restaurant that had bad service and the worst kimchi I've ever had. I don't know if Busan always puts salt in their kimchi, but I'm not a fan.
After dinner we jumped in another taxi (taxi drivers in Busan DO let five people smash into their cabs! score) and went in some direction to some part of Busan. Busan has a lot of really cool, tall buildings. In one of the bars we went to we were on the 14th floor with a beautiful view of the beach. It was nice to smell the ocean and breath fresh air for the first time in almost four months. We went all over the city, but I'm not sure exactly where. I was pretty disoriented being
in a new city, I'm still figuring out everything in Seoul!
(I'm not going to say who I was with because I really want to tell the next part of this story without incriminating anyone)
The next morning I was awaken by loud belligerent yelling at 8am. Two of the guys had burst through the front door yelling about the "damn casino" and all the "damn money" they lost. I doubled checked the clock, yes, it was 8am. We all yelled at them to be quiet, which onyl fueled the fire. One of them picked up a chair and threw it at nothing in the midst of the drunken rant. Then they decided that it was a great time to start blasting music, the beatles?
"You guys shouldn't be shushing us! It's his house! You should be asking us if we're okay... (pause and look at the guy on the floor) is there someone under there with you?" I look up. Yes. Someone had snuck a random girl into the apartment, and she was terrified. She probably had one of those is-this-really-happening-to-me moments. LOL.
Everyone eventually clamed down and we all went back to sleep and we got up to get "breakfast". I had some delicious kimchichige, it was the spiciest one I had ever tried. After breakfast we saw some of the hosts friends, one of which informed us that he had... purchased a lady of the night. A 24 hour one to be specific. um..... yep. Only in Busan right?
I got back on the train and started my long journey home. I had intended to study on the way back but I was so tired I just watched surfthechannel until my computer battery died. Crazy weekend, but I got a good story that I can retell for the rest of my life.