Day 2

Last night, after another dead-to-the-world power nap, a friend of Don's from the AF, Double D, as he's known, came over and we all went for Korean BBQ. Shoes off, sit on the floor, all kinds of side dishes, soup, rice, sauces, and beef that the waitress put on a sunken grill in the center of the table. Very tasty! We then went out and hit a bunch of nightlife spots. There are innumerable bars and clubs, all designed to entertain the Americans. We hit some basic bars, and two dancing clubs, where mostly Phillipinas, seductively dressed, hang out essentially to get the guys to buy drinks. They take turns dancing on a stage with a pole, but it ain't no Sopranos. It's an odd scenario: military boys who've never seen so much live flesh before, let alone had access to it. Women who left home and who are trying to make money to send home, quite possibly led to believe they'd be doing something more artistic. What I saw looked pretty regulated, but you know that there has to be some prostitution. MPs were always a presence at all spots, making sure nothing got unruly. Flower women roam the streets and bars and clubs, aggressively and relentlessly trying to sell flowers to any men near a woman.

The curfew on base is 1am, and at 12:30 Don's friend (who had just gotten back from an assignment in Thailand) got the word that there would be a recall that night--meaning a war drill, essentially. They'd all probably be back working at 1:30 am. Whew. That pretty much killed his buzz.

Other observations: no maps/street names/addresses off of the main thoroughfares. A formal address is something like: this section of town, by the park, across from the big tree. Maps are not to be found. You can't really ask how to get to an address, so you'd better hope that someone knows what place you're talking about and can give you good left-and-right info. I haven't had to ask yet, but it should be interesting whenever it happens! And while you're wandering the streets, don't expect that vehicles will be stopping at red lights or generally following any rules. Especially the mopeds--they compete for street and sidewalk space and will run. you. down. Yikes. And if that isn't scary enough, the sound of an F16 screaming through the sky directly overhead, and not very far overhead, will put the fear of God into you mighty fast. A terrifying noise--you can't help but cover your ears, duck, and hope that your heart will resume beating asap.

As far as language goes, I can now say "my name is Sandy" "It's very nice to meet you" and "thank you." THere are all kinds of dialect variations, and it seems that I memorized a 1-10 that won't get me very far, so I'll have to start again there. The Hangul characters all stand for sounds, not symbols that stand for words or concepts, so that will be relatively easy to learn. More like phoenetics with different symbols.

The plan for the day, whenever Don gets up (I found a trail of Diet Coke cans from the main room to his bedroom this morning... I slept about 6 hours and will surely need another snoozefest), is to go tour base, get some American breakfast, and for him to shop at the commissary for me. Sometime in the afternoon the Hash House Harriers gather to run and drink...or drink, run and drink. Oh, my liver! Speaking of which, the two Korean beers that seem to be the only offerings, are OB and Red Rock. Both lager-y. Neither very exciting. But hey, it's beer!

I made it!

Anyong hasaeyo? (a Korean 'hello,' meaning "are you peaceful?" I like it!)

Greetings and welcome to my account of events in Korea! I made it over safe and sound, after much scrambling to the very last minute. I was so busy trying to get everything done that I didn't get to ease into the idea of leaving, and it really still hasn't hit me. Kyle brought me to the airport and helped me schlepp all my stuff (a lot w/bike box) to checkin. Everything went smoothly except for an hour and a half delay (before boarding--whew!), and I slept on and off for a good portion of the flight (14 hours, 40 minutes). I was SO GLAD to have brought a bottle of water and Gatorade, as even with those and taking the stewardess up on every offer of liquid, I still felt super thirsty. I jumped through all the necessary hoops on the Korean end and was so glad to see my pal Don H. once I emerged. We loaded up his car and drove back to his apartment in Songtan, about 35 miles south but a trip that took over 90 minutes, as there is no direct route and traffic is horrendous in Seoul. He set me up at his place and left me to sort myself out while he went to work.

Here's the paragraph for those of you who know Don or just can't get too many details: He's got a 3-br apartment that's just off the Osan Air Force base, which is not the one he works on (that's an army base--camp Humphreys--about 25 minutes away). He lives here so he can socialize with people he doesn't see at work. It's on the first floor at the bottom of a San Fransican-steep hill, has under-floor heating (typical in Korea), and is a good size (I'll get to photos eventually). His DJ stuff lives in the main room with his projection TV, and of course there's a little disco ball hanging from the light fixture. Lots of beds for guests and for enjoying the big screen. He's in this pool league, which plays around the corner, and is, I think, the president of the Hash Hound Harriers here--his hashing name being "Squeaky."

One of the first things I did once left to my own devices was to go for the Korean bottled water in the fridge--poured myself a nice cold pint glass. The first swig proved it to be not water but a fruity, very alcoholic beverage. WELCOME! I laughed myself silly and headed for the corner store for the real thing. Apparently I'm not the first to have made that mistake. Properly hydrated, I hung out, sent out a few emails, unpacked the basics, watched some Olympics, wandered around town for an hour, took a hard core nap and showered before he returned with a pool-shooting friend for Thursday night pool league. I was a poor substitute for their friend Lee, who couldn't make it, but at least I had the whole travel-fatigue excuse.

The town here is pretty much centered around the AF base. Lots of shops with Korean clothing, gifty-type things (lingerie, jewelry, things military men buy for women), money-exchange windows, bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and some market areas. There's a produce-vendor truck that stations himself in different sections of the town, with what sounds like it must be religious or political propaganda blaring from speakers, but is probably just "my potatoes are the best" slogans. Not a lot of practical stuff to buy, as the military folks can get all that for cheap on base. It's like a Chinatowny, Arlesy mixture, as there is a mishmash of Asian signs with poor English translations, lots of little twisty roads and alleys (pavement, some pretty junky) that all look the same. Lots of funky smells. It seemed mostly Korean-populated by day, but at night it's a-bustle with Americans.

The bar we played pool in was staffed by Koreans and a slavic woman, and the clientele was entirely American--until a party of drunken uniformed Korean Army men came in and sat at the one large table in the pool room. It was totally weird, a little creepy, and ultimately fascinating to observe them. I felt as though I were watching a movie play out--if only there had been subtitles! I'd heard that Koreans enjoy their drink, and this batch lived up to the rumor. Don said that their being there was a rare occurrence--and that they weren't supposed to be there. You could feel a slight rise in tension when they entered--if anything had gone wrong, like a drunken bump misinterpreted, it would have been an "international incident." Something to think about.

I was really pooped by ten, and we headed home soon after. Don had some medicine that supposedly helps you reset your clock--doesn't make you sleepy but helps you to sleep when you go to bed. Well, 10 minutes after popping that puppy I was staggering around with my toothbrush, trying to avoid large pieces of furniture. I do not remember actually getting into bed, but I'm pretty sure I had some guidance. I slept well!

Today I spent a little more time with emails and set up this blog. I practiced a little with the Korean alphabet and can count to ten from memory. I went for a run that was pretty nondescript but that felt great, showered and made some soup, and will grab a nap before we go out for Korean food before we hit what is apparently a big party scene. Tomorrow, Don will go to the commissary on base and buy me lots of good ol' American supplies, and I'll run with his hash group at night. Early Sunday morning, we drive up to Paju and my new home.

Okay. That's the long version of the first however many hours. I'm sure next week's entries will be lengthy, too, as it's all new right now, and then they'll get much more brief! Pithy, even. Anecdotal, possibly. Observational, certainly.

Annyong until then!