A Potential Bust that Hit 21

So this past weekend was one to remember (or in some cases, not remember). It all started when 40+ foreign teachers in the ChungNam province were told around Wednesday that this weekend would have a compulsory training in Asan. Thank God I didn't have a date. So we were all shipped off to Asan for a weekend of fun, fun, 12-hour days. No leaving campus, no drinking, done with class at 9, lights out at 11.

The weekend was looking like it would be quite...

But then we remembered, Ohh wait! We're grown-ups, not university freshmen! Ohh, also we are being forced to be at this thing when we could be doing... well, anything other than that. We Hongseong teachers were the second town to show up and they started to trickle in throughout the morning. The classes ranged from "informative" to "pulling teeth whilst watching paint dry." Lunch was... well... never mind... I was feeling much like the singer of "Camp Grenada."

The lunch room had interesting advertising though.

It wasn't that bad though, there were plenty of new people to talk to, the majority of whom were just as keen as I was on the restrictions. Our last session of the night was "Korean Culture" and the lady presenting for us put up a slide that had two nuns on a motorcycle that said "If you obey all the rules you'll miss all the fun." So yeah-- that was all the convincing many of the others needed. First thing after the classes were out we went exploring around our building. Upon finding a Noraebang (Karaoke; literally "Song Room") we were gestured to enter by what we could only assume were scouts of some sort.

They began by putting pitchers on their heads...

...and proceeded to verify every assumption

any of us ever had about Korea. In a good way.

The next day involved a field trip to Independence Hall which seemed really cool at first.

There was a sweet gateway thing...

...and a cool Fountainhead-looking statue...

...and some neat exhibits in the museum.

Spinning figure of the inventor of Hangul

and the face of 10,000 Won.

Yes-- 9 floors. And if you want to catch Ho-Oh

you're going to have to climb the whole thing.

But then the tour walked into the area about the Japanese occupation of Korea-- fully equipped with animatronic scenes of torture. Really unsettling. I now understand the fear of foreigners. Understand it but it doesn't make me more okay with it. I stopped taking pictures at this point because I was rather bothered. At least they gave us 45 minutes to figure out what to do with ourselves before lunch. Gave us time to settle our stomachs.

That night was excellent though. We got some Noraebang action for us teachers and the majority of us sang some. I sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and apparently I did an okay job, a few people said I sound like him. Everybody had a pretty great time. Some had too great a time, sent us out for snacks and by the time we got back most of them were asleep. That good a time.

Yesterday was pretty alright. We finished up the classes, had a little ceremony at the end, and went our separate ways. We all made some new friends, heard some great ideas as to different ways to have fun around Korea and so all in all it was worth the general inconvenience. I was back in my apartment playing BioShock by 6:30pm. Asleep by 8. I was beat. I'm charging up my camera for another week of potential awesomeness. You keep reading 'em, I'll keep writing 'em.

Goodnight, my freaky darlings.