Ringing in a New Decade! (almost)

edit: apparently my smarty-pants sister needs to point out how my title is wrong... one more year to go I guess....

New Years in Korea was fantastic. From my earlier post you can see that I was hesitant... it's typically overrated and a disappointment...not this year. The original group for the night was 6 of us, one was a brand new comer who arrived in the city a few days before. Unfortunately the new comer didn't mesh with our group (no matter how hard everyone tried) and was possibly the only downside to the night.

To start off we headed to Seoul and because two of us weren't eating we scrapped the Indian food plan (yes!) and headed to an Irish pub. I fully embarrassed myself by stating too loudly that any guy with an Irish accent completely does it for me, only to have an Irish guy with a mullet directly behind me...okay... almost any guy with an Irish accent. Drinks were expensive (8,000 Won for a cocktail) but when I took my first sip I understood why.. I almost fell of my chair there was so much alcohol in the drink. 2 drinks later and we were well on our way to a good night.

Around 11:15 we left the bar and started making our way to the outdoor countdown. Of course our group got separated as we were running through the subway stations and streets of Seoul. We slightly missed New Years because we were trying to light our firework sticks... well the two boys did, and then I yelled at them that they were missing it and to stop fooling around with whatever they were doing... good way to ring in the new year, scolding boys for playing with toys. But still it was great....no kiss (obviously), but one giant hug from my friend.

The subway stations were packed, super packed, but we managed to get on a subway and head to Hongdae (the university/club area). The first place we went was Jane's Grove, which was way too packed, plus all the lockers were gone so we were all wearing out jackets... you can't effectively bust a move with your winter jacket on. We bailed after one drink and headed to Club FF (the site of Halloween for those of you who can remember). The night from then on was amazing. We danced and drank and made new friends.


Lots of boys, although not quality boys. I had a guy tell me "you  have a sexy nose".. wait.. what? really? that's your line? And then he told me he was going to find a cigarette and would be back.. wow... smooth talker... I don't know how I resisted. Another was dressed in a bow tie. Then there were the wanna be gangster boys. The majority of guys I met were Australian, which in my drunken state, I mistook for Irish.. then when I found out the truth I said something like "oh, that's too bad.." and left soon after. (note: one of the creeeeeepers in the background...)

Some of the group... one was gone and another is MIA

Apparently two of us were in the middle of saying something

Ahaha please look at my face in the background.. I do not agree or like what this girl is saying obvi.

I can't help but hear "Hey guys! Let me in the pic!" when I look at this

Around 6 some bailed and the rest of us went in search of food and then headed to the 63 building. We made it just in time for sunrise and it was beautiful. There were tons of couples and families there as well; seeing the first sunrise of the year is a big deal in Korea... more so than drinking your face off, which seems to be the tradition in North America.

view of Seoul tower from the 63 building

Sunrise! What a great way to bring in 2010

Love it, just wish these stupid people weren't in the way

Not wanting to deal with the subway, 4 of us headed back in a cab to Incheon. I walked in at 918 in the morning and went to bed... only to be woken up at 1:00 by apartment announcements, a phone call all in Korean and one of the building managers at my door speaking only Korean. I have no idea even now what he wanted but it seemed important. There were another two announcements throughout the day that made sleeping for any long period of time difficult.

So that's the rundown of how I spent New Years in Korea. I gotta say, it was great. I know that it may not sound like it but it was one of the best New Years I have ever had. Just fun with new friends and no drama or blown expectations.

I'm excited to see what this year holds. It's weird to think that I won't be in Canada for the majority of 2010... not weird in a bad way, just weird. I'm looking forward to this year, the friends I will make (developing the new friendships I have made since arriving) and the experiences I will have.

For the first time in a long time I feel like I'm actually experiencing life and not just walking through it.