Goodbyes

I hate saying goodbyes. No matter who it may be directed to, even if its just a short good bye, I do not like them.

I've been here for exactly three months now and in those three months all three teachers I have started with have left. I'm starting to realize that teaching here is an odd cycle of Hellos and Goodbyes. As contracts end, people either move back home or move to another city to teach. You have to say goodbye to those who become your close friends and family here, and those who may never see again. At the same time you also say hello to new people who you will become close with... until your time comes. Weird.

This is my sentimental thought of the day.

On a happier note, it's Friday! Last day before break! I'm going to Seoul tomorrow for New Year's Eve! The next morning I am flying into Bangkok to begin my Thailand/Laos vacation for 2 weeks! WAHOO!

"Poop Needle"

Do you even want to know what a poop needle? Oh yes you do.

Korean kids have a silly little prank they like to pull on people, especially their foreign teachers. This is called "dong chim", and it translates into "poop needle" which is a pretty accurate translation. The "dong chim" is performed on any unsuspecting victim, male or female, child or adult. A prime target will be (a) bending over, and (b) concentrating on something else. The mischievous party will clasp his or her hands with the index fingers extended – the kind of motion you might make to mime shooting. And then, dear reader, they will ram those fingers right up your arse.

I have heard that when students perform this magical act on you it means that they like you and are comfortable with me. I wish they would fear me instead.

Some websites to read more about dong chim:
Beware the Dong Chim!
World's Longest Dong Chim (something I hope to participate in if I am lucky enough)

Merry Christmas!

Wow. I am a big loser. Yes, I made my own Christmas card, yes I used a timer, yes I also used a tripod, and yes I photoshopped a snowflake border. I also don't seem to have a problem with taking self portraits of myself. This is incredibly embarrassing, but I love Christmas so much I just had to do it. Special Christmas shout out to the de Mira Family, you're amazing and I wish I could be home to celebrate with you and watch The Sound of Music and sing karaoke until the wee hours of the morning. I also wish I could stuff my face with the my favorite "hat cookies" as I like to call them, better known as peanut butter blossoms. Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

메리 크리스마스

Rubber Soul in Seoul

In Seoul a couple weekends ago, there was an event called Rubber Soul which is associated with World AIDS Day, and is organized by Little Travellers and Medipeace. It's a charity event that had over 20 bands spread out in 6 clubs. It was a lot of fun for a great cause. It was also an introduction to some amazing/interesting Korean artists.

At Club Freebird we saw WAGWAK, Demian the Band, and Yamagata Tweakster. Everyone needs to check out Yamagata Tweakster. He is this man who does his own electronics from his laptop, wears crazy outfits, sings to his own songs and dancing (by singing I mean more like chanting, and by dancing I mean touching himself).

Later, we caught Rock Tigers at DGBD, who were amazing! They totally rocked it and the lead singer is amazing and I totally have a girl crush on her. We also got to meet some of the band members after the show which was sweet.

Here's a link to another person's blog who took great pictures of the event, and some of the pictures include myself and some friends! http://theremaybemore.blogspot.com/2011/12/rubber-s.html

Yamagata Tweakster

Rock Tigers

Apparently this guy is a legend in the Korean music community

Connor with the lead singer of Rock Tigers

Music Monday

I always catch my co-teacher, Fathima, listening to Indian music so I've been itching to listen to some too. Here is one she recommended to me.

I love it. Doesn't it make you wish your life could be an Indian music video for a day? Or even a Bollywood movie for a day? In my dreams. 

Snow in Inje

It snowed! My first beautiful snow in Inje. It was beautiful and wonderful and amazing and now it's all melted and gone. Cross your fingers it snows again for Christmas. Otherwise my first Christmas abroad will turn into my first Christmas without snow which will make me sad.

Shameless self portrait

The day it snowed was also the day the Inje English Village staff went to Chuncheon to pick up the new English teacher. I would like to start my story by saying this: Koreans are scary drivers. Yes, that is stereotyping, but I have first hand experience driving inside many cars with Koreans and it is terrifying. Even outside of the car, on the street, I am scared. Well in the snow, Korean drivers are even scarier.

On the way back to Inje, we were in a left lane behind a police car and there was an ambulance in the right lane. Next thing I see is the ambulance swerving right in front of us, into our lane, then swerving the other way and crashing into side-rail. It was absolutely terrifying. Five minutes later we saw two cars on the side of the road. I don't think they got any assistance as soon as they hoped.

