The Dirty Truth

So this orientation is finally winding down and I am definitely ready to say goodbye. On one hand, I'm gonna miss hanging out with all the other ETAs, going out, traveling in our little sphere, etc--but I won't miss the daily4 hours of Korean language on top of 3 hours of "Cultural Workshops." I mean, it's all good stuff, relavent to my stay here, but after even 2 hours of deciphering questions and explanations in Korean, I'm ready to stick my head in the sand. Getting to Mokpo will give me some much needed purpose, a breath of (literally) fresh air and, despite the work schedule, some much needed freedom about how to spend my time.

On the flip side though, life is pretty good right now. I get my daily dose of amazing food (I even like the Jungwon cafeteria food, strange, right?) and just hitting ol' Goesan for a night on the town is a highly regarded diversion. I mean, the town has basically nothing except a few "HOFs" (bar/restaurant joints), a couple mini-marts, and the Kimbap Chonju (literally, "Kimbap Heaven"). And here's the secret to Korea: you buy the right things and you spend no money at all, you buy the wrong things and you're broken overnight. Exhibit A is the $4 dollar apple, exhibit B is the $1 sushi roll (made FRESH right in front of you). So with that in mind, my nightly routine if I'm not feeling too adventurous is to grab some kimbap with a few ETAs, then walk right next door to the Family Mart and partake in the enjoyment of a few beverages. There's something highly satisfying about standing in front of the "Family" Mart drinking and joking around (remember, open-container laws are pretty much non-existent in Korea and I haven't seen a single cop in this town since I arrived). Better yet, I was standing out there last night with a couple guys and the owner rolls out to say hello--I figure he's shooing us off his stoop, but he was actually asking, no...summoning us to come inside because it's "too hot." Well, this place is like 20x20 feet inside, literally just a mini-mart, but I'm more than happy to take the imbibing indoors. I'll leave the interpretation up to you, but just say that drinking here doesn't have the same connotation that it does in the States. I guess that explains why businessmen, even teachers, regularly go out until 4-5 on weekdays and even show up to work drunk (not that drunkenness at work is a common problem, but you get the idea). This country will never cease to amaze me.