Torrential Busan

On the subway, I got a call from the hostel.  The guy on the other end of the phone had a very odd way of speaking in English.  Definitely not the typical Korean accent I hear when my students speak English, for example.  It's really hard to describe his voice, but it was tonally high and slightly nasally.  His tone would often shift somewhat wildly like a pubescent teenager dealing with a cracking voice.  He was also constantly addressing me as "man" as in "That's cool, man".  More on this guy in a little bit.

As we exited the subway and approached our hostel, we were simultaneously becoming more entrenched in what I would describe as a decadent party area:  every establishment was a bar,  blaring loud music from all directions, flyers everywhere, and everyone dressed to the nines.  It actually bared an exact resemblance to the party area in my city. 

Like everywhere else, the music was blaring in our hostel as we walked in.  It was just barely after setting our bags down that the woman working the front desk asked if we wanted a beer.  Daniel and I gave each other a look as I said, "Well, first I think we'd like to check in...we have reservations..."  She said, "OK, let me call the owner."  Not a minute later did this stylishly dressed Korean come stumbling up to us, "Hey, man!  My name is Tiger!"  Ah, we had spoken on the phone with THIS guy.  He had clearly been drinking since his voice was now also slightly slurred. "Yea, man!  You guys are the last ones checking in tonight!" 

As he was checking us in, a man approaching middle age creepily came up next to us.  He eventually introduced himself.  He was a marketing consultant from Nicaragua working for Tiger.  I would've never guessed! 

To our simultaneous dismay and delight, Tiger informed us that the actual hostel was a ways away and we could get there by taxi within 10 minutes.  So we left together to get a taxi.  As he lead us out back into the decadent party streets, he was clearly a bit stumbly.  We passed some foreigners that exclaimed, "Hey Tiger!  What's up?!"  Tiger responded by saying, "Not now, man!  I have to take care of my guests!" 

We got to the street and he said, "Let's cross right here!"  I looked both ways and there was oncoming traffic coming from one direction moving at an alarming pace.  Tiger brazenly, but cooly, walked across the street while we hurried our sober selves with luggage in tow.

Our "hostel" was actually just one apartment in what looked to be very expensive resort apartments (the buildings were next to the sea).  The apartment was actually really really big:  it had three bathrooms, several bedrooms, and a huge common area.  It was probably one of the most comfortable hostel stays I have ever had.

The Spanish man working at our hostel was incredibly nice and helpful.  He pointed out tons of points of interest on a map, and was completely honest concerning which ones were worth a visit and which weren't. 

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea.  It sits on the Southeast coast and from what I would guess, most of South Korea's exports and imports flow through its ports.  Of course, seafood populates the restaurants and markets like the people populate the city.  It is also worth noting that the people of Busan are known for their rougher behavior and way of speaking (at least compared to the rest of the Koreans). 

Once Daniel woke up, we decided on a loose itinerary based on the information we were given by our Spanish friend.  Unfortunately, rain was planned for the entire day and no sooner did we leave our hostel/apartment than it started raining.  We went through a park that overlooked a major part of the city and then to a modern history museum practically right next door.  Then, giving in to the fact that it probably was not going to stop raining anytime soon, we elected to spend the rest of the afternoon in a public bath. 

We spent an hour and a half in the bath/sauna area of SpaDay before we decided to explore the facilities a bit more.  What we found a humongous area that was almost like a mini-mall.  The hall from the public bath/sauna area led to a huge open space where people were just lounging around on heated floors, on sofas, then in another room on recliners watching TV and DVDs.  There was even a restaurant and cafe.  There were tons of "special rooms" promising different sensations..."the wave room", "the electron room".  I kind of felt like I was in a cult because everyone was wearing the same garb and it seemed like we were our own community completely cut off from the outside world.  I would love to go again when I make it back to Busan!

After meeting up with our friend, Helen, and eating dinner by a crowded ice ring, we headed back to our hostel to get ready for Halloween.  As we were headed back, we were slammed with a deluge from the skies.  I don't think I have ever expierenced rain that heavy before...and it only lasted two minutes.  We got completely soaked!