Tony and "downtown" Inje. We are probably 2 of the few people who were excited for the snow

Artsy Fartsy with my smartphone

Yoga Class

As I've mentioned before, I've started taking yoga classes during my time in Korea. Yes, I still think it's weird too, as I am a skeptic of the art of yoga. Well let me share one of my more interesting yoga classes with you.

Usually I have yoga on Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings, however last Wednesday our working schedule changed so Fathima and I had to go to the evening yoga class on Wednesday. I kind of wish we just didn't go.

We went in and it was all full of ajummas (아줌마). Ajummas are defined as older women above the age of 40 years old. These ajummas in my class were in there 60s and some probably in their 70s. "Oh great" I thought, "now I won't be too embarrassed with my nonexistent flexibility with these old women." Man was I ever wrong. They were the most flexible women I had ever seen! I bet if they wanted, they could have kissed their own butts. If it were the 2008 Olympics, and there was a competition on strictly flexibility, these women would give Nastia Liukin a run for her money.

To make matters worse I was dragged to a mat in the front of the class. Why? I don't know. I truly despise being in the front of a group of people (yes, I struggle with this when teaching too). It was pretty embarrassing, but I'm sure comical for everyone behind me.

To make matters even worse there was a strange man videotaping and taking pictures of our class during my yoga struggle. Why was he there? I don't know.

Even more embarrassing was the when I stayed in the same position without realizing that we have moved on. And everyone laughed. In my defense, the instructor speaks in Korean (obviously) so when my eyes are closed and she tells us to change positions, I have no idea. I guess I was just really in the zone.

Namaste, my friends

Music Monday

I've decided to start a new tradition on my blog. "Music Monday." As my adventure teaching in Korea continues, I am introduced to a lot of different music. New, old, good, bad, Korean, American. Anything that tickles my fancy, and anything I feel like sharing with you.

Here is a song I am currently obsessed with. I have been listening to it since I first arrived and I am in love. I listen to it when I wake up, when I walk to school, and during my routine one woman dance party. Enjoy. Shout out to Connor who introduced me to this song.

Ukulele Time!

This may come as a surprise for those that know me, but I have dabbled with a ukulele, and even had one before my quest in Korea began. However, silly me left it at home. But ho! I bought a more beautiful, better quality one in Korea and I am in love. Now I just need to name my new uke...

My beautiful baby

If you're looking for a ukuele, or pretty much any musical instrument or music related equipment in South Korea, I highly recommend going to Nagwon Arcade in Seoul. The Nagwon Arcade is pretty much a giant mall dedicated solely tp musical instruments or equipment. It has two floors and with over 200 stores in the mall you'll surely find whatever you're looking for. It is music heaven!

I initially went in set on purchasing a tenor ukulele. However, after several shop visits I realized a tenor ukulele was out of my price range and not recommended for a beginner. One shop in particular was very helpful. The guy who helped me was honest and told me his favorites. While comparing Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian ukuleles he admitted that even though it's the most expensive, the Korean made one wasn't the best. Gasp! (To Koreans, anything that is Korean made is the best.) When I finally made the commitment to a concert soprano I asked how much a case was and this clever guy responded "We are in Korea, not America. It is free!" He even included a tuner and an extra set of strings. Whatta guy! This wonderful, amazing, super helpful shop is called Acoustic Guitar. Their website is http://acousticgt.com/ and it has their exact location and phone number. All I remember was that it was on the second floor, in a corner, near an outside exit.

The Nagwon (Nakwon) Arcade can be tough to find. Getting to the correct subway exit was an adventure. The best way to get there would be to take the blue, orange or purple line (1, 3, or 5. I took the purple line) and exit at Jangno 3(sam)-ga. I looked for exit 4 and it was a maze to get through. When I got out it was the left, across for the street. Look for a bank, then look for a large staircase, then head up to the second floor and let your musical fantasies begin!

Here is another link that will help you find the building: Nagwon Arcade

Good luck my friends!

An American Thanksgiving in Korea

This was my first Thanksgiving away from home and away from my family, so I was a little concerned that I would be really sad and slip into a mild depression and then eat a lot of chocolate to make myself feel better. However, there was a lovely "American Thanksgiving" feast planned in a neighboring town, Wontong.

