Hanging Out With My First "Foreign" Friends

Yo:

Last night was pretty fun. I met up with some other foreign English teachers in the area last night, all Americans, and we went to all of places in Korea...an Outback Steakhouse. Yup, I come to Korea to try all the delicious foods that they have to offer, and I go to an Outback, yes, I'm a loser. Sike, I have been eating all sorts of Korean food all week at school and at home, and its all tasty, healthy, and good. However, for one night, you got to have your American fix. I got the Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo, and it says "good."

But, after spending time all week with Koreans, it was also kind of cool to hang out with these Americans, and they were all pretty nice people. We all work in different schools, so we swapped stories of what our schools are like, me being the only one who works at a public high school, the others work at "hagwons," or private institutions. What's unique about this group (four people, three guys and a girl), is that they are all from different parts of the US: one was from Indiana, another from Minnesota, another from Texas, and me from Maryland, so we represent all areas of the US. Its cool that in this foreign environment that we can swap stories of culture shock and what not and give advice on how to fight it.

What makes me unique is that I'm an Asian foreigner, but these are white foreigners, so they get stares from children and other people, especially in public, and they play along by saying "hi" to these people who stare at them. I don't get that fun luxury because I "blend" in somewhat, even though I'm not full-Korean, but I still get surprises from people because I speak like an American.

But, the highlight of the night was that these new friends took me to a "norae-bang," aka a Karaoke zone, which are all over Korean towns. You go in a private room, and from a zillion songs to choose from, you can break the screen with your wonderful voice. It has Korean songs, and of course, songs from all over the world. I did a pretty funny rendition of Jay-Z/Linkin Park's "Numb/Encore," which was pretty fun because the musical rendition is not the same as the CD's. It was hilarious watching some of the guys make goofs of themselves.

The funniest part is that it gives you a "score" against your opponent, which is randomly generated. So, it was hilarious to watch one of the guys lose to "nobody" because he was singing solo.

So, it was really special to finally meet some other Americans, share stories, and speak English! Yet, I must realize that it will not be good to rely on them for all of my memories: my mission is to continue to learn Korean and its culture. The foreign friends that I will make will be just a treat when I get homesick and when I need something to discuss on a deeper level. But I hope to continue to improve in Korean and learn to adapt to this fast-paced life. Yet, it will be cool to perhaps, as I planned with one of the guys in the group, to take a trip outside Incheon/Seoul together because we can enjoy the sights and have some understanding of one another.

Take care.

P.S. The kids next to me in this PC Bang are "cussing" up a storm. They are saying all sorts of bad words in Korean while playing StarCraft, and the funny thing is, I don't think they are bad words because I never used them (even though I won't). Kids in Korea think the "f-word" is not as bad, yet we know that the F-word is the pinnacle of curses. Words are powerful, and its our society that makes these words bad but as Christians, we rise above these words to speak words of truth and love.