Mecca, Office Parties, and Norebang oh my!

I have found new mecca and it is called Costco! Peter (my neighbor I teach with) and Caitlyn (his gf) introduced me to the new teacher Amanda and decided we ought to go to Costco! We split a cab which cost us 12,000 won to get across town... $25 bucks round trip can be kind of expensive so a quarter of that is much easier on the pocketbook. As of Sunday afternoon, I now have a business membership which cost me all of 35,000 won lol of course I ended up spending another 250,000 won once I got inside and now I feel like my diet finally can expand beyond the occasional curry and rice and spam and eggs and ramyan noodles! Mmmmm provolone and pepper jack! Pickles and Dijon mustard and dried apricots and pasta and lots of different meats including CHORIZO!!! Asa! Cranberry juice and all of the yummy goodies America ships overseas! It is such happiness! My fridge and belly are both nice and full! In celebration of Costco and also a welcome dinner for Amanda, Peter and I dished out the pork tenderloin and its fabulous marinade along with some stir-fried shrimp and veggies and pulled out some candles, Korean Riesling and crappy Hite and the four of watched the stars and the moon rise from our fabulous rooftop. Next month, in honor of summer, we are going to return to Costco to buy a $150 Coleman charcoal grill and some Kingsford charcoal! Woo hoo! Fully outfitted with grill and beer for under $200 bucks!

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So I know I've been remiss in posting, but alot has gone on in the last few days! Friday I was introduced further into Korean culture... the mandatory office party. It will occur monthly and this was the first one that ECS has ever had. The boss, Mr. Choi doesn't like to drink (very odd for a Korean man), so he sent his son Paul, who also works at ECS, as his representative i.e. the credit card. We held the party at Wa Bar, which was in conjunction a going away party for Nick and Sarah, who leave next Friday and last Friday respectively. The twenty or so people that were there piled the table with beer and drinks and all the food you can eat. Koreans consider it poor manners and unacceptable to drink without food (almost like the Russians but for different reasons) and will at least serve peanuts or something to snack on while you drink, but sausages and dried squid and peanuts and fruit plates galore were spread and we kept the bar occupied for a solid 3.5 hours before making an unanimous decision to walk across the street and let the party begin as we took over the largest room in the norebang for the next 3 hours... unfortunately the soju came out around 4 AM and people slowly fell away at that point in time until the last 5 of us took off around 6 AM and watched the sun rise as we stumbled, cabbed our way home, or in Jayo's case plopped against a pole and "rested" for a little before moving on. Course there were a couple of restaurants that were just closing up across the street but it was no point for any of us to eat, sleep was the only thing left for anyone. On that note... I think I will go catch some Z's as I still haven't caught up from Friday night. Miss you all!