Unfortunately, the firework display that was part of our wanting to come to Busan in the first place was canceled due to the rain; but we were still ready to celebrate Halloween!  We got in our costumes and started drinking with the other temporary residents of our hostel.  Despite a bit of drama (not really worth expending the energy to explain it), we left the hostel/apartment to go to the hostel/bar where we had first checked in.  People were meeting up there to head to a club together.  Unfortunately, were late arriving and everyone had already left.  We had to get a hold of the one and only Tiger to get directions to the club.  We eventually made it.  The club was definitely a bit more posh than what I am used to.  The decorations were great, and some of the DJing was pretty cool.  One DJ started his set in a drag racing outfit and pretended to play videogames as a videogame was projected onto the wall behind him.  After that he went into a remix of the Ghostbusters' theme song.  However, the drink prices were a bit steep for our pockets, so we elected to leave and ended up at an Irish bar with a bunch of foreigners.  We did some dancing and had some cocktails.  Then we moved back to the area in which our hostel/bar was located.  There was a huge gathering of foreigners dressed in costume in the middle of the streets (streets not so much for cars as for pedestrians)...probably roughly 300 foreigners.  I actually recognized many people from my EPIK orientation whom we also hung out with in Namhae over Chuseok weekend.  It was nice (drunkenly) catching up with them.  We went to a couple other bars in the area before heading back home around 4:30 a.m.

Our friend, Helen, was convinced she was going to stay out later and tried taking pictures of the directions back to the hostel using the camera on her phone.  I couldn't stop laughing because all of the pictures she was taking (she took 14) were awful.  I said, "Helen, you are NEVER going to make it home with these God-awful pictures."  So I was able to convince her to come back to the hostel with us.

The next morning was absolutely gorgeous.  If only the previous day had been anything like that!  We decided to take a walk along the cliffs of the ocean and enjoy the sun before heading back to Daejeon.

Chuseok or Oktoberfest? Both!

At the beginning of October, we had a 5 day weekend for Chuseok.  Chuseok is very similar to our Thanksgiving in that Koreans celebrate it by having a big feast with their family to honor their ancestors as well as to celebrate the harvest.  Hilariously enough, we decided to celebrate it by not only not celebrating it the way Koreans do, but by celebrating a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT HOLIDAY.  That is, the German holiday known as Oktoberfest.

How in the hell can this be?  How did we celebrate a German holiday in South Korea?  Well, just stop yelling at me for a second and I'll tell you.  Now, I know it sounds pretty insane that there was a gigantic Oktoberfest celebration in South Korea, but South Korea actually has (or had, rather) a special relationship with Germany in the 1960s. South Korea sent nurses and miners to Germany for an international labor contract. Once their contract was fulfilled, many elected to stay in Germany. Some of those that returned built a "German Village" on Namhae island. The houses in this "German Village" are modeled after some German architecture.  In addition, there are actually a handful of native Germans that live in the village.

A big group of us from Daejeon (16 in all, 14 from my orientation) decided to join a tour to Namhae through a Korean company.  Namhae is an island off the southern coast of South Korea.

Our tour bus picked us up in Daejeon at 11:30 p.m. on the Friday night of the Chuseok weekend, and I had volunteered to be the Daejeon leader and make sure we had everyone accounted for on the bus.  We were on the bus an hour or two before we got to the next pick-up in Daegu.  When we pulled up to the meeting spot in Daegu, it was quite the bacchanalian scene.  There were about 50 or 60 people my age all drinking, shouting, and falling about the place.  A far cry from our cool and collected group of Daejonites.  For whatever reason, we had to wait for the other bus from Seoul to come to the meeting spot before proceeding, so that meant an hour and a half of waiting.  I went out of the bus to mingle only to be met by drunken revelers.  As I was talking to the leader of the Daegu group, a girl came up to me and with greatly slurred speech said, "Heeeyyy, what's your naaaame?"   Soon afterward, a very drunk Irishman came up to me and put his arm around me.  Most of what he said to me made very little sense but I thought it best to entertain the man with the fantasy that I was actively engaged in his abstract train of thought.  After he walked away from me (he clearly realized there was no way he could get through to me), a couple of the girls from our group came up to me and said, "Was that guy crazy or something?"  I said, "No, just Irish."  Little did I know that this would become a common theme throughout the next four days.

