Business in Busan

I'm back today from a weekend business trip in Busan. I say "business trip" because that's the reason me and five coworkers had to go there, but in reality it was just a couple hours of "training" and discussion, then a fireworks show and a party. The training was fine, but nothing was really groundbreaking or new for us--it was mostly just company policy rehashed in a group setting so there's not any confusion about how to run classes. I was more excited about the Papa John's pizza that was promised for dinner. So after the training we went to one of the beaches in Busan (it's a city on the coast, similar to Miami or Tampa) and to this nice 17th floor apartment owned by one of the managers there. There was probably thirty people in the place crowded around the windows, but I managed to find some space to watch the nearly hour-long fireworks bonanza. I also scarfed down five pizzas of Papa John's while people were distracted with the show--but it was dark and I grabbed a slice of potato pizza for my fifth, which I thought was pineapple. Needless to say, that was enough for me.

The fireworks were pretty incredible. There were probably close to a hundred thousand people on every part of the beach watching this massive show--it put Jacksonville's 4th of July to shame. They had four boats shooting off non-stop missiles and a bridge in the bay added lasers to the mix. Somewhere, massive speakers added music, and the fireworks and lasers were choreographed to match the soundtracks. It was probably the best fireworks show I've ever seen. Afterwards I chatted with lots of Wall Street staff from Seoul and Busan and got to meet the guy that interviewed me, and now I know a lot more about the company. At this point I'm trying to decide whether or not this is a company that I'd want to join permanently. I'd like to think so, but I'm just not sure if moving up to a management position (which is what I'd have to do in that length of time) is for me. But on the other hand, I really love living here and think my job is great, so I guess I'll just wait and see what happens over the next few months.

Anyhow, on Sunday we slept in at the hotel, then ate near the train station and came back to Daegu. We were hoping to eat at this navy diner, but we didn't have military IDs and we denied entrance...so sad. Instead we ate cheeseburgers (and adobo chicken) at a "Hawaiian" restaurant run by Filipinos. It was good food, but expensive. Oh--somewhat funny story. So we are on the subway heading back to the train station, and I see this beautiful Korean girl, stylishly dressed and looking bored. There was an empty seat next to her, but my coworker took it and so I lost my opportunity, or so I thought. A few minutes later we had to change subway lines, and sure enough, the girl also gets up to change lines and ends up going the same way we are headed. By no accident, I end up next to her on the subway, and begin a conversation in typical American fashion with, "Do you speak English?" This gives the girl an easy escape--if she doesn't want to talk or can't, she can just say "no." Instead, this girl makes the mistake of telling me she doesn't speak that much, and that furthermore, she is from Daegu. I was quite surprised by this, since I am also from Daegu, and then I realized she was heading to the train station just like we were. Anyhow, I found out she is an intern at a company in Daegu. I gave her my number, but she was a bit shy. We'll see what happens with that...

There were a few other notable events in the previous week I should mention. Our Scottish friend Gillian, who teaches at another school here, is leaving soon, so we celebrated her going away, and will do so again this week. I also scheduled my laser surgery for November 1. I'm looking forward to having it done and no longer worrying about "cataractitis" from contact lenses and having to go every year for new lenses or a vision check up. As far as my free time, I finished reading Crime and Punishment--a major accomplishment. The book was incredibly long and at times dull because he wrote the novel serially for a magazine, ergo he wrote it extra long and added unnecessary scenes and characters simply to earn more money. In any case, the novel was mostly interesting and thought-provoking, although modern philosophy has extended beyond what was in vogue in Dostoevsky's time. The book did make me reconsider one of my UNF professor's wishes, that I study modernist literature for my PhD. I think I'd have to learn French and maybe German to pursue that course, but I am quite interested in the literature of the period, both European and American. I started Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Road this weekend, but I think I'll finish that by mid-week. I should be studying Korean more, but I haven't had much motivation lately. All the universities are having midterms this week, so my usual study partner has been busy preparing for those.

Truth be told, I'm a little bit bored these days. At first it was nice having lots of free time, rather than the much more busy life (but not really, I guess) teaching in Jacksonville, but now I find myself wishing I was doing more. I guess studying Korean could fill in those blank hours in the afternoon, but it's not sufficiently interesting right now. I did think about volunteering at the newly-opened Gap, since they are hiring, but my Korean isn't good enough even to work for free...lol. I was also hoping they could pay me in clothes...but, again, I can't even ask for a volunteer job with my limited language ability.

Well, I'm hoping this week has some unexpected fun event. I could use a good surprise. Maybe the subway girl will give me a call.