Welcoming the Year of the Pig

Valentines Day certainly made up for last years mishaps. We spent the night in my favorite restaurant, a quaint Samgupsal restaurant where the people are just lovely.
Thursday I ventured over to the "Miracle Library" with my students for a production of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. I was a bit concerned about the time, my class periods are only 50 minutes long so I figured the students would have to get up in the middle of the performance to catch their bus. Well, 20 minutes after the production began it ended. How they did it I don't know, but they managed to cram all of the details and a few added suprises of both fairy tales into a quick and humorous 20 minutes. Again, ended up in my favorite restaurant with some friends, I have never been surrounded by so much bacon and not eaten any of it. I get so consumed in drinking soju that I forget to eat.
There are many traditions that surround the Korean art for of enjoying dinner, one of which is offering soju to someone who has earned your respect or done something nice. Two gentlemen were kind enough to lend us their table when we walked in with six people. We then approached them with soju glasses and soju offering our thanks. As it turns out we did something in correct because on their way out they stopped to inform us, for 15 minutes, in Korean. Although we couldn't understand them, the tone in their voices said enough.
It was the Chinese New Year throughout Asia...a long weekend for me...which turned out to be a very relaxing and entertaining one.
Friday night I ventured to "Black Club", more like a hole in the wall that resembles my basement in college. Dancing away I was instantiously suprised when Gav and Trev walked in due to their inability to catch a bus to Pusan. I LOVE THEM!
Saturday found me spending most of the day doing nothing and swearing off drinking. Daniel and I went to Outback for dinner thinking it would be a nice afternoon event, only to find ourselves out until 3 that morning...waking up again the next day disappointed in ourselves. There is the great little chicken place underneath Juliannas that offers the coziest booths that seem to suck you in.
Sunday we went to the batting cages and I suprised myself with how well I am still able to hit the ball. Men of all ages stop in sparaticly in all kinds of attire to take a swing, girlfriends watching quietly from the sidelines. I guess you cant find a cheaper way to relieve some stress, 300 won for 15 balls, the equivalent of .30 cents.
We then ventured to Lotte Inves, the newest apartment complex showroom. They construct these beautiful buildings offering examples of what the new apartments will look like, amazing. They are trendy and upscale offering all of the latest technologies. Daniel and I explored each one pretending that we would be purchasing an apart in the near future. Books on display for some reason were all in English, one about Ronald Regan came from the library of a man in New Jersey. Who would think, when writing a book, buying a book or selling a book that it will end up with a price tag of $1.00 and end up in a display apart in Korea.
A round hut like sort of structure with a picture of a cow with a piercing through its nose.
As it turns out this restaurant has the largest gay population in all of Suncheon. Our waiter was running around through the restaurant trying to keep up with the demanding customers, while we watched what seemed to be groups of gay men enter and enjoy in the atmosphere. You see, in Korea, there are no "gay" people as there are no people with special needs, AIDS or cancer, they create a Utopia where everyone is straight, disease free and beautiful society...a nice false hood to live in I suppose, I find it to be disgusting. It is unnerving to never see the other side of society, the one that is not out every night drinking soju dressed in the latest Korean fashions, it is all a farce.