Daegu came alive for me in a whole new way this weekend. I went out! For the first time since arriving in Korea in May I stayed out past 11pm. Why you might ask? Well, the subway closes at midnight here (lame, I know) and it takes about 25 minutes for me to get from Jungangno (downtown) back to my place in Hwawon if I take the subway, so after midnight, the only option is a taxi, which is a lot more expensive than the subway which only costs 80 cents each way. It is not the most convenient situation for going out on a Saturday night but a girl's gotta live a little, right?

I met Jamaleh, a friend of a friend of mine who works in Seoul in front of Outback Steakhouse with her friend Peter and from there we went to the Oriental Bar where a group of their friends waited to surprise Peter for his birthday, which was yesterday. We greeted them all and joined them, a mix of Canadian English teachers and Koreans seated on the floor behind a black, shiny, low to the floor table. I had already eaten so I did not indulge in any of the garlic and ginger prawns that the two Canadian teachers had ordered, but how could I say no to the cake? It was Peter's birthday after all!! It was a green tea cake with whipped cream frosting topped with strawberries, pineapples, and peaches. That's right, green tea, it's all the rage in Asia. You can go to Dunkin' Donuts and find green tea flavored donuts, green tea muffins, and in the supermarkets there is Haagen Daz green tea ice cream. It's everywhere, and it makes sense given that green tea did originate in Japan, though I doubt that it retains all of those cancer fighting anti-oxidants when ingredients like butter, sugar, and cream are added! But surprisingly, when I took a bite, it actually tasted like green tea, and was the same deep sage green color of the age old beverage itself. Festive, yet healthful.

It was great to feel the energy of a group of people. There is a lot to be said for solitude, but too much of it can lead to feelings of isolation, and I had started to feel isolated. After dinner, we headed to a noraebang, a karaoke room. It was my first time in one, and I had a great time--belting out songs like "Careless Whisper," "Born to be Wild," and Dead or Alive, by Bon Jovi. Anything by Bon Jovi is a hoot and a holler in a karaoke room. The two Canadian women sang a rendition of Michael Jackson's "I'm Bad," complete with all the "shamons!" I made some new friends and got out of my usual weekend routine, which did wonders for my state of mind.

Being in Seoul is like being on one long, endless subway ride. I spent last weekend there to meet up with friends and take a break from my stressful teaching life. Whenever I think about going up there, I always have an ambitious itinerary in mind, but sometimes I forget how difficult it can be to find the locations of neighborhoods when you're in a huge metropolis of 10.3 million people where very little English is spoken and the subway has 8 lines. I wanted to go to Insadong, a trendy district full of tea and coffee shops, pottery shops, all kinds of clothing stores, street vendors selling shoes, artwork, Korean crafts and a lot more. I visited this area on my first trip to the capital and loved the cultured, artistic unartificial feel to it. However, this did not happen because I took the wrong subway line. I did not realize it until I had been riding for about a half an hour. Since I left my luggage in a locker at the Yongsan subway station which was on the orange line, I thought it best to go back in that direction since it was approaching 8pm, when I had to meet my friends. I am thinking about getting a teaching job in a city near Seoul for next year, perhaps Incheon or Suwon or Bundang. It might be fun to get the best of both worlds--the calmer atmosphere of a smaller city when I want to relax and the buzz and energy of the big city when I want to have some fun. Living right in Seoul would be too much--I would not be able to stand the crowded subways and streets. When I returned to Daegu and took the subway from the Dongdaegu station back to my apartment in Daegok, I looked with gratitude at the subway map, a very simple, green and red, 2-line system.