The tour was terribly unorganized from the start. First off, they had me in charge of one of the four buses, so that should tell you something. Since I had volunteered to be in charge of the Daejeon group, one of the organizers called me to ask me to be in charge of the entire bus.  As I mentioned earlier, we had to stay in Daegu waiting for the Seoul bus.  During that time, one of the organizers called me and asked me where were.  When I said, "We're still in Daegu waiting for the Seoul" bus he said, "What?  The bus drivers were not supposed to wait for the Seoul bus." 

We finally got into Namhae around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and immediately went for a hike.  Not the greatest activity after only a couple hours of sleep, but it was well worth it.  At the end of the hike was a buddhist temple from which one could view one of the most spectacularly breath-taking views I've ever seen (pictures above!).  Unfortunately we were rushed for time, and so we didn't stay very long at the temple. 

After we got back to the buses, we got checked into our pension.  We slept "ondol" style, which means that we were provided blankets to sleep on a heated floor.  It was surprisingly comfortable, though I must say my back suffered for it after a few nights.

Once we checked in, we immediately changed and high tailed it to the beach.  The water was freezing, but we managed to take a much needed nap in the sun.  In fact, I fell into such a deep sleep that when one of my friends woke me up to ask me a question, I for the life of me could not understand what she was saying.  She repeated herself two or three times and finally just gave up.  I think I went back to sleep.  While others decided to play soccer or frisbee, some were setting up tents (electing to camp on the beach rather than sleep in the pensions).

Quite a while later we decided to eat dinner.  We were walking around looking for a place (a lot of places were closed as a result of the holiday...one BIG thing that the organizers didn't take into account).  We finally found a spot, and lo and behold, there was another group from our tour that was already eating there.  Eventually, as we finished our food and soju, the restaurant was absolutely filled with people from our tour group. 

After dinnner, everyone congregated on the beach to build a bonfire and shoot off fireworks (a lot of fireworks in fact).  It was nice talking to several people and hearing their stories of how they decided to come to Korea.  I'm not sure if I've ever been around a bonfire on a beach before, but it was a great experience.

The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast provided by the tour (one thing for which they were well organized).  After that we checked out and made our way to a different part of the island for our last three nights.  We stopped at some famous rice terraces for about an hour or so.  When we were getting back on the bus from the rice terraces, the organizers came to the realization that there were NO restaurants open in the town we were headed towards (how one does not take this into account in prior planning is beyond me).  That's not true, though.  There was one restaurant that was open and it is basically the McDonalds of South Korea.  A fast food chain called Lotteria.  As bus leader, I was asked to take the orders for my bus and collect the money.  It doesn't sound that bad, but it actually was pretty stressful. 

We had an amazing view from our part of the new pension, as well as a big open deck space.  Therefore, our are got chosen as the unofficial party spot for the night.  I wasn't in a particularly social mood (not a bad mood per se, but my introversive need to re-charge myself by being alone definitely took over at this point).  Apparently, the Irish were the last ones up drinking until about 4:00 a.m.  From what I know, this happened almost every night, hah!

On Monday we went kayaking in the afternoon.  We had the option to choose kayaking, fishing, or hanging out on a yacht.  Most people elected to go kayaking.  There was a group that went in the morning and our kayaking guide told us that many of them had still been drunk from the night before and couldn't steer their kayaks properly.  I thought that was hilarious.  We kayaked to a beach on a different island.  Luckily the waters weren't too rough at all, so it was pretty easy to navigate. 

On our last full day there there was an Oktoberfest celebration.  Walking into the German Village itself was a surreal experience.  It was almost like wanting into a different country.  There were several Oktoberfest-style tents with food and drink booths.  Copies of old newspaper clippings documenting the relationship between Germany and Korea were on the walls.  They were serving Paulaner beer, which is a pretty wonderful German brewery.  A nice change from the cheap lager beer I've been drinking so far in Korea.  They had a main stage area where most of the big events were taking place. They had a beer carrying contest and a beer drinking contest, both of which had heavy participation from our ranks.  Later on, they had bands play, people sang karaoke, and to top off the night there was a DJ.  The first band that played was a Korean Polka band, complete with yodeling.  One of my friends commented, "It's absolutely insane that the first live music we're seeing in Korea is a Korean Polka band."  I couldn't agree more! 

Despite the chaotic organization, this was a great first trip in Korea, and it was spent with some of my favorite people that I have met so far.

Daejeon Style

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in over a month!  I guess I have been relatively busy (and not at the same time).  I have two trips to talk about, but I will save those for separate posts.  This one will be relegated to random updates.

