Whats up, Beaches!

Our first weekend!

It's been a pretty long first week. Nothing negative to speak of, just a full schedule of teaching and errands. We're finally getting the hang of the classes here...our wonderful students make even the harder days easier and fun.

But enough about work, it's the weekend!

Friday night was our first night out, so we took the subway down to Gwangalli Beach (my first time on a subway!) for some strollin', eatin', and drinkin'. After walking for a while, we found a restaurant right with a patio right on the beach. The food wasn't really anything to brag about, but what they lacked in cuisine, they made up for in view. A great view of the water and the Gwangalli Bridge, as well as the perfect place for some people watching.

The boardwalk area is pretty happenin' on the weekends in Busan. After dinner we made our way down the beach amongst young korean couples and tons of expats. Until friday, we had only seen one other white dude in korea (with the exception of katie and lane). So, it was nice to get a little diversity for the weekend. I'm pretty sure the population in Korea is about 98-99% Korean...which might sound obvious, but is much MUCH different than living in America. We really take if for granted how many wonderfully different cultures we have mixing and mashing together in the states.

One thing that is really big over here is fireworks. They are totally legal, totally everywhere. I saw at least five vendors selling them on the beach. The popular ones around here are big Roman Candles. It definitely makes for an exciting atmosphere combined with drinking, anywhere and everywhere.

We only went to one bar, "Thursday Party," after dinner. It was reminiscent of maybe a mix between the Blind Pig and the Hole in the Wall. Probably not somewhere I would frequent at home, but it was really nice to get to order some Long Islands that were just $5 and listen to some music that isn't K-Pop (Korean Pop).

After a couple drinks and the first time that someone accepted a tip from me, we decided on convenience-store-bar, which is actually almost like a bar. Most of the stores on the beach put chairs and tables out front for people to sit and enjoy. The clerk even pops your beers for you.

Saturday was our first day without work, and I think we maxed out our relaxation as much as we could.

We headed through the subway to Songjeong Beach, which, from what we've been told, is one of the cleaner beaches for swimming.

I felt comfortable as soon as we got there. A place with little shack-bars, surf-board rentals, families on the beach, and even reggae music! can't be beat. This is where we found our first burger joint, called Blow Fish, that even had jalapenos, pitches, and english speaking bartenders. I don't want to sound like we're not enjoying our korean food and culture, because we are tremendously, it's just that we eat korean bbq/seafood a lot, and only hear korean spoken, so when we find a place with a hint of Texas, it's work mentioning....plus, i Love jalapenos!

After catching some much needed rays and salt water, we had a chill saturday evening in our neighborhood, Yeonje-gu. We went out for some Sam Gap Sal (Korean BBQ'd pork) with Kimchi, Bop (rice), and a couple big beers for like $10 each....not bad.

Sunday evening we met some friends in the middle of the city at a Lotte Giants baseball game.

I'd heard how crazy Koreans are about baseball, but i really had no clue how far one could take it. The stadium was packed to the brim with about 30,000 screaming fans. And pretty much all of them were decked out in their favorite player's uniform.

It was refreshing to see how excited and happy people can be if they want to. There are many instances back home, where i feel like the hipster gets the better of us, and we don't fully embrace the silly side of life.

We found our seats and popped open the cooler...yes, you can bring your own cooler to baseball games here....any food you want too!

The game started, and so did the chants. Every player has their own "song" that the ENTIRE crowd sings along with when the get up to bat. Most of the songs are korean words to well known american songs...not all of them "pop." For instance, one of the players' songs was to the tune of "Glory Glory Halleluia"....no bs.

The home team Giants played amazingly well, and we ended up winning 8-3 over a team from Seoul. One of the cheesiest things we did happened in the 8th inning. Regardless of the score, the fans here get there equivalent of a Rally-cap going in the top of the 8th.

They pass out these orange grocery bags that have writing upside-down on them...everyone blows them up and ties it off, and then hooks it over their ears so that the inflated bag is now your hat. In all honesty, it was the funniest thing I have ever seen...or done.

After the game, we headed to a bar on Haeundae Beach. Our friend got a tip from somewhere on the interweb about the players wanting to go to this bar after the game. There were about 5 people there when we showed up. Needless to say, I was more than skeptical about the reality of these "ballers" making an appearance. Well, skepticism may turn out true sometimes, but I was wrong. About 6 of the players came with the coach about 20 minutes later.

The coach gave a speech, (he's an american, and so i finally got to understand what was being said in the same room) and the players all signed autographs for the fans that made it out.

One of the players ended up talking with our friends, Ginger and Bruce, and we had a real nice time over some Red Rock, a pretty good Korean lager.

He played ball in Florida, then California, and now he's the main pitcher for the Lotte Giants! He said he's really loving it here. Amy had the idea that he might want to hang with some englishers, and so we gave him my number. I know. I'm a dork. But he was pretty chill and interesting, and we speak the same language. I think we might get some Vietnamese food at a place he really likes down at Gwangalli on thursday. Woohoo! Our first new friend in Korea, and he's a professional baseball player!

First weekend down. 51 to go!