Welcome to Korea Party! (Well... technically, take 2 이)

Okay, so I have pictures from my second "Welcome to Korea" party. My first "Welcome to Korea" party consisted of us all going out for samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) and then finding a GS Mart convenience store. Convenience stores typically have chairs and tables you can sit at, so we bought 3 bottles of soju and different mixers-- mostly coke, powerade, and aloe juice-- and sat around and talked. I had 1 bottle of soju to myself and I drank heavily on the mixers. Paul and Dawn left to go to a movie. Jeff and I walked home-- he complained about my soberness and I complained that I was going to break an ankle.

Comment on shoes in Korea: smart women do not wear stiletto heels in S. Korea. In fact, I've only seen yours truly do it. All the women here wear flats or wedges. If they do wear heels, it's no more than 1 1/2 inches.  It's because the streets/sidewalks here are not flat. Especially if you go down alleys where all the bars are, it feels like you are walking along the side of a speed bump. Also, there are lots of grooves, cracks, and other treacherous obstacles along the way, so heels are a great way to break an ankle in Korea. When I go back home, I going to drop my heels off at home and grab some other shoes to take back with me. End of commentary.

For my second "Welcome to Korea" party-- we had a lot more fun and everyone got to know me better (rather than thinking that I was a stick in the mud T_T). It actually makes me laugh that they seem to think that I am this naive person who they are dragging down into the depths of depravity. If they only knew... LOL

So, anyway, Paul (Irishman from Scotland-teacher), Dawn (Canadian- Paul's girlfriend), Jeff (Canadian-teacher), Louise (Canadian) and I all decided to go out for galbi and drinks. We go to our favorite local galbi restaurant, which we call "The Angry Pig" because of the pig on the sign (which for some reason, I did not get a picture of... oh well).

Galbi

Galbi owner who is always very nice to us-- he usually gives us a lot of things gratis

Our motley krewe

Motley Krewe, take 2

So, we had galbi, kimchi jjigae, two rounds of beer, and I do not remember how many soju shots. Maybe 3?
So, we leave our amazing galbi place and find a local bar to hit.

We ended up at a hof-- where, technically, we were supposed to order some food with our drinks, but I told the waiter 'no' and he decided not to push us with the language barrier. We made it up to them though and bought lots of drinks until they closed.

Us enjoying our round of beer

A call button to alert the masses (well, only the waiters) that we need help!

Feeling good

I think there were 2-3 rounds of beer, but I was thankfully given a soju bottle and some coke to avoid the beer-- after I downed a glass or two. I really do hate beer. Which sucks because getting the local tap is ridiculously cheap and mixed drinks are ridiculously expensive. T_T I can't win.

These are a collection of pictures documenting our climb to the pleasure plateau...

So, we tried to order another round of beer, but they told us that last call is over. So, we finished up and decided to head back to the apartments for some rest, so we could go to Itaewon the next day and drink it up proper. <3

So, we left and I tried to get a picture of the huge fuck-off teddy bear that scared the living daylights out of me when I looked up, but I ended up taking a pic of a patron giving me a 'V' sign next to said bear. LOL ^^

So, concludes my proper "Welcome to Korea" party... onto Itaewon!