Digging in to the delicious food

There was a lot of fun, a lot of food, and a lot of togetherness that was shared. It was wonderful. The only think that was missing was the turkey.

Gathering around the feast

There was mashed potatoes, a vegetable stew, some chicken, pork, a South African desert, bread, and many other things that everybody brought.

Sam (the wonderful host), Ashley, Fathima, and Josh

The boys being "cute"

My first Thanksgiving abroad was a success; the turkey wasn't missed as much as I thought it would be, I was surrounded by good company, and I later slipped into an amazing food coma, but I did miss my momma's mashed potatoes. 

It's Official!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally received my Alien Registration Card. I am now an official resident of South Korea, at least for the next 12 months.

Wahoo!

Now that I have my ARC card, I can leave the country, which means I can plan my winter vacation, which means I was too antsy and bought my ticket immediately, which means I'm going to Laos for 2 weeks by myself! I am so pumped. I'll be meeting up with my friend Tony about halfway through my trip, so that should be fun. I'm really looking forward to the beautiful scenery Laos has to offer and the warm weather! Yummm.

Other updates on my life? I started taking yoga classes, weird I know. And the other day I unknowingly ate raw octopus, and yesterday I ate more raw fish, freshly picked and cut from the tanks outside the restaurant. Raw fish is interesting. And really chewy. And that's all I have to say about the matter.

2 teachers + 250 students = no class!

Desk Warming. Quite possibly one of the most underrated things ever.

In the Korean public schools, there's a term called "desk warming". It's when the teachers still have to come in during Winter or Summer break even though there are no students. This is a norm for public schools, but luckily my hagwon gets a full week of desk warming due to our lack of staff.

Since Johnlyn just left, and her replacement doesn't come until the end of the week, and it is just me and my co-teacher Fathima, our director decided to simply cancel all classes for the week. It is amazing! Two hours in, and I have already finished all my work for the day, what to do, what to do.

Any suggestions on what do to with all my free time at school?

If you're ever desk warming, here's a post with some ideas to help you pass the time: The Joys of Desk Warming in Korea

Below Zero Camping in Inje

Camping in November in Minnesota? Crazy. Camping in Inje in November? Crazy. And almost as cold.

Setting up the massive circus tent

Kevin organized this camping trip, with the help and equipment of his boss. His boss had a massive tent that could easily fit 10 people and sleeping bags and sleeping mats for all eight of us. He even provided chairs, tables, lanterns, a grill, firewood, all the basics needed for camping.

The ginormous tent almost all up

The boss has this huge tent that we all slept in. It was one of the biggest camping tents I have ever seen. When it was all set up tt looked like a circus tent, with a pole in the middle and everything. Ideally, I think this tent could have fit up to 13 people.

Trying to stay warm by the fire

Deep conversation whilst camping

It was your typical camping extravaganza, but better because I was in Korea. Ashley and Adrian prepared grilled cheese sandwiches and a stew. We sat around, drank some beer and played some games. It was a very relaxing camping trip. The only thing that was missing were s'mores. Two of my students, Helen and Rose, were even there for most of the night (their mom is one of Kevin's nurses).

Cooking Day: Chicken Tortillas

At the Inje English Village, everyday Friday is cooking day or market day. I have yet to experience a market day, but I want to share the interesting Korean twists that exist with some foods that we make.

Today we made Chicken Tortillas. The basics were there: chicken and tortillas, but then it got a little interesting. We started with the tortilla and spread a spicy Korean chilli sauce on the surface. Next we added lettuce, cucumbers, apples, and chicken. The final touch? Korean mustard sauce. It wasn't bad, just interesting.

Class 3 enjoying cooking class

Koreans like to add unique things in non-traditional Korean food. In the past we made Cheese Canapes. When making the cheese canape, we started with a saltine, spread whipping cream, added a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. Oh that's not all. We also added an apple slice, spread strawberry jam on top of that, and topped it with a chocolate chip. It was an explosion of different flavors and there are no words to describe it's unique taste. Koreans also add corn to almost all pizza, but I actually enjoy this quirk.

A Korean chicken tortilla, sans mustard sauce

My Life As A Waygook, Episode 1

This is an accurate portrayal of a situation I am sure every English teacher in Korea has found themselves in. Those who have not taught in Korea, you may not find it as funny as the rest of us do. This is also pretty offensive, so to any Koreans who watch this, I apologize.