My students continue to make me laugh and smile.  My favorite "Korean-students-say-the-damndest-things" moment was during a lesson about the seasons and weather.  We got on the topic of building snowmen.  One of my students pointed out to me that in Korea, they build their snowmen in two sections.  I then jokingly adopted an exaggerated and condescending sort of smugness to my tone and facial expression to tell them that, "In the US, we build our snowmen in three sections!"  At this comment, one of my students grabbed his head with both his hands and agonizingly exclaimed, "Agghh!!!  CULTURE SHOCK!!!"

I also want to share an anecdote from one of my friends.  A couple weeks ago, his classes were having speaking tests.  When he walked into one of the classes that week, he boldly proclaimed, "Alright!  Speaking tests!"  Unsurprisingly, the class remained completely silent...except for student in the back who yelled, "WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" My friend apparently collapsed to the floor in a fit of laughter.

A few weeks ago, there was an International Food & Wine Festival in my city.  A group of us went together and met up here and there with other teachers with whom we are friends.  We came there thinking that we might be dropping some serious cash to pay for glasses of wine (from France, Italy, Spain, etc.)  But, lo and behold, all it cost was a measly 3,000 won, which is equivalent to about $3.  Considering that, I really had to consciously pace myself and take some breaks lest I end up passed out in some gutter (juuuuust kiddin'!) 

We had a splendid time!  There were absolutely toooons of vendors (not to mention people).  The funniest moment was when a very drunk middle-aged Korean woman came up to our group.  She looked at us and she asked, in a very thick and drunk accent, "Where are you frooooom?"  We said our respective countries and then she looked at me.  "Americaaaaaa?  Beaaaaard!"  It was at this time that my friend pointed out my chest hair protruding from my shirt's collar (as per usual) and the woman decided to tug on it a bit.  She then pointed at me and exclaimed, "Mr. Monkey!  Mr. Monkey!"  That was about the extent of our interaction.  When she was leaving I called after her, "Please marry me!  Be my Mrs. Monkey!" but she didn't seem to hear (or care). 

Work has been really easy for me lately.  Two weeks ago, I gave my students study time for the entire week in preparation for mid-terms.  This was at the suggestion of my head co-teacher.  Last week we had mid-terms, and now this week the juniors are taking speaking tests while the sophomores are gone on a trip (for Monday and Tuesday).  The teachers had various extracuricular activities planned for mid-terms week.  On Monday evening, I went out with my head co-teacher and the other sophomore teachers to dinner and drinks.  On Tuesday, we took a field trip to some mountains 45 minutes outside of Daejeon.  We hiked, ate, drank, and then went to noraebang (what we call karaoke).  It was pretty hilarious to see my drunk co-teachers (some of them over 50 years old) singing Korean songs.  English teacher meetings (as they call them) have somewhat of a flow to them.  Everyone eats and drinks over small talk (although the focus is definitely on eating at this point).  Then after most people are done eating and everyone has a pretty good buzz going, the oldest teacher and/or the head of the department will say something to everyone.  Usually this involves just thanking everyone for coming and how wonderful it is to spend time together outside of school.  Then after a little bit the real fun begins.  The boozed up teachers start giving oratories topically centered on school affairs such as how to improve students' abilities (like listening comprehension), the culture of the department/school and why it needs to improve or change, etc.  Disagreements and compromises abound!

I am now taking Korean classes.  Unfortunately, they are only once a week, but I'm taking them with about 20 other teachers from my orientation.  I'm getting better at reading Korean phonetically, but I don't usually understand what the sounds coming from my mouth actually mean.  However, the fact that the alphabet is so logical and the sounds rarely change makes it a lot easier than what I would imagine learning English would be like.

I'm definitely getting more settled into life here.  Besides taking Korean lessons, I'm also exercising at a gym 4 or 5 days a week.  I am hiking a lot on the weekends, whether with co-teachers or friends.  Meeting with friends for drinks and meals.  Hopefully, I will get a bike before it starts getting too cold.  There are bike paths for miles and miles along the rivers that go through my city.  In fact, you can take a bike path all the way to Seoul.  Other than that, after a long creative dry spell, I'm riding a creative high and writing a bunch of music on guitar. 

