My first 8 months of living here, I would have sworn on my life that I was the only foreigner living in my neighbourhood. No matter what time of day I went out. No matter where in the neighbourhood I went. ONE time I caught a glimpse of a foreigner in the gym, but he made a point of NOT looking at me and was gone in a flash. But about a month or so ago, a friend of mine who I'd met in September, got a new contract RIGHT HERE IN HAJUNG-DONG! And I thought, "Yeah! There are 2 of us now!" Tell me why just last week Wednesday I met two more who knew TWO MORE?!
There are at least SIX of us!! And one of them lives TWO BUILDINGS away from me!! HOW? To be fair, he has only been here 2 months, but another of the guys I met has been here for over a year! Is there some kind of schedule that the Koreans have to ensure that the foreigners are never out on the street at the same time? It's bizarre for real. 5 of us had drinks last night and it was really fun! Lots of laughs.
The best part was that ALL of us were able to just WALK home afterwards! No one had to crash at anyone's place cuz they missed the last train. No one had to take a taxi home cuz they missed the last bus. Everyone just decided when it was time to go home, so we all just..... walked home. It was a beautiful thing. And for those of you who have tons of foreigners and friends who live within walking distance of you..... just know it's a very fortunate thing to have!!! Especially way out here.
Last year, I could have sworn there were only a few foreigners living in my area and I thought all of them lived in my building.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I have seen at least a dozen other foreigners in my metro station and on the street. I don't know where they all came from! Then again, there are countless hagwons in my area. Still, it is weird to see so many after being (I thought) one of the few in my neck of the woods.