Those who enjoyed this video, should watch related videos in the same cartoon format to get a better understanding of life as an English teach in Korea.

Also, my boss just told me I have old man shoes. But she said that "it's okay". I'm glad I have her permission to wear my old man shoes.

English Names

Since our school is an English Village, our director wants the students to have English names too. Sometimes we let them name themselves, or the other kids name them. I've tried to name them after my friends or people I know, but they don't seem to like and of my friends' names.

Some common names are Lily, Ben, James, Abby, Daisy. I've noticed the girls liked names with two syllables that end in an "ee" sound. Some less common names are Pink, Spike, and Liam. Yesterday I named a new student "Jerry", the other students chose and voted for that one. I don't think he had a clue to what was going on.

My absolute favorite names are Dinoking and Lurker. I think it's safe to assume a teacher did not name those two. There's also a kid whose name is Ben, but he insists on being called 'Ben UFO' and will always add the 'UFO' to his name tag even if I ignore him.

Andrew's Going Away Party

Andrew left. As his replacement he was a big help to me, showing me where things are, introducing me to people, and he is a fellow Bulldog alumni, so it was nice to have someone from home around. His going away party was awesome. Definitely one of my favorite nights in Inje. Didn't go to sleep until past 6 AM.

Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, instead of babbling on like I usually do, I will use some photos of the night to break down his  farewell festivities.

At the one and only Jjokki Jjokki

Speech time

Norebang time!

Connor getting ready for his big debut

Norebang

So happy

I've compiled a list of things I guarantee you will miss about Korea:

• Kimbap Cheonguk. More specifically Chamchi jjigae (nomnomnom)
• "Teacher, why?"
• Korean socks
• Jjokki Jjokki
• Luigi's voice and Harry crying
• K Pop
• the phlegm of Korean men and the sound they make when clearing it out
• the luscious Inje mountains
• Kawi bawi bo!

Good bye Andrew Teacher! Miss you and I hope you're adjusting well back in 'Merica!

Confessions of a Girl in Korea, Episode 1

So I have a confession. A big one. So prepare yourselves people. When I first got here, I did not like it. I  Inje. I didn't like teaching. I hated kids. I didn't like my small town life. I didn't like the fact that there is no English anywhere. I hated everything. I missed home and my family and friends. I even missed my old serving job (GASP).

However, this past month, I finally realized how much I truely enjoy my life here. I've finally developed my own style and technique of teaching and I get so much joy when a kid answers something correctly. I still don't really like children but I've accepted that fact a long time ago. Inje is really small, but I've been to bigger cities over the weekend and it's nice to come back and relax in my sleepy town. I am rarely homesick, because now Korea is my home; there are great people who have become my friends, my apartment is super small yet cozy and homey, and my boss has been like a mother to me here.

Sorry for the sap, but this concludes my first confessional blog.

Here's some K Pop to lighten the mood.

That One Time I Went to North Korea

So I went to North Korea. It was pretty cool.

I took a tour with Tony and Andrew that brought us to various sites involving the spat between North and South Korea. In all honesty, I thought it would be kind of boring, and I was pretty hungover so I wasn't all that excited at 8 AM, but it was surprisingly. It was really interesting to hear about the history between the two Koreas and it also kind of explained their animosity towards foreigners.

Me and Tony being tourists

Koreans being Koreans

Our first stop was at a Korean museum where we saw exhibits depicting how the border between North and South came to exists. We also saw a video that discussed the early conflicts between North and South, and the discovery of the tunnels that the North created to sneak into the South.

The Third Tunnel of Aggression

Our next stop was the Third Tunnel of Aggression. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but my stealthy self managed to take a couple. We had to wear helmets and walked about 300 meters underground (the uphill walk was brutal), and walked through almost 2 kilometers to the end. The walk was long and claustrophobic. I almost didn't make it. We had to walk hunched over most of the time, and it was dripping with water. When we reached the end of the tunnel (or as far as we could walk) we were only 150 meters from North Korea! That's probably as close as anyone could get. It felt pretty cool. I hope there were some North Korean soldiers who heard me yelling "Hey girl hey" at them.

Going Out in Hongdae

I love Hongdae. Hongdae is amazing. I want to live in Hongdae. Did I mention I love Hongdae? Okay, I probably just took it too far, but I really did enjoy myself in Hongdae and I definitely wasn't in Inje anymore.

