Goodbye Korea Weekend

This past weekend marked the last weekend I will spend in Jeju for almost two months. It's hard to believe my winter vacation is already here, but I am certainly not complaining. I must admit, the weekend started off a bit rocky, due to the horrendous disaster of a movie entitled "The Holiday." One might be lured in by the "rom com's" advertisements. I mean if Jack Black is a main character, I'm a guaranteed viewer. Yet the previews were unbelievably misleading. One would think Jack Black was a lead. In total, I think he would account for approximately 10% of the film-might I add the only 10%of the film worth watching. Atrocious dialog, lame humor and in congruent character development had me seriously contemplating a walk out. But alas, I was tired and sitting was more enjoyable than bearing the cold weather outdoors.
The evening's events could only get better. We hopped in a Taxi, Emerald, Kate and myself-to hit up modern times. Modern Times has been this romanticized, built up dream bar; a Korean Microbrew that wouldn't let you down. Unfortunately, the last two weeks in America consisted of frequent trips to the Dirty Truth sampling the worlds BEST beer one pint at a time. Sampling all 40 beers on tap was both a proud and Delicious accomplishment, yet set me up for failure living in a nation with beer that resembles the taste of natty light. Compared to OB and Hite, PBR is a delectable beer filled with rich flavor and hop-i-ness. Now don't get me wrong, PBR was a college staple but by no means a local micro brew. Modern times did come through as was promised. Whether the beer was actually good, or whether it was a matter of commission to the beer I have been consuming is besides the point. The ale had taste. And for that I was happy. Kate "forgot her phone" which prompted us to stay for a second round. This round proved delightfully entertaining as did our first round with Jen, Sarah P and Jen's co teachers. Jen's co teacher's knew more about American Pop culture than I did. But not for long thanks to Angela serratore's package with trashy gossip magazines.* During the second round, we were pursued by a table of young guys from Seoul. When they asked us to join their party, Kate took the lead and regretfully declined saying we hadn't seen each other in a long time and needed to catch up. He understood but returned 20 minutes refusing to deny his persistent tendencies. We regretfully declined once again and made the excuse that I was very sad and needed consoling. I attempted to make my eyes water for affect. When the round of drinks hit our table though, we were at a loss. Unable to drink the plentiful amount of mekju that appeared on our table, Kate brought the beers over to the men's table and worked her magic. She explained that not only had I just had my heart broken and really needed some alone time with friends to process, my cat had died as well. Maybe the cat thing was over the top but it worked. Learning of this, my acting days came back into action and necessary too. Our new acquaintance tried to give me a pep talk about love and romance and that "this guy was no good." After thanking him for his advice and with a depressed look upon my face we walked out solemnly. The girls slept over and our day was followed by a shopping expedition for final holiday gifts.

You'd think I was going to a gala opening on Saturday evening. After buying a hip little Korean dress I went and got my hair done. Not cut, simply washed and dried. Now as most of you know, this is not my style-that is pampering myself. But for 8 dollars they would wash dry and do my hair so I couldn't resist. We ended up hitting up this party at a gallery with a random group of foreigners and local folks. it was fun-even though I was not familiar with most of the individuals at the party, it was nice to finally be involved in some social event on the island extending beyond Fulbright. Falling asleep that night was horrendous. The winds were so strong, the windows were banging uncontrollably. I woke up multiple times to an odd odd dream of travels and men breaking into my hotel it was so odd. Fortunately I was able to sleep late and get a good rest for the funky jazz concert we hit up at 이다 that night. The quintet was fantastic, though I wondered why they keyboardist couldn't stick to the basics and play a non synthesized piano. A few times, I found myself thinking "this music sounds like music I would hear in a department store. Nonetheless, the trumpet player rocked and most of their beats were rad.

Following a thrilling weekend, I am inundated with items to pack. I received a 30 lb package from the family including presents. My when I told my students I had a dig box, one boy yelled "beateboxeu? Beateboxeu Lauryn!" "No no" I said, "big box I have a big box." Amidst piles of clothing I attemtpt to make some sense of what to bring.


So I am off. Following a laid back week of work and a killer meal at the Indian food restaurant bagdad-I hop on the plane to Japan. Now, I just need to maintain my yoga routine while abroad. I use the term quite loosely since my 1 hour yoga routine last night was accompanied by a riveting episode of SVU. The meditation has gone by the wayside.

I apologize in advance to those folks who have commented on how frequently
I post. I think it might be few and far between from here on out. I am leaving the macbook home-yes I haven't been sleeping alone for quite some time, my macbook is frequently the baby spoon in a passionate affair in Korea. But we are taking a break. Going our separate ways to see if we can live without eachother. It will be a true test-to see if i can still live an independent and healthy life. Something tells me I will come across a computer with internet along the way, so keep in touch. Esp. Jan 7th since it is quite possible i may be alone on my birthday. PEACE OUT annyunghaseyo, ja-ne. much love and have a magnificant holiday.


*Yes Angela, I will take your advice and cut out the pictures of celebrities and pretend they are a photo album of all my friends. My students have asked me if I have met Johnny depp before so this concept, though absurd, would not be too far fetched.