A Drunken Waygook, Lost in the Rain

Thursday, 11:00am; Ulsan City

Teaching yesterday was the easiest thing I've ever done, other than inhale oxygen. It turned out it was a public school holiday yesterday. Because I'm working at a private instutution, we were still open. Not surprisingly under such circumstances, a lot of the kids didn't come. Out of my six or so classes, I don't taught two. I didn't teach the other classes because there weren't any kids to teach! I didn't even start teaching until 4:30, even though I was there at 1:30. I was finished at 7:20 (I over-ran the class because we were having fun with a card game of crazy 8s and having a conversation...about video games. All of the kids seem to like them. I wonder why...?), but I still had to stay until 8:00. I have no idea why.

David and I took the bus home. Julie was visiting some friends after work, so she went a different way. Since Dave gets off earlier than I do, I had my first experience alone on the Korean bus system. Luckly, I recongized where I had to get off. It wasn't hard, since the bus was full of Koreans my age and they, with myself, were all getting off at the university. One guy decided to practice his English skills on me. I thought that he was speaking Korean to me at first, because of his thick accent, but I figured out that he was just saying, "can I ask you something?". He asked where I was from, and we had a nice little conversation before we got off the bus. He lived in Australia for about two months, so he could speak quite a bit of English. Nice guy. Similarly, on the way to work, when I was with Julie, she recongized one of her friends, Sue, on the bus. Julie was sitting in the window seat, I was in the aisle seat, and Sue came over to talk and just leaned on me, for balance, to talk to us (in both languages). I won't say anything more! Hehehe.

I went home after work to watch a bit of TV and make some dinner (a rice, crab and veggie mix). What did I find to watch on TV? Pro wrestling! Yay! They show both the WWE and TNA/NWA here (this one's for you, Mike). The February TNA pay-per-view was one, featuring guys like Johnny Devine, Chris Candido, AJ Styles, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Jeff Jerrett, Jeff Hardy, Raven, etc. TNA is interesting, because instead of the traditional 4-corner ring, they use a 6-corner ring. It's definetely different, and that makes it exciting to watch. They're showing the WWE Royal Rumble free on TV in a week, so if I get a chance I'll try to catch it. If not, it's no big deal. I never did finish watching wrestling though, because I decided that my time would be better spend wandering around in search of misadventure!

I found it. Earlier in the day, I found a map of my area and copied it down on paper, with directions to a Canadian-owned bar about a 10-15 minute walk away. I just had to walk down the main road until I got to a Baskin Robins (if I'd gotten to the Pizza Hut or McDonald's, I'd have gone too far), turn right, turn left, and look up. Easy right? Actually, it wasn't too bad. While I was walking to Baskin Robins, I saw something that I'd never seen before in Korea; outside of the airport and work... I saw a white guy!!! Holy monkeys from China, a white guy in Ulsan! Were my eyes deceiving me? Was this some trick sent my strange energy waves from North Korea? I said something like, "You there! White man!". The poor guy looked at me, probably scared that I was going to attack him with my drunken Canadian bar style. We had a little talk, and he told me that I should go to the same bar that I was going to anyway. I guess it's popular with us foreign waygooks. He said that he was in an important mission to find a restroom, before a terrible bombing occurred, so he gave me his e-mail and was on his way.

At this point, it was dark out and the vast array of neon lights and university students were out in full force to conquer the Korean night. I couldn't help but to look up and be awe-struck by the awesome lights. Everything was alive, and I felt great...and slightly out of place. I was on a mission to find this Canadian-owned bar, located on the third story of some building with neon lights covering it. This area, if you've ever been to Edmonton, is like Whyte Avenue times 1000. It's awesome. Hot young people, bars, and open resturants everywhere; serving food from a counter on the outside of the building. The street are small, only two lanes, and are shared by people, scooters, cars and more people. If a car is going down a street and meets another car, it has to back up and turn down a different street. There is no room for two cars. There's barely room for one car, as it has to weave between a maze of partying kids, street vendors, parked cars and scooters, and my waygook self.

As I was walking, I spotting something else that I had not seen since Vancouver... white girls! Three of them. Too dumbfounded by the site, and realizing that they hadn't notice me anyway, I kept to myself. Then I looked up, and there it was. The Tombstone. The Canadian bar that I'd been searching for. I entered the building and made my way up to the third floor. I pushed open the swinging wooden doors like the Canadian outlaw that I am, and entered with my six-shooter ready at my side. Immediately, I was waved at by the more than mildly intoxicated part-owner of the bar and ushered in. Inside, was one of the other three owners. He was in a similar state. Playing pool was another guy from my side of the world, who was surrounded by a couple of Korean girls with a taste for white exotics, such as myself. Either that, or they had been duped into the Canadian conspiricy to populate Canada with Korean girls and were here against their will. Behind the bar, was the Korean girlfriend of one of the owners. All were friendly, happy, and drinking beer (expect one of the girls). My kind of people! I began indulging myself in cheap, 2500 won mugs of beer. Blake is happy. As I was beginning my second beer, who walks in? The three girls that I'd seen earlier! Blake is happy and walks up to their table and starts Blakerizing with them. I don't remember what I said, but it probably had something to do with going to church on Sunday morning with a hangover. They girlerize back, and all is well. One of them was from Vancouver Island, while the other two were from Chicago. Blake needs a cell phone. After an hour or so, one of the girls decides that she's not cool enough to hang out with me yet (my version, anyway) and convinces her very reluctant friends (again, my version) that it's time to go. Well, they were pretty fun girls anyway. I'll probably see them again, since this is apparently the only foreign bar in this part of town. Back to the bar stool I go, for some betting on the pool game. Many beer and many hours later, I decide to go home. I step outside into the light rain and neon lights, and head into a small shop to indulge my alcohol-induced hunger. I buy a bag of deep-fried squid rings. I am happy. I look around at the lights. I realize that I have no idea where I am, other than somewhere in Asia. After thinking about it for a minute, I conclude that I am in Korea and that I actually live here. I walk around aimlessly in the rain, which is coming down much more than it did earlier. I walk by a McDonald's. Drunken Korean university students are starting to say things to me, like "hey man, how's it going!?", and "what's up". English is now a common language here. I am still lost.

Over an hour after I'd left the bar, I am finally at home. I fall into bed and have a well earned sleep. I did good...I think.