Life Lately/Pub Culture

Well the ‘end of semester’ is upon us. The ‘talent show’ ( The Stone Soup- Kindy Award winning play ;) will be performed this Thursday and my 55 report cards are finished! I can’t believe I really did that many--- the comments took forever! What is even more surprising to me is that I teach about 63 different students a week—I hope my teaching skills are growing… though I have to admit I have been feeling a bit stretched all over the place and I am not sure I am doing a ‘great’ job at anything----- but tomorrow is a new week… right?

So School has been busy and my social calendar has suffered a little. I partly blame the weather too as it is pretty cold (only -18 max… usually -10 so nothing compared to you tough SASKATCHEWANIANS) but it is cold for walking around everywhere… often I just want to get home and hibernate… how lame!

Luckily we have had more “house parties”… by that I mean college dorm-style apartment parties with the Ansan personalities. I have been here for almost 6 months and it is interesting that only in the past two weeks have I gotten to know a couple more people better. My school has a ‘social conflicting’ schedule compared to many of the other schools… as we finish at 6:00 pm. Many of the schools start in the afternoon and finish at 10:00. This means that when the other schools are ready to fraternize I am usually dead tired because I wake up at 5:00 a.m. No matter, I feel I get out enough and socialize enough ;)

The two social stories worth mentioning are two completely different polar extremes.

The First was celebrating Waitangi Day (like a “New Zealand Day—but instead of celebrating their Independence (they don’t celebrate this day like we do) they celebrate the signing of the Maori treaty. Our day did not represent this so much. We were in Itaewon, Seoul at various pubs. It was ok but interesting in a social experiment type of way. What type of person goes to a place like Korea to teach/ or work?

Well all sorts really…
• Middle Eastern & Indian ‘Industry’ workers – who are making good money… doing what sort of Industry?—I am not entirely sure!
• Women sex trade workers- from Russia or Thailand—if you are blonde in Korea many think you are a Russian prostitute… (Are you excited Sasha? -you’ll be fine there are blonde teachers here too)
• Some African men that I also have no idea what they are doing here--- other than the few that seem to run hair salons and restaurants in Itaewon
• The GIS – army men and women… that you can spot from a mile away--- now I am being stereotypical—but they are often wearing American “Thug” get up
• The English speaking social misfits—who don’t really feel at home in their original country so they come to Korea – where not feeling ‘at home’ is an Expat norm
• And then some wanderlust open-minded people who feel they could learn a thing or two while earning a buck. ( I fall in to one of the last two categories ;)

It is interesting when all of us ‘Immigrants’ (I do hold a card you know) sit together at a bar… you never know what you are going to get.

First of all, there are accents galore… a Nigerian Man, speaks to an Irishman, while a woman from Manchester orders a drink for her Korean girlfriend. The Aussies and Canadians are playing some wild darts in the corner while a Kiwi man drunkenly mumbles to himself alone at the bar. The GIS are smoking Cuban cigars and their rowdiness only subdues long enough to ‘not so subtly’ check out the girl that walks past. Some East Indian men and Turkish men are playing a game of pool next to some Korean men who are discussing the new high tech cameras they have just purchased. While some scantly clad American girls sip martinis at the bar eyeing up the GIS.

The Koreans also know that they are guaranteed to find a foreigner at these spots. On more than one occasion I, as well as my friends, have been photographed for various websites—to promote tourism or to try and launch a new school. The latest photo shoot was shot at the pub and involved me holding a Kleenex on my face to pretend I had a cold…. so strange I know. I also learned (from eavesdropping ha ha) about a guy who stars in a Korean program similar to the Discovery Channel program “odd jobs” only it involves him, a Canadian, doing odd Korean jobs (fishing etc.)--- apparently it is a real comic hit in Korea.

Yes, the Itaewon Pub life is definitely a different sub-culture in itself. It is one of the few places in Korea where I feel diversity is strong and because of it everyone belongs. A round of drink also gives one the chance to really hear the ins and outs of living in this interesting place. I can’t even divulge anymore … you will just have to come on over and be the wide-eyed Canadian/American sipping your drink of choice.