One of the streets of Hongdae

Hongdae is this area in Seoul that has a bunch of different bars and clubs. Most are open until 6 AM so that people can party all night and just catch the subway in the morning (the subway closes at 1 AM, I think). It was pretty cool walking around with the streets just full of people, foreigners and Koreans, and the people are all within the same age range (my age range). It was an amazing change from my Inje nightlife: walking alone in the quiet streets, passing a man who drank too much Soju peeing in the side of the road, the occasional car driving by, on my way to Jjokki Jjokki, where the bar is never full, to meet my fellow foreigners.

11-11-11

Every November 11th in Korea, it is Pepero Day. This year, the date being 11-11-11, it was the ultimate Pepero Day.

Clara loooooves Pepero Day

From what I understand, Pepero Day was invented by the company who makes them because the date 11-11 looks like pepero sticks. Here's a short background on the joyous day: Pepero Day according to Wikipedia

One of my students actually knew how to spell my name correctly

Pepero Day felt a bit like Valentine's Day; the kids give each other pepero, and even I got a lot of pepero, enough to last a long time. The peperos were the first gifts I got from my students.

How To Get A Korean Boyfriend

This is pretty hilarious, and probably accurate. This is also gives good reasoning why Korean girls act they way that they do.

Enjoy!

Screen Golf in Korea

As lame as it sounds, screen golfing is awesome. It's just like it sounds: golfing in front of a large screen. Virtual golf, if you will.

Laughing at Zaaid

There were seven of us total: me, Tony, Andrew, Ashley, Adrian, Zaaid, and Debbie, and we got a room to ourselves that had a table and some chairs, and we brought our own beer and soju inside with us. It was a lot of fun and you can even golf St. Andrews course, and it videotapes you playing so you can check out your own swing after each stroke. Our game took forever with only 9 holes. Needless to say my 4 years of golf in high school didn't help me at all in screen golf.

Ashley was offering free dance lessons during our screen golf sesh

Apparently screen golf is a big deal in Korea and Korean take it very seriously. I've heard that to golf on an actual golf course in Korea is quite expensive, an 18 hole round can cost around $400. Yikes.

Getting tested in Chuncheon

In Korea, all English teachers have to go through a series of tests before getting their Alien Registration Card, ARC card. Last Monday I finally went to Chuncheon to take care of all this. It was an interesting and traumatic experience.

I went to Chuncheon with my director, Erica, and Andrew. The weirdest part about this was that everything was done out in the open right next to the lobby. I first got weighed, and then the nurse measured my height. She also measured my boobs, not my hips or waist, just my boobs which I thought was really weird. I also got tested for my eyesight and hearing.

Then came the blood test. I have never had blood drawn from my arm before, just simple finger pricks which are bad enough. For those that don't know me, I am terrified of needles and blood. TERRIFIED. Especially needles. Just thinking about them sends me into panic mode. As soon as the doctor took out the tube and the needle and started checking my arms for an appropriate vein to poke, frenzy ensued; the shaking started, the tears slowly started to form. Did I mention this was all in the open next the hospital entrance?

I won't go into the gory details of the blood draining, it was not pretty. Tears and snot were dripping down my face. When the doc finally decided he took enough of my blood he chuckled at me and told me to hold the cotton on my arm. Whew. It was over.

NOT. Crazy vampire doctor wanted more of my blood.

He was searching my other arm for a suitable vein and he couldn't. I thought I was safe. NOT. He shoved a needle in the backside of my hand. I just about passed out. It hurt, it was awkward, and I was miserable. And then, it was finally over.

After the blood, came the pee test. I had to carry my cup of urine through the lobby for everyone to see which was gross yet kind of funny.

Last was my chest x-ray. That wasn't bad except for the fact that while waiting in a hall full of Koreans my director thought it was hilarious that I cried during my blood test and was telling everyone in the hallway. She also kept calling me "cry baby".

As miserable as this encounter was, it makes for a great story. As I look back, even though it was awful, it was pretty amusing and I was laughing during my blood test because I was so embarassed. So I hope you all enjoyed my tale of anguish.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November

Welp, thanks to our house Kiwi, we celebrated Guy Fawkes Night in South Korea.

What is Guy Fawkes you ask? Why let me have my friend Wikipedia help you:

An annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.


Here are some pictures of our celebrations on the river's edge and in the Inje tunnel...

