New Years Eve

This was us outside the hotel casino. We were so excited by how beautiful it was, and we felt so underdressed! Everything here is usually so casual, so it was nice to see a real new years dress and decor.

We met up with some people we had just met at this restaurant/bar. This is the menu; you can't really tell, but in the middle right, they're selling "King Cobra Sausage" (hope you can see the pic well enough) for 16 bucks!!!!!!! Eeeeeewwwwwwww!!!! That picture is supposed to influence me to buy that?!? So gross!

This was me, spending the last of my casino money ($5 big ones. big spender, I know). I got two free drinks out of it, so I figured well worth my money.

They had so much cake at the casino! I thought it was so strange. It took up an entire table; I don't know that I've ever seen so much cake in one place. I definitely haven't seen anything like that over here.

This was Amy and I standing in front of the display when we first arrived. They had someone working the front, and he started yelling at us for going in the street. Usually in Korea, everything is just chaos. I guess since it was New Years Eve, they decided to implement a little control. It was helpful (sort of) when getting a cab later in the night. We were still in Korea though, so people have no respect for lines. We must have waited 45 minutes in the "cab line" while at least 30 people ran around and cut. What a mess.

New Years went really well. In the past few weeks I have actually started to make friends out here. That has proven quite a challenge thus far! I found out this past week that someone I went to college and worked with at the Daily Texan is out here teaching as well. What a small world! She in her friends were going to a casino in Seoul, and I decided to meet up with them since I didn't have any plans. Two sisters that I met a few weeks ago, Jemma and Amy, ended up coming with me along with Amy's boyfriend who is in town visiting and another guy who works at their school. It was so nice to have a big group. Jemma and Amy are British, and it is so interesting to me how incredibly different we all speak. We spend a lot of time going, "Huh, what does that mean?" when we are all talking to each other.

It makes me curious about the entire system of "English" teaching in Korea. I can't even understand them, how does it make sense that we both teach at English schools? Whenever they pick up the phone, they say, "Hello, are you okay?" The first time that happened, I was so confused. I could not figure out what I had done that made them think I was upset. To them, it's the same as saying "How are you."

On my skiing trip, there were a lot of Aussies, and they are even more difficult to understand at times. There are so many little words that are used differently. That has been an interesting part of the experience recently.

Anyways, the five of us went deep into Seoul to this casino/hotel, which was absolutely beautiful. They had what I consider to be legitimate holiday decor. In Korea, only foreigners are allowed to gamble, so I assume they cater more toward a western crowd. I am not much for gambling, but it was a great time. I only lost $5, and I figure that was more than worth the two free drinks! We sat around and played the slots for a little bit (or, I watched them do this), and everyone won money! I couldn't believe it. I guess everyone always wins, but then they just keep playing. They all quit while they were ahead, so it was a nice and unexpected NYE bonus.

After the casino we must have spent 45 minutes waiting in line to get a cab outside the hotel. It was such a nightmare, and it was below freezing temperatures! They just absolutely cannot get things like that organized in Korea; it's always a free-for-all. They did have someone monitoring the line and trying to put people in cabs in an orderly fashion, but it was only moderately helpful. But if it weren't for him it's likely we'd still be there, so I should probably be thankful..

We went to this area called Gangnam, which was a lot of fun. They had this ultra Western coffee shop right by the station, and that was really nice. We got delicious paninis and hot chocolate; it was perfect after all that waiting for a cab! We ran into some other westerners on the street when we were deciding where to go and joined their group. That's one good thing about Korea; when you run into people who aren't Asian, they are usually very welcoming. There were probably about 10 of them already at the pub, so it was fun to make new friends. I even met a girl who graduated from UT! HOOK 'EM!

The trains stop running at 11:30 or midnight, and they start running again at 5:30 in the morning. By that time, we knew we had to stick it out and wait for a train. I do not understand how the third largest city in the world doesn't have public transportation that runs after midnight. It seems absolutely ridiculous, and it means that when we decide to go into Seoul at night, we're making a real commitment.

It was so nice to curl up in my bed when I got home! And now I have to prepare for work again. Tomorrow we start intensives, which means they are adding an entire block to our day (three extra classes). I am not looking forward to it at all, but am glad that I was able to meet so many new people on New Years.