Rambling. Seriously.
There are a few things and people I need to tell you about if you want to understand what it is I do in Korea (outside of teaching).
First, Bruno Hill. Late 30s, been here in SK for 12 years, married to a Korean, has an adopted Korean daughter (delightful, functionally fluent girl whom I taught for two terms), and who I met while playing World of Warcraft in my spare time. Bruno played on the same server as I, and we dicked around together in the same guild for awhile. He taught students English online, but when he decided the money was tighter than he was accustomed to, I forwarded his info to Jimmy (my boss) and he soon started working at CDI Imae, along with myself.
Tuesday nights, we would always go across the street to a hof called Marcello's. A few things: a hof (pronounced "hop-uh" in Korean) is a restaraunt style that I wish was more prevalent in the states. No bar, but most drinks you could want, and the best fucking bar food on the planet (last night, Bruno and I had, for example, cuttlefish, mushrooms, thick noodles, and a sweet and spicy sauce in a mixed meal), along with a really great relaxed atmosphere. Marcello's is a hof owned by a gentleman named Marcello (I don't know his Korean name, but he claims his "Italian" name is his "Catholic" name). Marcello turned very quickly from the basic "nice bar owner" to "Ryan and Bruno's best friend." This isn't because he cuts us any slack when we drink - we pay our share - but because we're friends. Ok, I lied. A $300 night generally costs about $200 for us, because we tend to get whiskey, and Marcello drinks with us. On most nights, we tend to sit with other Korean gentlemen that end up picking up much of the tab.
Recently, Marcello invited us to Busan to get ripshit for a weekend and fuck prostitutes (as far as I could tell from his body language, anyway). We haven't said yes yet (outside of the basic "sure, but not THIS weekend!" kind of thing), but thanks to the fact that Bruno and I are now founding employees of Jimmy's new business, we're considering just working our asses off during the week and traveling every single weekend (this has a preliminary thumbs-up from Marcello) because, well, working 60-hour weeks gives us the right to think we deserve it.
As an aside, prostitution and pay-for-play isn't looked at the same way as it is in the states. Here, it's what drunk men tend to do if they have cash burning a hole in their pocket. back stateside, you're not a man if you have to pay for play. Here, if a businessman offers to pay for a whore because he thinks you're a cool dude, and you refuse, they get very, very confused (yes, it has happened to me).
Anyway, last night Bruno and I went to Marcello's so we could sit and talk about the new business opportunities Jimmy pushed on us.
**To clarify, our employer, Jimmy Chang, has opened a recruiting business that he wants to turn into a large market-share beast (and that I'm relatively confident he could, if he wanted to), and he aggressively recruited myself and Bruno into his "let's get started" crew. It makes me feel somewhat appreciated that Jimmy (who is banking AT LEAST $200k/year from his two schools) wants he and I to be there when the money starts flowing.**
Back to the facts. We went there to talk shop, and of course Marcello sits down and brings his own glass, and we all start drinking. By the way, Korean beer (other than Cafri, which is palatable at best) is ONLY decent on tap. Bottled, it's all fucking awful. Anywho, we chit chat, and Marcello has recently returned (that day) from Busan for a wedding.
(There's going to be a lot of explanatory breaks here, because I haven't written much at all about Korea, and I think I need to write a book now). Korean food is fucking fantastic, and fucking different. Ubiquitous of course is kimchi. I hated it when I got here (PICKLED CABBAGE doesn't sound appetizing at all, for certain), but after a month or so, you realize just how fantastic it is. We ordered "clenched fist rice" (I'd write it in Korean but it wouldn't make much sense for those of you reading this that don't speak it at all - it's basically spiced rice balls wrapped in salty seaweed the size of your fist) and asked for whatever Marcello recommended, and got a nice noodle dish with cuttlefish, mushrooms, oysters, and shrimp.
ANYHUM, we ended up staying with and drinking with Marcello at his hof until well after it was closed (2 or 3), and I ended up covering the night, which was just over sixty bucks. Doing the math in my head, we essentially paid for drinks and got a mountain of food for free. This is pretty typical. We either close the bar with Marcello or with Marcello and whoever he sits us with (sometimes many hours after closing), and now and again we go play Korean 3-bumper pool (which is fucking HARD but pretty awesome) with Marcello, then head to bed.
We found out the other night while there that his wife thinks we're wonderful people, but would rather we only came by once a week because we end up going elsewhere until 6am, and she wants her husband home sooner. For the record, his wife is a wonderful, wonderful woman. She often sits and drinks/chats with us. We thought that was a riot.
Anyway, tonight, myself, Bruno, and Michael (a new teacher) went to the Family Mart convenient store next to the school for a drink after classes ended. This sounds like a redneck thing to do. But lemme tell you, grabbing beers at a convenience store and parking yourself at the tables outside (which most convenience stores have) is utterly normal here. So, we did that because we didn't want to stay out until 2am+ like we do whenever we go to Marcello's. And guess who walks by?
Yep, Marcello.
He was going to visit a friend in the apartments about half a block down the road (from what I could gather), but decided instead to sit with us and drink and chat. We sucked down Cafri and Heineken while chit chatting, and he ordered us fried chicken from his hof to be delivered to us for fuckin' free, and it wasn't until 1:45 or so that we finally called it a night.
So, in the end, that's what I do in Korea. I work and drink with Bruno and Marcello. Soon, I may start travelling quite often, as well. I rambled a lot here, but I didn't have any clear objective when I started writing, so this is what you get.
Also, for those who have considered ever teaching in Korea or abroad at all, I can hook you up. Good schools, great pay, and most importantly, a great experience. So many people still think Korea is a third-word country. Those people are fucking ignorant. Korea is an OECD country and the most wired in the world. It's ridiculously modern, and the experience here is well worth your time and effort to experience. Also, the money is fucking amazing.
