May has been a truely joyous month for me in my life in South Korea. I feel like all the hard work that I have put into learning and surviving and building a life for myself here has really started to come together in a very positive way. May is the best time of year in Seoul because it feels like summer and yet everyone is still in the city and the rain and stress of June and final exams hasn't quite set in yet. spending my weekends with Ryno has made the month of May extra special this year and given me the chance to spend some pretty fabulous times outside with friends doing what we love best; which is visiting, chilling out and having a good time. Here we are at the 'Cinco de Mayo' festival in Gangnam this past may 5th. The margaritas were plentiful and the music was mui caliente!
I also had the chance to go and see the classic indie music act 'Blonde Redhead' at the AX-Hall is Seoul at the beginning of May. It's sad to hear that the indie music scene in korea is so poorly funded and in trouble of dissappearing altogether. The promoters, Super Color Super have been having a hard time getting enough promotion and tickets sold to make any money. It's too bad, because they really are the only people in Korea trying to bring good indie acts into the country TT!!!! It was a pretty good show. I wished I had not been quite so sober as I managed not to find my friends before the concert. But in the end, I ended up going up to the balcony seats by myself. ( I really hate standing in a giant crowd by myself!) It was a lucky decision though, because the sound, the view and the photography opportunities were great!
Ryno and I and our friends Colin and Ted have created somewhat of a monthly tradition, to go and relish in the glorious tastes of France at the French embasy sponsored dinner at a lovely hotel in Gangnam. All the wine you can drink and food you can eat for 26,000WON!!!!!!!! Cheese, bread, salads, soups, roasted meat and vegetables oh my!! We can't wait for the next instalment next month! The only problem has been the hilarious and unfortunate fact that we usually eat and drink ourselves into a complete food coma and can barely manage to get home!! Haha! So good!
One of the perks of dating someone from another country and culture is that you get the chance to lean more about this new and foreign culture in the best ways possible. So it has been with me and my introduction to the South African Braai (or BBQ) culture. Ryno has many SA friends here and it's aparently really comon to have these large communal cook outs in the summer (or I guess most of the year in SA since it's always summer there!) I thought it was great! Not only to hang out with people outside and enjoy the weather, but also to eat delicious food and meet some amazing people in a great environment. I hope it wont be my last SA braai because I'm definitely a fan!
Otherwise, school is heading at breakneck speed toward finals and with my contract renewal interview coming up, things have been pretty stresssful. I'm looking forward to the end of the year and summer vacation though and I have a pretty good feeling about my evaluation scores, so with any luck, I'll be back at Soongsil University next Fall doing my thing, making some money and having fun with my friends and colleagues.
