South Korea represents a lot
of firsts for me. The first few nights in South Korea I guess kind of set the tone
of my experience here.
1) My first night in a hostel
Those who read my first blog
know that I arrived a day early and a kind lady helped me find a hostel to
stay at my first night. I stayed in a four-person FEMALE dorm, but only had one
roommate for the night. She was also an American exchange student who took
classes over the summer. She helped me find a place to eat dinner and then we
went back to the hostel. ( I was too tired to explore ) Well an hour or two
later, one of the workers barges into the room. No knock or “Hey I’m coming in!”
Or anything. He just simply puts the key into the lock and turned the doorknob. He then proceeds to tell us he has to “fix the router”
which is oh so conveniently in our room. He exits the room leaving the door
wide open and as soon as I close the door, he bursts right on in again this
time bringing another worker with him. Both of them take the liberty to lie all
over my roommate’s bed. The room wasn’t very big to begin with, so it really
became crowded when the two ahjussies (Korean word for middle aged man) took
over the room.
It was one of those defining moments where you ask yourself "What is going on in my life right now?"
It was one of those defining moments where you ask yourself "What is going on in my life right now?"
I’m not really sure what they
think of foreigners if they assume its okay to barge into the other genders
room without knocking or asking permission. In America, that wouldn’t be okay.
They would have likely been threatened.
I came to this country
thinking it was a very conservative country. I guess conservative is a relative
term.
2) Clubs
.Sayyy what??!! CC went to a
club?!
My second night here, there was a welcoming
party for all the exchange students in Seoul. I joined a group of people who wanted to go to
the party. We had a nice Korean BBQ dinner, and then decided to wait out the
Welcoming Party because there was a special discount after midnight. After dinner, we went to Club Maad. Now, for
those who know me, know that clubbing/partying isn’t exactly my cup of tea…but
since I’m in a different country I decided to give it a try. The club was
small, and dark with very flashy lights that hurt my eyes and gave me an
instant headache. There were more international students rather than Koreans.
People were drinking, smoking, and yelling in each other ears. Not exactly my
ideal place to meet people. Honestly,
all I wanted to do was go back to my room, turn on a nice Korean drama and go
to sleep.
I was happy when it hit
midnight and we left the small crowded club and headed towards the welcoming
party, only to find out the welcoming party was yet another club that was even
more crowded and weren’t allowing people in.
So that was my clubbing
experience. I went, I saw, I left. Never again. I much rather watch Japanese
anime in my dorm room with my roommate. That’s my ideal of fun.