First, Bruno Hill. Late 30s, been here in SK for 12 years, married to a Korean, has an adopted Korean daughter (delightful, functionally fluent girl whom I taught for two terms), and who I met while playing World of Warcraft in my spare time. Bruno played on the same server as I, and we dicked around together in the same guild for awhile. He taught students English online, but when he decided the money was tighter than he was accustomed to, I forwarded his info to Jimmy (my boss) and he soon started working at CDI Imae, along with myself.
Tuesday nights, we would always go across the street to a hof called Marcello's. A few things: a hof (pronounced "hop-uh" in Korean) is a restaraunt style that I wish was more prevalent in the states. No bar, but most drinks you could want, and the best fucking bar food on the planet (last night, Bruno and I had, for example, cuttlefish, mushrooms, thick noodles, and a sweet and spicy sauce in a mixed meal), along with a really great relaxed atmosphere. Marcello's is a hof owned by a gentleman named Marcello (I don't know his Korean name, but he claims his "Italian" name is his "Catholic" name). Marcello turned very quickly from the basic "nice bar owner" to "Ryan and Bruno's best friend." This isn't because he cuts us any slack when we drink - we pay our share - but because we're friends. Ok, I lied. A $300 night generally costs about $200 for us, because we tend to get whiskey, and Marcello drinks with us. On most nights, we tend to sit with other Korean gentlemen that end up picking up much of the tab.
Recently, Marcello invited us to Busan to get ripshit for a weekend and fuck prostitutes (as far as I could tell from his body language, anyway). We haven't said yes yet (outside of the basic "sure, but not THIS weekend!" kind of thing), but thanks to the fact that Bruno and I are now founding employees of Jimmy's new business, we're considering just working our asses off during the week and traveling every single weekend (this has a preliminary thumbs-up from Marcello) because, well, working 60-hour weeks gives us the right to think we deserve it.
As an aside, prostitution and pay-for-play isn't looked at the same way as it is in the states. Here, it's what drunk men tend to do if they have cash burning a hole in their pocket. back stateside, you're not a man if you have to pay for play. Here, if a businessman offers to pay for a whore because he thinks you're a cool dude, and you refuse, they get very, very confused (yes, it has happened to me).
Anyway, last night Bruno and I went to Marcello's so we could sit and talk about the new business opportunities Jimmy pushed on us.
**To clarify, our employer, Jimmy Chang, has opened a recruiting business that he wants to turn into a large market-share beast (and that I'm relatively confident he could, if he wanted to), and he aggressively recruited myself and Bruno into his "let's get started" crew. It makes me feel somewhat appreciated that Jimmy (who is banking AT LEAST $200k/year from his two schools) wants he and I to be there when the money starts flowing.**
Back to the facts. We went there to talk shop, and of course Marcello sits down and brings his own glass, and we all start drinking. By the way, Korean beer (other than Cafri, which is palatable at best) is ONLY decent on tap. Bottled, it's all fucking awful. Anywho, we chit chat, and Marcello has recently returned (that day) from Busan for a wedding.
(There's going to be a lot of explanatory breaks here, because I haven't written much at all about Korea, and I think I need to write a book now). Korean food is fucking fantastic, and fucking different. Ubiquitous of course is kimchi. I hated it when I got here (PICKLED CABBAGE doesn't sound appetizing at all, for certain), but after a month or so, you realize just how fantastic it is. We ordered "clenched fist rice" (I'd write it in Korean but it wouldn't make much sense for those of you reading this that don't speak it at all - it's basically spiced rice balls wrapped in salty seaweed the size of your fist) and asked for whatever Marcello recommended, and got a nice noodle dish with cuttlefish, mushrooms, oysters, and shrimp.
ANYHUM, we ended up staying with and drinking with Marcello at his hof until well after it was closed (2 or 3), and I ended up covering the night, which was just over sixty bucks. Doing the math in my head, we essentially paid for drinks and got a mountain of food for free. This is pretty typical. We either close the bar with Marcello or with Marcello and whoever he sits us with (sometimes many hours after closing), and now and again we go play Korean 3-bumper pool (which is fucking HARD but pretty awesome) with Marcello, then head to bed.
We found out the other night while there that his wife thinks we're wonderful people, but would rather we only came by once a week because we end up going elsewhere until 6am, and she wants her husband home sooner. For the record, his wife is a wonderful, wonderful woman. She often sits and drinks/chats with us. We thought that was a riot.
Anyway, tonight, myself, Bruno, and Michael (a new teacher) went to the Family Mart convenient store next to the school for a drink after classes ended. This sounds like a redneck thing to do. But lemme tell you, grabbing beers at a convenience store and parking yourself at the tables outside (which most convenience stores have) is utterly normal here. So, we did that because we didn't want to stay out until 2am+ like we do whenever we go to Marcello's. And guess who walks by?
Yep, Marcello.
He was going to visit a friend in the apartments about half a block down the road (from what I could gather), but decided instead to sit with us and drink and chat. We sucked down Cafri and Heineken while chit chatting, and he ordered us fried chicken from his hof to be delivered to us for fuckin' free, and it wasn't until 1:45 or so that we finally called it a night.
So, in the end, that's what I do in Korea. I work and drink with Bruno and Marcello. Soon, I may start travelling quite often, as well. I rambled a lot here, but I didn't have any clear objective when I started writing, so this is what you get.
Also, for those who have considered ever teaching in Korea or abroad at all, I can hook you up. Good schools, great pay, and most importantly, a great experience. So many people still think Korea is a third-word country. Those people are fucking ignorant. Korea is an OECD country and the most wired in the world. It's ridiculously modern, and the experience here is well worth your time and effort to experience. Also, the money is fucking amazing.