Lastly, I named this post after a song called "Gangnam Style" by a Korean pop (affectionately shortened to K-Pop) singer named Psy.  This song is a worldwide hit and has over 500,000,000 views on YouTube.  This song plays everywhere all of the time in Korea.  To be honest, I'm getting quite sick of it.  I think that Koreans believe this song will spread interest in Korean culture, but unfortunately my impression is that many people in the West treat Psy and his song as a joke.  Nonetheless, it is a catchy song!  Psy is kind of an anomaly in the K-Pop world.  He is not nearly as manufactured by the music industry as the other K-Pop artists.  He doesn't have the good looks that the others have.  Also, he doesn't have the typical squeaky clean image (he was arrested on drug charges about 10 years ago).  Finally, the subject matter in his songs are quite a bit different.  "Gangnam Style" is a satire of the materialistic lifestyles of the affluent in Korea.  More specifically, Gangnam is the name of a very rich neighborhood in Seoul.  Enjoy!

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Some Updates

By this time, I have tried a wide variety of Korean food.  The strangest dish I have tried has been dog meat soup.  Since going to China, I have always wanted to try dog meat.  I think it's funny that common dishes, or relatively common dishes, in one culture are completely odd or disgusting in a different culture.  I think dog meat is one of those dishes that many North Americans would find revolting.  Dog meat soup is most often eaten in the summer.  My co-teacher said there is one holiday where families will line up outside of restaurants just to eat dog meat soup.  The soup was great and a little spicy.  The dog meat was incredibly tender and similar in taste to dark chicken meat.  However, I will say that my digestive system didn't react too kindly to it the following day...

My school's cafeteria serves different items for lunch and dinner almost every day. Some of the other teachers have complemented the fact that I'll try any food at least once.  In fact, I have liked the majority of dishes that I've had in Korea.   

It's funny, there have been several times that fellow male teachers have told me that whatever I happen to be eating at the time will "help my stamina".  Of course, what they mean is that it will "help my stamina in bed".  From how often that phrase has been told to me, I feel like every dish in Korea would help my stamina!

Speaking of food, Koreans very casually comment on each other's weight, and I am definitely not immune from that kind of talk.  I've had many people tell me that I should work out.  I definitely don't take it to heart as I'm sure some others from English-speaking countries would.  Although I will say that I have been more conscious of my figure since I've been here.  Koreans are incredibly lean for the most part.  Even a lot of women who have had children maintain a slim figure.  There are obviously a lot of factors for this.  Their incredibly healthy diet is one factor, as I mentioned previously.  Another is the fact that maintaining health is incredibly important to Koreans.  I've seen people of all ages hiking, riding bikes, or playing sports.  That being said, it's also an effective way of marketing products here similar to how organic products are marketed in the United States.  If you market a product as health food, well, that's all the more reason to buy it!

While Koreans maintain their health through diet and exercise, there is also something to say with how the Koreans view illness.  Unless Koreans are deathly ill, they will come to work or school.  One of my co-teachers had mumps last week, so she stayed home for a few days.  However, teachers could have fevers, flus, etc. and they would still come to work as long as they can function at some level.  Many of my students have been sick but still come to class.  Again, if you can function, then you should come to class or work.  It's just part of their incredible work ethic.  When we stay home from work or school in the States, we view it as not only taking care of yourself, but also as a courtesy to your co-workers or classmates so you won't get them sick.  Two very different views.

Although I mentioned earlier that Koreans have a big focus on health, I think my students clearly lack good health because they don't get a lot of sleep and are often sick.  I feel sorry for my students because many of them are at school 15 hours a day.  All students arrive at school around 7:30 a.m. and many do not leave until 11:00 p.m.  Not only that, but many of them stay up until 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. each night studying.  Clearly, education is paramount in Korean society.  I think it has a lot to do with Confucianism in that it is very important to honor your ancestors, and one very big way to do that is to take education very seriously so that you have the best opportunities available to you.    

Two weeks ago my head co-teacher and another teacher (the one they call "Baby") took me to Independence Shrine.  Independence Shrine is a complex of seven or eight different buildings chronicling the Japanese occupation of Korea.  The buildings chronicled the history of the Japanese occupation with each building having one main focus.  For example, one building focused on the underground groups who fought the Japanese with terrorist-like tactics (bombings and assassinations).  We spent five hours walking through the different buildings, and even skimmed over some parts.  There was a lot of information!

