Weekend Warriors: Any excuse for Champagne

I have always been the type of person to think that your birthday is just one day.  I mean, it's the DAY of your birth that's to be celebrated - not the weekend, week, or month.  It turns out that my friends are amazing and know how to make an entire week better than I could have ever anticipated.  Be forewarned: there are a lot of pictures and quite frankly a lot of them are of me.  It was my birthday and dammit these incredible people made me smile brighter than I have in years, and helped soften the blow of missing my family and besties at home.  

It started out when everyone had returned from our various Japanese summer vacations.  G had been in Ishigaki - a sub-tropical paradise where she had gone diving, been to a music festival on the beach, and been practically adopted by a beautiful Japanese family (we actually had a magnificent evening with a wonderful Japanese family in Osaka too, but more on that when I post about my last day in O-town).  We were supposed to meet after my friends finished up band practice but that ended early and I raced over to the loft to catch up with friends I had been missing an incredible amount even though I had been gone just a few days.  I know, I'm a sap. 

I mean, do my friends know me well, or what?  Wednesday night they had sparkling wine at the ready for midnight when I officially turned...well...the age I turned.  I think that this is the first birthday where I'm suddenly starting to feel older.  I'm not quite almost 30, but I'm not not almost 30 and quite frankly that's a little scary for me.  If this feeling could be shared I would tell everyone thinking about teaching abroad to do it and do it early and as young as you can.  I want to take advantage of all the opportunities being silver spoon-fed to me, but I also want to return to Canada and settle down before it's "too late".  Dear everyone older than me: it's advice time now - do I stay in Asia past 30?  How soon do your eggs truly start to nosedive ('cause I'm holding out as long as possible).  Dear potential suitors reading this: yes - we're all that nuts sometimes (and I bet you are too).  Even the most adventurous lady in your life still has those questioning moments of: "am I doing the right thing?".  I can't imagine ever regretting seeing the world, but I'm allergic to cats and being alone.  End rant.  Drop Mic.

Thankfully, I have these girls to keep me halfway sane (or who are at least on my level :P) and who are the soundtrack to my life by playing Far East Movement at every "poppin' bottles" moment, and who let me try to rap.  The videos are in the vault, ladies.

Thursday was my official birthday, and in addition to some beautiful cards from my students (one card from a particular favourite that includes the phrases: "Happy Your Birthday" - on the official card, not handwritten, "I love you", "I'm so so happy.  Don't lose your smile", and "I RESPECT YOU!") my colleague made some seaweed soup as it's supposed to bring you good health in the coming year.  I mean, how lucky am I already?  Hold onto your hats...it gets even better.

We had wanted to check out 88 Star Wars, the new spot in Hwamyeong.  Turns out it's a restaurant that didn't look all that frugal, so we headed over to our typical Buk-gu haunt: Monster Craft Brewing (we go there a lot so check it out here and here).  This place feels like the living room I've always wanted: there's our friendly owner/ chef who serves up cheap beer ($3 for a house pint) and the best chicken I have ever had.  I'm not kidding - I'm probably their #1 fan.

I had met up with G who BOUGHT ME A CAKE and then M and S joined up a bit later once we mentioned the venue switch.  

The chocolatiest of chocolate cakes was shared with 2 other tables who sang me happy birthday (Saeng-il-chuka-hamnida) and engaged in polite conversation (ie. the Korean men wanted to know how old I was.  I gave them my western age rather than Korean age because obviously).

  

Could life be any more decadent or wonderful?  Well yes, in fact...it turns out that beyond all my already exceeded expectations, it most certainly was!

Saturday G and I decided that rather than heading down to the beach or the pool we would get some housework and errands done and then treat ourselves to lunch.  We ordered a pasta and a salad to share because we were being both indulgent and heart-healthy.

Nope.  That's an absolute lie.  Our salad from Wicked Spoon was actually delicious chicken fingers with hard boiled egg, a little bit of iceberg lettuce, a TON of honey mustard sauce, and a garnish of 2 cherry tomatoes sliced in half.  I did not complain.  Our spicy cream pasta was less spice more cream but had a delightful array of peppers and bacon and I'm all about that life.

Then we found G's roof.  Some sweet rays and sun salutations later? Pure bliss...followed by The Office in air-conditioned comfort.

I'm so lucky to have friends from Masan to Daegu willing to come into Busan (and even Hwamyeong!) to visit.  My wonderful, hilarious gentlemen from the Air Force even brought me a little taste from home (Tito's Handmade Vodka) from the base.  We had some cocktails and pizza (and even a visit from adorable little Oscar, K's pup!) before heading back up to G's roof to watch the sunset.

Once darkness fell we all jumped into cabs and headed down to Gwangalli Beach for our very own Midnight Garden Party (literally it was so hot our group of 15 people had the place for ourselves!).  I'll leave you quite simply with some photos because the stories?  You just wouldn't believe 'em...

