Friday, March 13, 2009

Fun with Friends

One of the great things about Cheongju is the thriving foreigner community. I have made some fabulous friends here who I will definitely miss. So this is a fairly random collection of get-togethers we have had recently. First we have pictures from Frances' going away dongdongju night.From left to right it is me, Rosario and Willow. Not quite sure why Rosario looks so evil in this picture, but what can you do?
We have gone to this place so many times, I think we are putting their kids through college.
From left to right: Sueji, Rosario, Liz and Mike. You can see Kayla's body in the back but I chopped off her head, sorry hun!
Next we have photos from Maggie's visit to Cheongju. We miss her so much now that she is gone. We ate at a random little galbi place, it was delicious.
From left to right: Maggie, Willow and me. We always get along so well.
It was a crazy night, and it was like a Tuesday or something I think. This was the night we drank the place out of beer. That is quite and accomplishment in Korea.
Sean and Rosario hamming it up after a few drinks! And they weren't the only ones.
James and I had to take the cute pictures too. Definitely served to remind me how much I miss hanging with Maggie.
Speaking of people leaving, next up are the pictures from Mark's going away night. The normal staff party grew to include some other friends as well.
From left to right: Mr. Ahn, Mark, Matteo and Bryce. I don't think Bryce realized he was having his picture taken. It is always interesting when we have the bi-cultural outings.
Lina and Alice doing the traditional peace sign pose. All Koreans do this in pictures. My kids tell me it is cause the celebrities do it.
And then we have Hoang and Joanne. Hoang left about two weeks after this. So many goodbyes. That is the hard thing about the overseas working.
After the staff to-do we headed out to the Road King to finish out the evening.
I thought this was a pretty cute picture of Mark and I.
So the night before Valentine's Day. We were a bit bored so James, Hoang and I went on a picture taking adventure around town at night. Interesting trying to get good pictures in that low of lighting.
This is my emo picture, very dark and contemplative. Yes it was staged. Has to be cause they had to hold that pose for like a minute to get enough light for the picture. Hoang decided to climb the tree.
I thought it was a nifty angle, taken from below and all. James was sitting for a minute for no particular reason and I took this picture of him.
If he ever puts out an emo, punk or hip-hop album, this would be a great cover. I am totally willing to let him use it, for a fee of course... The churches are usually lit up with some major neon, especially the crosses, looks really cool in the long exposure.
So we had a random great time running around taking pictures at night. This is more or less what we do for fun. That and a lot of movies, video games, and general hanging out. Not so different from back home really.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Norbert's 31st Birthday

Apparently the biggest social event of the year in Cheongju is Norbert's birthday. Or so it seems, everyone we know and lots of people I don't always come and pack the Road King. Check out Lynise, Kayla and Meg doing their best to guard the cake.Norbert was so funny, he was like surprised and really touched that I got him a cake. It is his birthday and I am his girlfriend, to me that seems kinda expected, but... Hey I will take the appreciation!
Kaity is vouging it up in her lovely sundress for the occasion, it was March 1st so I guess she was willing spring into being.
It wouldn't be complete without the man himself taking center stage. He really is very good on the microphone. My favorite is when they do "Scotty Doesn't Know" (yes from Eurotrip). It is hilarious. And Norbert has such a big personality that stage presence is never an issue!
We were supposed to be shocked or disgusted by something someone did. It was late in the night so I must admit my memory is a bit hazy.
Sammi, Young and Liz are hamming it up for my camera. Such rock stars!
As always with men, at some point it degrades into violent mosh pit up there. I try to be out of the way by that point. This was just as Norbert was picking Hoang up and hoisting him over his shoulders. Quite entertaining from afar indeed.
Every bar needs an Irishman to open it and close it and ours is Niall. The amount that boy drinks never ceases to amaze me. I didn't get that particular Irish gene (or it was overwhelmed by the Native American no tolerance for alcohol). All in all, a fun evening and a Happy Birthday for my baby!