5/18

I re-woke up around 9 am, only getting about 3 hours of sleep.
After my morning ritual, I planned to meet my very first pen pal,

💕민지.💕

민지 (Minji) and I became penpals in December of 2017 just before Christmas. We met through an online language exchange app called Anygram. After thousands of text messages, letters, video logs, and gift boxes, we finally met in Fall of 2017. 민지 lives quite far from 서울 (Seoul) in a small town near 대구 (Daegu). In our last meeting I had introduced her to my long-time friend and former pop-star 조권 (Jo Kwon). We had met at his cereal cafe called Midnight in Seoul by chance. Unfortunately, the cafe has since been closed as 권 (Kwon) is fulfilling his military status. 

So instead we agree to meet during her academy break near 한티역. We follow our tradition of getting coffees and hunting down a photo booth. We meet by 다이소 (Daiso) and we pick each other out from the crowd right away. I'm absolutely stunned at how gorgeously she's flourishing! She's in her final year of high school, and has adopted me as her older, long-distance sister. She's growing up WAY to darn fast.

Deciding to go the cheaper route for coffee, we stop by 빽's (Paik's) for a quick takeout coffee. She orders a 빽스치노 (Paiksuhccino) and I a 믹스가루 라떼 (migsugaru latte | mixed grain latte, plus espresso). 

After we're fully equipped with our mid-day energy boosts, it seems 민지 had already taken the libery of targeting a photo booth for us, so I follow her to an underground arcade in the bottom of an apartment building.

We take pictures, then take more selfies in the green screened booth. We are the 민/민 (Min/Min) selfie masters.

We had a little bit of time left before she had to return to academy, so she toured me around her school's area while we talk and finish up our drinks. She walks with me back to the station, and we make plans to meet once more the following Sunday. 

After meeting 민지 I return home and work for awhile until I had to go to my final lesson with 윤정 (Yoonjeong). It was a great final lesson, and I assured her that if she ever had questions just to message me. She thanked me and we parted for the last time... at least for now.

After my lesson I met with my Italian friend, Sara. We were to meet up with Dave and a few other foreigner friends plus 윤재 for a thorough 불토 (bool-to | Jessica for burning Saturday). We end up at an 오징어 (ojingeo | squid) restaurant and, most of the menu items being foreign to us, order a random but decent looking item. We are pleasantly surprised.

As we eat, a man in his early thirties (probably) sneaks up and takes the seat next to me. He tries to communicate in English but ultimately fails. I tell him to speak Korean but slowly because we'd be able to understand. His friends giggled and snickered a few tables away as he explained that they wanted us to join them for drinking. Sara and I both exchanged glances and just told him we were more than fine on our own. He left neutrally, then returned with two bottles of beer in consolation for bothering us. Nice.

After we finished, we toured to Playground to go meet up with 윤재, then head into Mike's while we still can for free. None of us planned to return, so we didn't bother buying drinks for a stamp to return without an entry fee. Its ultimately way to crowded so we agree to try another venue. We go to Thursday party, but just as we enter I get a message from Dave that their end of the party wanted to meet us in Playground. We turn right back around and once again meet in the park. We meet the ginormous party of mostly girls (plus Dave). The party now consisted of 

• 2 Italians
• 2 French 
• 2 Americans
• 2 Koreans
• 1 Lithuanian

And then we were bothered by three incredibly drunk and stupid American boys. One spoke English and hit it off with 윤재 really fast. Another Korean boy came up and mentioned to me that he had recognized me from the dance competition the night before. I laugh, a little flustered by the memory. We talk for a bit until our party moves to Thursday, and we dance for a bit, leaving 윤재 and the boys behind. 

Still needing a little boost to our vibe, Sara and I agree to return to Playground to drink outside for a bit. As we're walking, we cross paths with the boys and 재 (Jae) as they were coming to meet us at Thursday's. They follow us back to Playground, the boys noisily complaining that they had just come from there. There names were Jesi, Thomas, and George. And each were incredibly nauseating in each of their own special ways. Thomas was nearly gone, looking like a angsty teenage skateboarder from 2012, he continuously asked us the same questions over and over again, as his memory failed to retain any information. He introduced himself to me three times.

And was shocked when I "guessed" his name the third time.

George seemed alright, buying us a bottle of 막걸리 (makgeolli) and Sara a beer from the GoodTime. But he failed to get cups. Here's the thing... I don't share with American people I don't know.

Diseases are WAY to common in America for me to risk that.

So when I gave a sudden change of heart to drinking the bottle, George took it personally. I mention that I just didn't feel comfortable sharing. And then he apologizes sarcastically, saying I've already made a scene and returns to buy cups. I'm glad I had, because 윤재 seemed uncomfortable with sharing as well. 

