Well the weekend plans of Hongdae were an absolute success. After a stressful week of school and working 60 hours in 5 days, it was time for a fun night out! We came home from work at about 8pm and began getting ready for Hongdae. My roommates, Alida and Karen, had me so pumped for Hongdae that I wanted to leave immediately. They told me that if we got there too early no one would be at the clubs and we would have to wait in an empty club. In Korean bars, there is no closing time. The club/bar will be open until the sun comes up and thereafter. People don't show up then until about midnight. So I compromised with the roommates and we left our apartment at 9:30. No one told me, but we had an hour train ride to Hongdae. I thought it was only going to be about 20 or 30 minutes, so I sat on the train like a little kid just bouncing around and asking "Are we there yet!?"
When we finally arrived, a group of us 6 foreign teachers, walked off the train and onto the streets of Hongdae. It was like walking onto a red carpet. Everyone was dressed to the nine's with their high heels, hot outfits, perfect hair, and the attitudes to match. I must have looked ridiculous with my flipflops (I had heels to change into at the club) and my mouth hanging open. It was still early when we arrived so we went to a "quiet" bar (Alida's word, not mine) to have a drink before the club. We walk into a foreigner haven. Everyone was white and only the staff and a few others were Korean. We ended up ordering a drink and watching these two Korean guys have a dance off. Before I continue, I have to say that Koreans have the most incredible style of dancing that I haven't seen anywhere else. They somehow combine the robot with fluid, hip-hop movements and add these crazy head bops in. It is so cool!
After our drink, I informed the other teachers that I can't wait any longer and we must get to the club asap. I was so excited because Alida had been talking about Hongdae and the dance clubs all week and I was just ready to see it for myself and dance my heart out! We arrive at this club called Tin Pan and from the outside it looked so boring and I thought I was going to be let down. When we walked down the stairs and I layed my eyes on the dance floor, I could not have been more wrong. This place was pumping! There were people (men and women) dancing on the bar, dancing on the tables, dancing everywhere! And it's not the ridiculous side to side motion like back at home. People were full-out dancing like they had choreographed their moves prior to coming out. I was so ready to get out there, but we had to check our bags first. Another thing I love about Korea is that there are lockers everywhere. I hate going somewhere like a dance club and have to hold my purse the entire time.
Once I got out on the dance floor the time just flew. We got to the club at 11:30 and before I knew it, it was 3am. I told Alida and Karen, that I was ready to go whenever they were and they looked at me like I was crazy. First of all, the club was apparently just starting to get really busy and second of all, the subway was closed and we would have to wait until 6am to leave! I was stunned and unprepared for this adventure so I decided to take a break from the dancing and sit by myself at a table. Big MISTAKE! The Korean boys just flocked to me from every direction. Mind you, I was looking hagard at this point from dancing and sweating, but apparently that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that I was a foreigner. Some of them spoke decent English, others could only say about 5 words, yet they still attempted a conversation :)
Finally, it was time to get on the train, but first we stopped at a street vendor and I devoured the most delicious ham, cheese, egg, and sprouts sandwich ever made. We got onto the train and I just passed out on my roommates shoulder. I woke up to a Korean family snickering at us and turned over and went back to sleep. My roommate then shakes me awake and goes "hurry, this is our stop!" We leap off the train, walk back home, and fall into our beds at 7:30am.
As exhausted as I was the next day, I loved Hongdae and just dancing away any stress from work. I loved it so much that I already have plans to go back this coming weekend! This past week of work was horrible with the parents coming to the school. The students were difficult to get focused because we had spent the past week practicing and preparing for the presentations for the parents. I am just so ready for this Chuseok Holiday (6 day vacation!), siteseeing with my supervisor and his family, and some more Hongdae please!
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