Three big nights, three "Happy Birthdays", two cakes and candles, and countless phenomenal friends celebrating my first birthday in Korea.

Thank you

xoxo

How to meet people in Korea (or at least Busan!)

You're going to have to kiss a lot of frogs before finding your Prince (or Princess!).  Thankfully there is a mixed bag of great people in Korea.  Photo by Joel Gale Photography

I was very hesitant to write another list post but after the quick success of the last one (and e-mails from followers - thank you!!) I figured why not?  Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments and tell me about anything I've managed to forget.

1. This one's the easiest.  Talk to strangers!  If you spot a foreigner for the most part they will be just fine with you saying hello.  Don't be creepy, crack a joke and if they laugh and seem open to conversation then continue along.  If they seem busy or uncomfortable then move along.  Most of the friends I've made here have been from smiling and saying hello.  More often than not if they are going to go do something cool and you seem interested they'll invite you along.  That's how I met one of my best gal pals (and discovered a tasty vegan restaurant!).  I read an article when I first arrived in Korea about a guy who ran down the street to talk to another foreigner just so he could speak English.  If you're in a rural village this might be your best bet.

2. Head out to the University area on a Friday or Saturday night.  Kyungsung University in Busan is a really busy area on Saturday nights and you can usually just sit down at a table and chat people up.  Friday nights we usually start in Gwangan or Haeundae (the beach areas with lots of expat bars), but ultimately we always end up in KSU!  I hear that PNU has some good spots as well, but I have yet to discover the area (other than the nearby Dongnae-Gu).

3. On that note - Expat Bars!  There are a TON of expat bars in major cities (Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, Daejeon, Daegu, and others).  These are spots where you'll meet other foreigners or English-speaking Koreans who are interesting in broadening their horizons.  In Busan you can check out Thursday Party (there are practically more Thursday Party locations than Starbucks and they're always busy)

4. Trivia - there are so many spots to do trivia that you could probably fill your week with a different bar each night.  Typically people do arrive in teams, but you can always join in (someone always has to bail if they need to work late or get up early.  Spots open up - don't worry!).  Check out HQ Gwangan, HQ KSU, and Eva's (Thursday night at 10 PM weekly).

5. Go on a trip!  Groups like When in Korea (WinK) offer group trips to the islands, zip-lining, Makgeolli tasting, Wine-making, and to the DMZ.  They've also opened up their own restaurant/ bar in Seoul which looks like it would definitely be worth checking out!

6. Charity Events.  Sharky's is hosting an upcoming event in support of the disaster in Nepal, Curry for Canines at HQ Gwangan, and dog walking at the Busan Abandoned Pet Sanctuary are all great places to meet people with common interests (or just party productively).

7. Concerts - Ultra and other similar concerts sell out pretty quickly but you can always catch DJ Festivals here and there to meet people with similar tastes in music.

8. Language Exchange Groups - careful with this one.  I haven't checked them out yet but I've heard from a few sources that Korean guys aren't so interesting in practicing their English skills, rather meeting foreign girls they might deem easy.  Obviously this isn't always the case, but if you bring up a Language Exchange to a Korean friend you might get a chuckle and a knowing smile.  If you're looking for an International Party there is one coming up in Gwangan at Sharky's.

9. Clubs - There are a ton of groups on meetup.com.  The one's that are really active on Facebook are the Wine Club and the instagram Club.

10.  There are hidden foreigner markets generally with a philanthropic goal - keep your ear to the ground for these ones.

11. Hit the beach!  In Haeundae and Gwangalli on a bright, sunny weekend you're almost guaranteed to find foreigners laying out unafraid of the sun.  Look for the people on the beach without umbrellas or creep the patios - the Sunday Funday game is strong! 

12. Do you like to dance?  Go to a club!  There are a ton of nightclubs in Seomyeon and Haeundae where Busan's elite hang out.  I haven't partied Gangnam Style just yet, but once I do you'll all be sure to get the inside scoop.

13. Lucky (or unlucky) #13 is Tinder!  Tinder is used pretty heavily in the expat community.  I find that it's a little less hook-up, a little more dating-friendly (or at least a way to meet cool new friends).  I know a few guys and gals who have met their significant others on Tinder in Korea.  Go ahead and swipe right!  You never know...

14. If all else fails there's ALWAYS Speed-dating!  I would never have imagined going to a speed-dating event back home in Canada, but you never know who will be out on a lark looking for a good laugh.  Drunkenmaster KSU will be hosting a Speed-dating event this weekend so if you're interested the details are available here.

Realistically the only way you're going to meet new and exciting people is if you put yourself out there.  Don't wait by the phone expecting people to get in touch with you - the most wild and imaginative people are already out there experiencing it all.