And Jesi? He just continuously apologized for his two brothers' behaviors.

Sara and I were obviously trying with all our might to ditch them, and 윤재 wanted to stay with them because she had eyes on George. So Sara and I announce that we would return to Thursday Party to meet the others, and depart with them once again. 

We regroup with our foreigner girl party (+Dave) once more, and set off for a club. We end up at Sabotage, but the music just isn't quite what we needed, and it was full of smoke.

Oh, and we made up the entire population of foreigners.

Roxanne and I recall the night we first had met, introduced by Dave. Roxanne had a hard time making friends with girls, so Dave was a little hesitant at first. But we became glued to the hip almost immediately. It was my first time clubbing, and we had come to Sabotage that night as well. She had met an old friend there, who had been flirting with her off an on for sometime. Bummy (we call him) now lives with Roxanne in 수원 (Suwon) three years later.

Amazing.

After Sabotage we decide to go to Cocky Pub for drinks, but as we're walking we notice the recently renovated building on the end of the street from Cocky and Thursday's had been changed from a fancy patio restaurant to a neon decorated bar stocked with beer pong, darts, a dj booth, tables, and a dance floor. 

At the Corner Pub, we order drinks, amazingly cheap for such a decent atmosphere, and the ladies drinking draft were escorted to a second bar specially designed for the draft beers. While Dave, the gin&tonic boi was sent to the other end of the bar. 

The music was awesome, the vibe was great, and we were able to make enough space to enjoy our time.

I receive a message from 재 that she was at Thursday Party and the boys had left. I leave our party to go next door and pick her up, as the Corner Pub was an unknown location to her. It begins to rain, and we have to push through a growing mass of people on Thursday Party's patio just to go back to the next door location. But as we exit, we see Dave and the girls running in the opposite direction. They wanted 소주 (Soju). From Playground. Excellent timing ladies. Drink outside just as it starts pouring.

But one gal was missing. Sara.

Frick.

They said she had ran to the bathroom but they weren't sure where she'd gone off to. I text her frantically informing her to meet us at Playground, pick out a bottle of 유자 (Yuza) 소주  and I head to the Playgorund bathroom to let loose the fluids I had been holding in. Doesn't rain make you want to pee?

2/3 stalls are open, but there's a mass of people in front of them. I ask if the girls in front of me are in line, and they explain that the bathrooms were a literally shit storm (pardon my language) and were worth the wait. Rethinking my plan, I run (literally) through the rain into Cocky Pub and use their very nice, clean, toilet paper stocked facilities. I return to Playground, receiving a message from Sara that she was very lost, as she was not very well rounded in 홍대's structure. I send her our location in hopes of her finding us. I'd have gone to her but that would have been even messier.

We huddle amongst about 60 others under a small canvas in Playground park, sheltered from the rain.

 We mingle with others, and finally Sara returns to me. I hug her in relief, letting loose all the worry I had gone through in her absence. Dave is talking to my left with a charming little blond girl, and he is shocked to find that she, too, is from Minnesota. I squeal happily, it turns out Cassie and I only live an hour apart.

Another guy who had recognized me from the night before approaches me, and we discuss how he was born in Seoul but grew up in Boston. We exchange Kakaotalks in hopes to stay friends.

As we had been talking, another Korean guy had struck up a conversation with Sara. He mentioned that his girlfriend was a foreigner in Korea, but didn't speak any Korean (How you do that... I do NOT know). But alas, he wanted to practice his English and offered to have Sara and I join him at a restaurant on his dime (백 원? 100 won?). So we agree excited for free food and follow him to pick out a place to eat, waving goodnight to the others. At the restaurant, we order 쭈꾸미 (jjukkumi), 김치 두부 (kimchi tooboo | kimchi tofu), and 어뎅탕 (eodeng tang | fish cake soup), and 맥주 (maekjoo | beer).

We talk for a bit, but are clearly drenched and exhausted. I had been wearing a crop top with jeans and a belt, so when I sat I VERY NATURALLY got somewhat of a jelly roll. 

대영, has the nerve to say, "You know you shouldn't wear crop tops."

"Why?" Sara and I ask at the same time.

"If you have a lot of fat you shouldn't wear them." 

Both Sara and I were lost for words. The balls of this buttbag.

"Here," He takes off his jean jacket and hands it to me. "Wear this."

I was freezing, so I do. Not to cover up my flub. He mentions that its very expensive and his favorite jacket, but it looks good on me. 

Sara then gives him the business for his dick-ish comment.

He fails to see our point and doesn't apologize. We inform him that it was time to go, we were exhausted, and wanted to go home. He lets us free, and we walk back to the station. 

Guess who still had the jacket. Binch.

Yeah, it does look pretty good on me.