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Published: June 10th 2008
The Galbi Gobblers
No, Jeff isn't a weirdo, he's just wearing a ripped American flag t-shirt, a mullet wig, and Aviator sunglasses.This weekend I had one of the best times since I have been in country, despite Dan still being away. (Only one more week, woo hoo!) I had a three day weekend because it was Korea's Memorial Day, so no work on Friday. I more or less wasted the day away sleeping, snacking, reading, and beginning a now full-blown addiction to Grey's Anatomy. (I swear I have never seen an episode before, but now I watch all sorts of full season TV shows online- www.watchtvsitcoms.com)
Friday night I went to dinner with Kelly and Patricia. We took the train to Uijungbu, where Patricia lives, and had an awesome Kalbi (Galbi) dinner. Kalbi is the name of the meat (pork, I believe?) and at this restaurant it is marinated in a really great sweet sauce I can only describe as honey meets spice. You cook the meat yourself over the coals that are brought to the table by the waiter. When you order Galbi (or whatever main course item you want) you automatically get all the sides. (Onions in a sweet oil to be grilled or eaten raw, red pepper paste, thin green and white onions, garlic cloves, soup, Kimchi, and
A Korean with a tattoo
He didn't seem at all phased when 4 Americans begged to have their picture taken with him... lettuce leaves to roll up the meat and vegetables to be eaten as a sandwich.) We did some light shopping at The Face Shop (the pollution and hard water here are killer on the skin so I need to give it a little extra TLC) and bought matching T-Shirts and Camo hats to be worn together for the Scavanger Hunt the next day.
At 11 am on Saturday we met on the Line 1 train and transferred to Line 4, bound for Itaewon. Since the Scavenger Hunt in which we were to partake needed 4 person teams Kelly invited her friend Jeff, also in the Army, who turned out to be a really funny guy, and quite the good sport. We had bought matching American Flag T-Shirts not only for ourselves, but for him too, and although it was FAR too small, he made do by cutting off the sleeves and allowing the remaining material to slowly cut off the circulation in his arms. We went to Rocky Mountain Tavern, a Canadian Bar, and signed up for the Scavenger Hunt. Our team name was the Galbi Gobblers in honor of our fabulous dinner the previous night. Upon looking at
Kelly, Patricia and I
In our matching Tees and Camo hats, in the taxi on the way to the Sports Complex the goals I knew we were either not going to win, or we wouldn't bother to finish. Some were easy, like "Find 6 Konglish Signs", "Eat a Pita Time pita in five bites or less", "Visit three bars named after famous bands" (Queen, Wallflowers, Rolling Stones), "Wear Korean masks", and "chug a beer with the Stanley Cup" (a picture of the Stanley Cup I was disappointed to find out.) But then we noticed some of the crazier tasks, like "Take your shirt off while waiting for the subway", "Run down Hooker Hill" (part of the Red Light District) in your underwear (and probably not the strangest thing to be seen on Hooker Hill, even mid-afternoon), "Eat dog soup" ( NO WAY!), "Get a piercing", "wear a strap-on", and "Eat Bon-Daegi" (I believe this is chicken claw). Oh, did I mention you need to have pictures and video of everything as proof that you accomplished each task? Yeah... after we did the human pyramid in front of the drug store, found a Korean man with a tattoo (tattooing is illegal in Korea), got one Konglish sign ("Don't touch Do Acnes" a sign for face cleanser) and found "Queen Bar" (a gay
Twins Cheerleaders
Both teams had 4 cheerleaders/dancers/bat-girls, who gyrated and feigned innocence for over 4 hours club) we decided to break for a pitcher of beer on a rooftop bar and never resumed the contest. Instead, we took a taxi to the Sports Complex to meet with several of Jeff's friends to watch the LG Twins take on the Doosan Bears. These guys (all Army) have devoted themselves to the Twins, so us girls had to become immediate fans as well, or suffer from their vehement heckling.
This was such a great time! First, there are about 18 Korean baseball teams. Each team is not owned by a city or region, but instead by companies, (hence the LG Twins) which for me creates the question of loyalty. How do you decide who to root for? Your employer? Your DVD Player manufacturer? I quickly realized that being a fan is not a fickle role, nor one that should be taken lightly. There is a definite line between team fans in the stands, each side has cheerleaders, a male crowd leader, and props. There is an extensive repertoire of dances, songs, and cheers. Not once in the entire 4 and a half hours was it calm, but instead it was constant singing, chanting and swaying.
After
Twins Fans!
With our signs... not sure what they say exactly the game the whole group of us (12 or so) headed to Sincheon (SIN-chon) to go to the Red Dog bar, which is frequented by our Twins' fan friends. Soon we were taking Irish Car Bombs, SoCo and limes, and tequila shots. (I was thankful I had refrained from drinking all day, unlike my companions!) After a few hours and losing some of the guys along the way we went on to the next bar, where we had to stay put until after curfew (the soldiers must be on base or in their lodging by 1 am or risk being picked up by MP's). Once we assumed it was all clear we took a cab to Lord-knows-where and had another Galbi dinner. We stuffed ourselves silly until 3:30 am when we headed back to Itaewon and went to the hotel. Kelly and I were done for the night (day) and decided to go to bed, but Patricia, Jeff and a couple others headed to a trendy wine bar down the road, and finally rolled in around 6 am. (I know it was this time because their entrance was less than graceful, and I could see the sunshine peeking from behind
Super Fan
A young mentally handicapped man named Super Fan runs around the stands with a Burger King bag on his head, the unofficial mascot of the LG Twins! the curtains).
All in all, a great weekend! Us girls have decided to make it to the Twins' games more often because we had such a great time. And we secured tickets to June 22nd's soccer game at World Cup Stadium- North Korea vs. South Korea! Should be an AWESOME game... even though I loathe soccer I think this game extends beyond just another match. I wonder if there will be any North Korean fans? I don't think that's a possibility. Oh well, I'll make sure to let you know all about it!
xoxo
Erin
P.S. There are three videos attached to this post... one at the game, one of my kids singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and one of the Club Dancing I mentioned before.
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anonymous
non-member comment
Dry squid eeewww.. anywhoo it looks like you had a blast.. I deff know how ya feel with the whole misin your man thing, can't wait till mike comes home from N.Y.C. anywhoo miss ya bunches!!!!