Obviously 5 Believers

Like the way a pantless retard on a leash does, Daegu attracted a lot of attention this weekend for the big Korea vs. Japan rugby match. It's part of the Asia 5 Nations playoffs, doubling as the Rugby World Cup playoffs. Well, let me fill you in on a little secret. Rugby as a sport is not even a blip on the radar for Koreans. Like America, their time is better spent being obsessed with a good sport. I'm just kidding. Rugby is a lot of fun to watch.So, the venue was what looked like a newly built community college rugby field way out on the edge of Daegu. When we entered, rolling pretty deep, we were only slightly surprised to find the audience in attendance mostly consisting of foul mouthed foreigners. I was almost embarrassed, as I had brought my Korean neighbor along. We were not representing the West in a very positive light with all the drinking and swearing going on around us. We are a rowdy bunch, after all. Honestly, I think that's the most foreigners I've seen all at once in Korea. There was a lot of plaid.

The fact that Korea lost pretty substantially to Japan is pretty inconsequential, really. The real fun came afterward. Almost as soon as the players got off the field, all the waegooken got on it. Everyone was good and blitzed by that point, so a couple of impromptu rugby games got going, there was a lot of loafing, and a generally good feeling. Check out this little boy playing rugby with the adults (some of the sweatier ones holding adult beverages and clocking in at more than 300 lbs). He would pick up the ball and just run in circles and the adults would chase after him and gently tackle him or let him score, etc. It definitely redeemed us Westerners, at least in my eyes. It was good, wholesome fun on the most beautiful day I've experienced in Korea yet. The only thing it was missing was a couple of hippies playing guitar and a grill. This little girl is such a lush. The weather was perfect, and it felt so good to just dig my feet into the grass. You don't know how rare grass is in Korea (obviously as you've never been), and to have a whole field full of perfectly cut, lush green grass was so refreshing. We stayed for a few hours after the rugby match ended, in fact, and were the last ones to leave.The party continued afterwards downtown, as it usually does. There was much merriment and lots of excitement, as there usually is on a Saturday night. It felt really nice to show some visiting friends a good time in a brand new city to them. They expressed how much they liked Daegu, and it made me feel a bit of pride in where I live. I know my feelings on Daegu change with the weather, but ultimately I think I made the right choice on the place to live. Dirty South, represent!.

On Sunday, after waking surprisingly refreshed for sleeping on the floor in my own apartment, John (pictured at the top) and I went to Seomun Market for some hota (remember the pancake thingy I told you about?...Remember?...Gawsh). We walked around a bit and decided to take the party downtown for some pho. On our way, we ran into the Traditional Medicine Festival going on right down the street from where I live. There we tried some makkeoli samples, some tea that tasted like A1 sauce, and a gensing and honey smoothie type thing. It was chewy with gensing root. I considered getting some deer antler blood (it's supposed to give you uncomfortable amounts of energy. Like speed or something) but ultimately decided against it.

The day was warm and pleasant to the point of threatening to be hot, so we knew it would be a shame to waste. We rode the metro to Duryu and grabbed a couple of beers for our hike up to the tower. I finally went up Daegu Tower. This is MY TOWN, nerkas. From the top of it. The best part about the observation deck wasn't that the elevator sign said "Elevator Take" or that the toilet was the "Sky Toilet" or that there was a labeled peep hole into said "Sky Toilet" or that all the windows were dirtier than your mom, it was watching the Sky Jump. No, I didn't free fall 70 stories down to the platform below, but some teenage girl did and we watched the whole thing.

Forgive the quality of the pictures, but the glass was dirty and that girl was falling at whatever rate a 90 pound girl falls. I was just trying to make a point, geez. Lighten up. So who thinks I should try the Sky Jump?

On our way back from the park, we ran into some other Daegu party party teachers who were going into the park to sit around and play the guitars that we missed the previous day at the rugby match. Since this was the case, we opted to join them until John had to leave to take his train back to Incheon. All in all, it was a weekend of sitting in grass, basking in sun, and enjoying life. Seriously, this weekend was so relaxing and nice. I felt like a kid again.