For the most part, my students have been great.  They all say "Hello" or "Hi" to me in the hallways, and they never cease to make me laugh.  After lunch one day, one student asked me, "Did you like lunch today?" to which I replied, "Yes, it was good!".  The student then said with a sense of incredulation, "Really?  I think the menu is shit!"  At first I had to register what she said.  I was thinking, "Could she have meant to say something else, or did she mispronounce something."  But after a minute I just started laughing my ass off.  On one of my first days here, a group of girls were behind me as I walked to class singing "You Are So Beautiful".  Also, one time in class I asked a student, "What do you think?" and the student replied, "I don't think."  During my first couple of weeks, both girls and boys told me, "So handsome!" In Korea, it's not considered as a homosexual comeon to comment on the looks of someone of the same sex like it is in the United States.  In fact, not only are girls very touchy feely with each other, but boys as well.  Boys will lean on each others shoulders, rub each others hands, etc.  They call this "skinship"...I guess kind of like showing their fondness for each other by touching.  It's a little surprising at first, but I think it's a great element to friendships that American boys and men don't have for the most part.  Many of my friends back home are very touchy feely, but not to the extent they are here. Korean girls will also hold each others hands while walking, but that wouldn't happen in the States unless they are prepared for accusations of lesbianism.

Last weekend I went to a baseball game with about 20 different teachers in my program.  Quite the same experience as going to a baseball game in the United States, except here you can bring in all of your own food and drinks.  Hell, you can order pizza and buy beer right outside of the stadium, practically.

On Saturday I went hiking with my one of my co-teachers to a beautiful mountain called Gyeryongsan just outside of Daejeon.  It wasn't too bad of a hike and we took it slow.  A total of five hours.  At one point, my co-teacher pointed to a pair of two gigantic rocks jutting upwards.  He said, "There is a woman who lives between those two rocks...she has psychological problems."  I inquired further..."sometimes she sells mak gul li (a Korean rice liquor) to hikers..."

After hiking we went to a public bathhouse which marks my first experience in one.  I haven't been "culturally shocked" by too much since I have been here, but I must say that I certainly was at the public bathhouse...it was surreal!  More than a hundred Korean men lounging in various showers, jacuzzis, saunas, and baths as naked as they came into this world.  Even the masseuses giving massages were naked.  Disappointingly, the barber giving haircuts was not also naked.  They even had a green tea jacuzzi!  I jokingly asked my co-teacher if I could drink from the jacuzzi but I don't think he got the joke.  After the public bathhouse, my co-teacher took me to his family's apartment and his wife prepared a delicious dinner for us.  Korean pancakes (kind of similar to Western omelets), a beef and seaweed soup with tons of sides (including, of course, KIMCHI!!!).  After a couple hours of rest, we met up with my co-teachers "Mountain Club" to take a bus to the south.  Our destination: Jirisan...the tallest mountain in South Korea.

The entire time we were on the bus I was thinking "What am I getting myself into?" and "This shit is crazy!"  We arrived at 2:30 a.m. and we started the hike at 3:00 a.m.  Now, we were doing a 10 hour hike, but you still might ask what possesses anyone to START a hike at 3:00 a.m.  Well, the trail that our genius guide chose for us was a forbidden trail.  A trail that was only for park rangers apparently.  Apparently, the guide told us not to get seen by park rangers because it could mean the equivalent of a $100 fine...great.  Anyway, we were wore headlamps until sunrise and kept going, and going, and going.  Taking pictures here.  Resting a little here.  It was really difficult in some places, but I knew I couldn't give up (hahaha, so cheesy!).  In some places, we just had to straight up climb over 10-15 feet of rocks.  What made it more difficult is that I was wearing tennis shoes since I don't own a pair of hiking boots...not making that mistake again.  I was slipping everywhere.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to the peak because we ran out of time and we had to take a shortcut back (the "shortcut" being another hour and a half of hiking).  With the rest of the stragglers we eventually took a pickup truck that took us to a bus, that dropped us off to take another bus, that dropped us off at our long distance bus.  We all had dinner together on many stools and tables with mak gul li (the Korean rice liquor I mentioned earlier...it's kind of a milky, semi-carbonated rice liquor...I LOVE IT!).  What an exhausting weekend!