This is probably one of the most funniest moments in my tenure here in Korea:
The Incheon Educational Board invited us to a first come, first served Incheon Free Economic Zone tour in the heart of Incheon City today. So that means I got to leave school early, and I also get a free dinner (who doesn't want free food?)
This time around, unlike Orientation, I got to see and meet a whole rack of new faces, but I also I got to see some familiar ones as well, including my friends Matt (Toronto), Tara (Canada), Dave (Philly), Chrissie (New Zealand) and my friend Bobby (Ohio).
We took a tour of Songdo, an area of Incheon that is being revamped...for billions of dollars. Incheon is growing to become one of the biggest cities in EAST ASIA. This is because of its stategic importance to trade, transportation, industry, and port access. So, Korea is investing billions of dollars in a special zone of Incheon called "IFEZ," or Incheon Free Economic Zone, in a place called Songdo. It is an area designated for investment, commerce, education, and R&D, laced with economic incentives and tax-free commitments. Many foreign and Korean firms alike have committed major investments into the area, and if they live up to their word, everything will become a fancy international city of dynamic proportions.
Unlike the Orientation Tour of Incheon, which was only three spots of Incheon (the stadium, a Joseon Dynasty government village, and MacArthur Memorial), we got to see most of Songdo and the projects being built. Highlights included a boat trip to the Incheon Bridge, scheduled to be finished in 2009, which most of us in the group highly doubt it will be completed on time. (Woodrow Wilson Bridge anyone?)
So, skipping all the boring stuff (which I already laid down on your face anyway, sorry), fast forward to the dinner.
We all eat dinner, relax, meet new people, and prepare to leave. A bunch of us pile into one small elevator, and Bobby (from Ohio) is the last one in. Bobby is African-American, one of the few in South Korea, a fresh new face for foreigner-starved, stereotype-thinking-filled South Korea.
Let me tell ya something, he is hilarious. He says the most funniest things at the most opportune times.
So, here's a bunch of us foreigners packed into one elevator, and we stop at the 6th floor for a pickup. In comes this random white guy, and he smiles at us.
Bobby, being goofy as he is, just calmly, I mean, REALLY calmly, says to the man:
"Sorry, this elevator is for foreigners only."
There was a second pause, because we seriously though that he was serious, but IN UNISON, we erupt in the most raucous laughter ever, and being a closed elevator made it worse.
"BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Basically, Bobby was just acting silly as usual, yet his comment capped week after a long week at work. Ohhh...I couldn't stop laughing for a while. That's my favorite kind of humor, just stupid humor that makes fun of the situation, and Bobby does it again.
God is good, and a gift He gives us is the power of laughter...to keep your spirits up.
I'm also blessed to meet a set of foreign friends who really make it feel like home for you, in a country where humor is as different as two planets on separate ends of the universe. The humor I get at work is as hilarious as a physics lecture given by Al Gore, at 6 in the morning.
Now onto the weekend, and this memory will stay in my brain for a while...
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