Fire is fun

K-Water's 3rd English Contest in Daejeon

This last weekend 16 of our students competed in an English contest sponsored by K-Water. The contest had other English Villages that are funded by K-Water. There were about 200 kids total representing six different provinces around Korea. The three different categories were Skit, Speech, and Golden Bell (vocabulary test). I have never been more nervous/excited/anxious/happy/proud in my entire life. This weekend was also the weekend when I truely realized how much I care about these kids and their well being.

All 6 provinces represented by about 200 students

We left for Daejeon on Friday, and finally reached the K-Water Education Center 5 hours later, the education center had dorms that all the kids stayed in, and we stayed in some other company's dorms about 10 minutes away. When we first got there, the kids were split up by province, and each province had a different colored sweatshirt, we were red. All day Friday there were activities for the kids and blah, blah, blah. I'll skip to Saturday, which was the day of the contest.

Our students (in red) jumping rope

I was sweating like a madman with nerves. I wanted these kids to win so bad and there was a rumor floating around that the winner would get to go to America, so of course I wanted my kids to have that experience.

New Teachers in Inje

We got two new teachers in Inje! They are a couple from Rhode Island that are here through the EPIK program. The girl was Ms. Rhode Island 2010, which is pretty flippin' cool man. We all went out for welcome dinner with some Korean co-teachers and some teachers from neighboring towns, and we ate dakgalbi.

The whole group

Afterwards we went to a bar besides Jjokki Jjokki which was pretty exciting. The place was called Rodeo and they served their beer in rocket-type things instead of pitchers which I thought was cool.

Zaaid, Connor, Andrew, and Ashley enjoying themselves

After Rodeo, we of course ended up at Jjokki Jjokki, where we ended the night.

Debbie and Tony doing a love shot

Education in Korea

Today, Thursday November 10th is a big test day for high school students.

South Korean students' 'year of hell' culminates with exams day

I think this article says a lot about the importance of education in Korea, and it definitely says something about their competitive nature.

I GOT PAID!

After almost 2 months of no income, I finally got paid! It is probably the largest amount I have ever been paid, and it included my first month of pay, my stipend upon entrance, AND my reimbursement for my plane ticket over here so it was amazing to see that many numbers in my account, especially in Korean won it seems like a lot.

In honor of getting paid, I have a special song to commemorate this joyous day:

So friends, what should I splurge on first with my first Korean paycheck?


On a side note, besides the fact that I got paid, this week has been going amazingly well. I think I'm really getting the hang of this teaching thing. This 4 year old boy who is probably too young to even be in our school said his first English words in front of me! "Pizza" and "cheese".

Halloween in Sokcho

For Halloween, some of us from Inje county went to Sokcho, a city on the coast, about an hour away from Inje.

Cheese!

Where's Arazue?

The 3rd annual "Holloween Party" was held at Min's, a Westernized bar that actually had liquor besides Soju. There was vodka, rum, whiskey, and tequila galore! I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I thought there would be mainly foreigners, but there was a good mix of Koreans and foreigners. There was even a Korean DJ who played an eclectic mix of k-pop, dubstep, American Top 40 hits, electronic, and Guns N' Roses. I went as Waldo, a costume I put together thanks to the street market about an hour before we left.

Axl Rose showed up

There was lots of dancing, strobe lights, beer, shots, and awesome costumes. My favorite was Connor, who was the prettiest Korean school girl at the bar. He played the whole Korean girl thing the whole night and even danced his way around the bar like a Korean girl. It was amazing. This night was a lot of fun and before we knew it, it was 4 AM, so we left, but there were still a ton of people in the bar. I don't think most places in Korea have a closing time, they usually stay open if there are still a lot of people, so I have no idea how early people stayed out, but I can imagine it was super early.

Connor hustling for drinks at the bar

In the morning, I found myself in a motel room with 4 boys and it reeked of farts and boy funk. It was an interesting morning to say the least, expecially with Connor walking around still in his costume as a girl. We saw a group of Korean Army dudes who were definitely checking him out. I think they thought he was hot, until they saw his leg hair poking through his tights.

Walk of shame

Things I learned from my Halloween weekend in Sokcho:

1. Koreans love to rave.
2. Koreans love to dance.
3. Tequila is not my friend.
4. Dressing up in costumes is always fun. 
5. Halloween is fun in any country.

Happy Halloween from Korea!