I'm on the right track baby, I was born on this day!

So that title ^^ was my failed attempt at combining three events in one post. Why three events in the same post? First because I'm slightly lazy (only slightly), and second because I'm terribly behind in my blogging assignments. I am finding myself so incredibly behind on these posts, it's embarrassing. In my defense, though, I've been caught up, for the last couple of months, on real 'assignments' for my AQ and Masters' courses, and have not had much spare time to reminisce on recent Korean adventures. Of course, this doesn't mean I've been skipping out any fun, au contraire. So here goes...

1. I'm on the right track baby...

This of course refers to the 10k race Jason and Katie completed together in April. Many people (and one dog) took part in the Yongin Marathon on that bright, sunny, spring Sunday. Marching bands, a weird group stretching ritual, and fireworks (!!!) preceded the beginning of the race, and the announcer had lots of fun yelling WAYGOOKIN! at the top of his lungs every time a foreigner crossed the finish line. As per usual, Korean were dressed to impress, with their neon spandex running outfits and expensive shoes. As for me, I was content with watching, and I must say I was highly entertained. Both Katie and Jason had fantastic finishing times, and walked away with cute souvenir medals, but not before taking part in a rehearsed interview where they mumbled something in Korean on live TV, to which we still don't know the meaning today.

2. I was born on this day!

April 20th. My birthday! In all honesty, this year's birthday figures among the top three of my life (hey... it's hard to top my 7th birthday party at McDonald's. Come on now!) It started at school with surprise after surprise from my co-teacher and students, who made me cute birthday cards and offered treats and birthday songs. I must admit I got a little teary-eyed at the thoughtful and funny notes from my 6th graders. They are hands down my favorite thing about Korea and make this experience truly unique for me.

When I came home, Jason announced that he was taking me out to a restaurant called Jessica's Kitchen, which I'd been wanting to try for a long time. I was thrilled! The place serves up mainly vegetarian dishes, with a few meat choices, and unlimited beer. The best part is that it's a buffet. To my surprise though, we were met on arrival by all of our friends! They had even made reservations and bought a cake! Of course, my thoughtful husband had coordinated all of this. I'm a lucky girl.

After our bellies were stuffed, we continued on to Dublin's, a foreigner bar in Seohyeon near the restaurant, where I was offered a flaming birthday shot and I switched from beer to cocktails. We went out dancing at LA Club to cap off the night, and the next day had us nursing hangovers and catching up on some sleep.

3. Lady Gaga!

April 27th had been circled on my calendar for months. We had section A floor tix, and I was pumped for Gaga's opening show of her Monster Ball Tour at Olympic Park in Seoul. We arrived early in the afternoon, attempting to secure Monster Pit access to no avail (we arrived too late), so we had a few beers at a nearby convenience store to kill time before lining up. Around 5pm, three hours prior to the concert, people started making their way to their respective sections. The place was packed! They delayed entry for so long that we ended up sneaking out of the line-up multiple times to use the bathroom (thanks, beer). Finally when we were let in, we were psyched to find out that we were actually quite close to the stage! After the opening act, we all (impatiently) waited for Gaga's debut, which was about 20 minutes late. When she came out, the crowd went wild and we were pushed and shoved left and right, everyone desperate to get as close as they could to the stage. After a few songs, things settled down and we were able to enjoy the elaborate, extravagant theatre production that was happening before our eyes. Colorful costumes, glittery make-up, and sexy dance moves were only the start of it. This girl puts on an amazing show. Afterwards, as people cleared out, the ground revealed, besides your usual garbage of course, phones, single shoes (who loses only one shoe, anyway?), cameras, glasses... all kinds of valuables. Thankfully, we returned home with all of our belongings.