Sunday, February 7, 2010

One of the Guys

Saturday, February 6, 2010, saw me as "one of the guys." My Korean friend, Jay, had mentioned the night before that one of his out-of-town friends was coming in for the weekend and he wanted me to meet him. Jay said they'd be getting together sometime the next day. I asked Andy what Jay's game plan was and he invited me to play soccer and football with them in the afternoon. Events were added to the night like side dishes tacked onto a Korean meal until it saw us happily walking home well past midnight, content with our time together.

That afternoon I was the only girl on the soccer field: It's an oddity for a woman to be playing sports in Korea, for sure. I was a tag-along that day and I knew it, but this time no heels came with me. Andy commented that he would have made fun of me if I had worn them. Brandon glanced at my footwear of choice, lace-up leather "sneakers," and quipped, "She's fine." I still felt a bit out of place playing with the boys in my fuzzy purple winter hat, matching fuzzy gloves, and V-neck wool sweater. Oddly clad as I was, I managed to block a few goals, make contact with the ball a few times, and even score my very first soccer goal. I was quite proud of my efforts, even though we lost the three games we played. It was satisfying to get outside, breathe fresh air, and get in a little physical exercise.

As the sun started to set, I bid adieu to the boys and headed home for some needed apartment-cleaning. I got an hour into it when Andy and his friend Allen caught me cleaning up Frankie's litter box. He saw me in my plastic gloves and asked, "You're cooking?" Embarrassed, I hid my hands behind my back and replied, "Uhm, sort of." "We're going to get some dak-galbi in about twenty, twenty-five minutes if you want to come," he said. I wasn't done with my chores yet, but savory (yet searing-hot spicy) Korean cuisine was too much to pass up.

It's my most memorable and most photographed meal in Korea. Brandon and Andy took me to it after my first day at work as a way to introduce me to the finer sides of Chungju. Each month since, Andy has had a craving for it at least once--and it's impossible to finish by one's self. The dish is also one of the spiciest, if not the foremost spicy meal for me to date. The second time Andy and I ordered it, I guzzled two-and-a-half liters of water by myself. When we went out for it again, he suggested to eat a bowl of rice alng with the meal as way to give my taste buds a rest. He said they were adjusting to the heat and the next time we'd get it, it wouldn't be so bad.

With these faintly unpleasant memories in mind, I thought about Andy's plan that night. "I don't know if I'm ready for this," I told him. Twenty minutes later, however, I walked out of my apartment to join them. Surprisingly, I held my own that meal. I remembered to order rice--alternating one bite of it with one bite of galbi--and downed probably an entire liter of water. But I didn't complain once and Andy mentioned he was proud of the way I handled it. Afterwards, the two guys had plans to meet Brandon and Jay at the PC bang for some Star Craft and later go for some friendly dart rounds. I had the full intention of walking them to the room, checking my email, and calling it a night--a fifteen minute run. Three hours later, pool stick and paper cup of coffee in hand, I hadn't done it yet.

We stayed at the PC bang another forty-five minutes, just long enough for Allen's girlfriend to arrive, then headed to throw a few darts. The six of us formed three competing teams and I alternated between being with Brandon and with Allen's girlfriend. Though my hand-eye coordination is somewhat out of practice, I managed to keep afloat in our matches, surprising myself on my final scores--even scoring a triple twenty in one match, which earned me 60 points one round. Brandon and I were sadly second place the first go-round and I watched his score skyrocket with Andy as his partner the next. He commented that to have such disparing scores so close together proves that the game isn't really based on consistent talent. I looked at him and smiled, "Either that or it's your partner."

After darts, someone (probably myself) suggested that we could play a little pool to finish out the night. Both Allen and his girlfriend proved to be quite adept at this game of angles, with Allen winning every game he played. We started with two teams of three--Brandon, Allen, and myself on one and Andy, Jay, and Allen's girlfriend on the other. Andy kept telling himself that he was the worst player among us and his record for the night could attest, as he was without even one pocketed ball after two or three rounds of pool. I wasn't much better, having only made two or three of my dozens of shots. Brandon sat down next to me during someone else's shot and agreed that Brandon and I were both horrendous. We were all so bad that at one point we played with Allen on one team and the five remaining of us against him, an event Allen admitted wouldn't be hard.

It wasn't until the game of Cut-Throat that things started to turn around for any of us. For this game, we needed three teams of two. Brandon and Jay formed one team, while Allen's girlfriend and I made up another one. Andy confessed that he wanted to be with Allen, if only to absorb Allen's glorious win and not be responsible for sinking any balls. The game was fairly even for more than half of it: None of us could seem to knock enough of the other balls into the pockets to make progress. Andy stepped up to his shot towards the end of the game and let the cue ball fly. It was a long shot and bounced around on the table some, but slowly his ball made its mark, knocking another ball into a pocket besides.

As his opponents' balls crept to their target, Andy's face elongated in slow motion with a silent "O" stretched nose to chest, mimicking a small boy in his surprise and amazement. As it was still his turn, he took aim again, this time clearing four more. After that upset, no other team stood a chance and Allen and Andy went on to win this final match. Brandon and I thought about it later and concluded that Andy had beated both of our scores for the whole night in that one turn. He schooled us all that night with his record six pocketed balls. So much for him thinking himself the worst player in the group. Here's to you, Andy. Cheers!

1 comment:

  1. Jennifer, Wow! You have received great encouragement. I'm reminded of 2 hymns: "Trust His Heart"--"when you can't see His hand, trust His heart." And the other hymn, "O Rejoice in the Lord"--"I could not see through the shadows ahead, so I looked at the cross of my Savior instead. I bowed to His will in the darkness that day, and peace came, and tears fled away." Who can know the mind of man? In my over half a century of life, I have come to understand that more and more even though the pain and anguish can still be present. Know that God is God. He does nothing on a whim. He does nothing without purpose. He sometimes chooses to let us in on His plan, but most often, we are along for the ride. Showing our faith by trusting Him is what I'm convinced He wants more than almost anything. May you find His peace beyond your understanding and be a sweet testimony of unabashed trust and faith in Him. Blessings, Trudie

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