An American Fish Out Of Water In South Korea: So Hard To Say Good-bye

Saturday was my big going away party in Songtan. It was also MJ's (the owner of the Bellagio bar) birthday. This meant it was a two for one kind of party, which meant lots of people and lots of booze, and most importantly... lots of meat off of the base! I love these bbq's that they throw for people leaving. You can eat your weight in meat and then some. So, here are a few of the pics from the weekend's festivities. By the way, Jennifer was really sick and couldn't come. So, that's why you don't see her in any of the pictures. Toni is such a lady.

The party actually was spread over two nights. The first night it was really just Toni, Jude, and I having a more relaxed evening in Songtan. Here are some pics from that night. Here's Toni and MJ doing the heart shape that friends do and that couples do when dating here in Korea. It's so cute... kind of makes you want to throw up a little bit. By the way, MJ put a picture of me up behind the bar, so I'm going to forever be a part of the Bellagio.

Here's a picture of MJ eating a chicken neck. Eating the neck is such a super Korean thing to do.

Here is a picture of Jude and I giving the Korean equivalent of the middle finger. It's supposed to represent a penis inside a vagina... it does give a whole new meaning to the whole "I've got your nose" game that we play with little kids. This pose was to honor Toni.

Toni and I have a love hate relationship I guess. Here is the love...

And here is the hate.

Remember Toni's birthday party? Remember how MJ covered Toni's face with chocolate frosting? Well, Toni hoped to do the same to MJ... but MJ had other things in mind. Oh well, I guess you just can't win.

There were a lot of people who came out for the party. My friend Won, who lives in Itaewon in Seoul came to Songtan, a two hour trip by subway. Mattie (remember the famous "no hands" pool game?) showed up with his wife and stayed until the wee hours of the morning. Another Aussie friend, Marlina, who used to live in Anseong even made it. It was really great to see everyone before I left.

Here is a pic of Jude and Mattie, both just starting to get a little drunk. There was an insane amount of alcohol flowing that night.

Here's a picture of Jude with our friend Clara. Jude always gives the thumbs up in his pictures. Seriously, every single picture of him in Korea looks like this.

Here's a picture of Sandra looking beautiful. I'm going to miss her so much. By the way, she can drink anyone under the table. You don't even want to try and challenge her.

Here's a picture of Sandra taking a picture of me taking a picture of her. Also, you can see Toni hitting Mattie in the head with a rose. I don't quite remember who bought me a rose, but I had two of them.

This is what happens when Toni plays bartender. This is the draft beer that she poured me. I look like I'm Gulliver!

There were some people at the party whom I had just met a couple of times, but would have liked to get to know better. Here is a picture of Won and Charles, who teaches at a university in Seoul somewhere. He's a super nice guy. He bought everyone some shots. I really enjoyed talking to him.

Here's a picture of Marlina's friend Jess from South Africa. This was only my second time meeting her, but really, she and I had a great time. Too bad I wasn't a bit more lucid about using my camera. But by the time we were at our third or fourth bar I was forgetting to take some pictures. I can't imagine why.

In the end, we made our way back to the Bellagio, after visiting more bars than I can remember. There was still plenty of bbq left over, so we started eating again. Nothing better than a cold hamburger or sausage when you're a little bit tipsy.