A wild weekend...

Most Koreans (and foreigners living in Korea) work hard during the week and play hard on the weekends. This weekend was no exception. It is currently 7pm in Korea and I feel like I could still use another day to rest and recover from the events over the last few days. I began the weekend a little early on Thursday night going out with some foreigner friends for dinner. We had galbi (I think its called). It is some sort of meat cooked over hot coals like a bbq. They cook it right at your table which is pretty cool. After it's cooked, you put a variety of vegetables and sauce on the meat and wrap it in a leaf (yes that's right, just like the kind you find on trees) and eat it. It is a very big meal with many dishes and we of course we had to enjoy some drinks with it. Again, I am very impressed with the Korean cost of living as the whole meal including drinks cost 10,000 won (~$10) each.

I officially finished the workweek on Friday at 8pm. Shortly after that, it was off to the Deep In; one of the foreigner bars in Jeonju with my foreigner friend Frasor and my Korean co-worker Christine. While there, we were able to discuss the ups and downs of the past week with the other foreigners, most of whom are teachers as well.

Originally, we had planned to make it a short night in preparation for the following night. But when the bar decided to close at 330am, there was a small contingent of people who wanted to keep the good times rolling and I was among them. It was decided that we could go to a norebang (Kareoke room). So we left the DeepIn and as we walked to our new destination, made a pitstop at the local 7/11 to stock up on some more beverages. The norebong is much different than a typical North American kareoke room. It is a large area with many different rooms. So we rented out a room for a nominal fee and we were able to choose our own songs and sit on some very comfortable couches. It was a very cool kareoke experience since there was a room of 15-20 of all people you know.

I didn't look much at my watch for most of the night, but when the night came to an end I was surprised to see that it was already bright out. It turned out to be 7am by the time we left the norebong. So much for a short night...

After what felt like a very short sleep, it was time to get up and go to a BBQ at my coworker, Betsy's house. After getting lost due to miscommunication between the taxi driver and myself (that's all I am going to say about that as I am still angry about it), I arrived just in time to meet my friend Fraser and his girlfriend Emily to go to the Jeonju world cup stadium to watch some K-League soccer (the top league in Korea). The best seats were only 8,000 won (~$8). We saw our home province Jeonbuk Hyundai against Seoul. It was an exciting match that started with the homeside going up by one in the first half. But Seoul came back in the 2nd half with 2 consecutive goals. The end of the game was very exciting. Despite our team losing, they came very close.

This is a picture of the field from where we were sitting. I took it with my cell phone camera. It is a better quality picture than I expected. We were very close to the sideline. At one point, there was a yelling match close to us. If we could understand Korean, I'm sure we would have known what they were talking about.

It was a very fun experience at the game. Behind each goal were the hardcore fans of each team with drums, dances and chants. They were fun to watch. Another nice benefit to living in Korea is the difference in stadium food/drink prices. I was shocked to find out that one of those tall cans of beer was 2,000 won (~$2). So I had to take advantage of that.

When the game finished, we returned to Betsy's rooftop BBQ to tell of our soccer experience and enjoy some very good western BBQ food (hamburgers, hotdogs, etc.) We got into the soju (Korean rice liquor) again and things got a little crazy. We found some kind of metal chute up on the roof and decided to put it to use. So we would pour soju into one end and hold it up on an angle so it could be received by the other person at the lower end. I think the metal gave the soju a nice kick. After much more of the same it was yet another late night. Today is my recovery day as I haven't left nor plan to leave the house. I am happy to report that starting tomorrow, my overtime at work is done. As opposed to starting at 10am as I have been doing up to this point, I will start at 1130. I can't complain about that. It allows for a nice sleep in. Next weekend, I will be purchasing my scooter so that should make for a fun-filled weekend!