I have a mechanism built in my body that rewards me for making social contact and punishes me for abandoning my social circles too much. The result? I have plenty of friends around me, but sometimes I drag myself (or let myself be dragged around) too much.
It is a price to be paid though, and whether it is worth it or not, it still deserves to be debated! So amidst all the hubbub in my life, I find one event worth mentioning: A night in a Korean bar with friends!
How did I get tangled up in the mess?
So there I was, feeling that I need to be more spontaneous, and I decided to do some sort of a Yes Man game, but not really, since I forgot that I am playing that game real quick! Hehe.
So in essence, one of my Korean friends broke up with his girlfriend, and he asked if I would like to accompany him for a drink on a weekend. I can tell you very honestly that I am not that big of an alcoholic, so actually deep down I was like "ugh, ok". But hey, I am bound to say "yes", right? And also, as a good bro, I have this obligation to drink some of his sorrows, right? ;)
So after a trip from 王府井 (best jasmine green tea ice cream ever, I swear!) Jaeho and I went to 五道口 to team up with John and Peter for dinner. At that point, I was getting nervous, because it seems that it's gonna be a K-Night without any mandarin or english spoken (not true, Jaeho became a very good translator, hehehe). We had bulgogi (五花肉) for dinner, while waiting for the two remaining members of the party.
Alright, alright, it wasn't quite a guys night's out as a 老师 and another third year Korean lady joined us. And thing is, these two are probably among the prettiest ladies in PiB, amazing what sort of luck I am in lol. Although I am guessing (and I was half right) that these ladies are taken, it's always good to soothen our eyes, right?
The dinner ended around 8pm, and the night started awkwardly, really awkwardly. First of all, I don't speak Korean(duh) so I had to rely on Jaeho's translation half of the time to keep up with what was going on. Moreover, I have just met Peter and Ji Won, and it was kind of an awkward meeting (I'd like to blame it on the alcohol they drink before they came over) and I don't really know what to say to Huang 老师, so I spent most of the dinner talking to Jaeho (and John, the broken-hearted guy).
So I have heard that alcohol is a friend making tool, and from that night I learned that while it wasn't quite a miracle potion, it really helped breaking down barriers between people. It's as if the frozen walls of doubt, fakery, and angst, built one layer after another, are melted away by the warm kindness of smiles and laughters, blanched with alcohol. (PSA: increased alcohol intake has been associated with car accidents and pregnancy, please consume with discretion)
In the middle of laughter, teasing, and trash talking, I was quietly taking note of how much I was drinking. I had eight shots of soju in total, and quite frankly, I have never drank that much in my life. I also probably did the closest thing to drunk-texting... another 老师!
These sinful things aside, I really enjoyed the night with these people. I gained an insight on the "drinking culture" of the Koreans. They start off by shaking the bottle of soju (traditionally done to get rid of impurities), and begin pouring it to everyone, with the youngest helping out the older ones. The younger ones would drink away from the older ones out of respect. We also played Korean drinking games, from twisting the "tail" of the soju cap and flicking them off, and also the guessing number game. An interesting part is the fact that the winners of the game will eventually have to drink to compensate the difference of what they had compared to the losers of the game. In other words, everyone gets home drunk.
It was quite a night; although I had to end it while enduring a painful stomach from the chilli I had during lunch. It's all good, though :)
-Truly Indonesia's Finest
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