Thursday Part II

So maybe I wasn't too disappointed about not getting to go anywhere.
I spent the rest of Thursday mopping up the floodwaters that burst forth when I tried to use hot water with my washing machine.

That night we called Won and asked if he wanted to go out to dinner. I asked him to invite some of his friends. As we walked downtown, every 5 minutes or so, Won would mention someone else that was coming. We ended up with quite a group.

My favorite character of the evening went to Frank. We were warned that Frank was crazy. And indeed, Frank is funny. Frank is one of those guys who is probably too much fun for his own good. He has a macho blown-up persona. I am talking some major machismo. He seems to know everyone, he is loud, and is very frank. Frank is not in university right now because he "got into some trouble," which didn't come as a shock to me. He uses lots of idioms and slang, which make him even funnier. Here is something about Frank:
Everyone in Korea wants to study in the US and learn English. It is insane. Also, all Korean men have to serve in the military for 2 years. Frank never got to go the US, and as he said, "I did not want to waste my precious youth in the military." Unfortunately, this was not an option for him. But, there is some deal that US bases have worked out with Korea where Korean men can serve their time on US bases and learn English. Two birds with one stone. So Frank did this, which is no doubt where he picked up his attitude and his love for four-letter words.

After dinner we went to a kareoke room. Now, American kareoke is about entertaining the crowd while making a fool of yourself, whereas Korean kareoke is about showing off your skills. In fact, at the end of the songs, you are rated on a scale of 0-100. So there were 4 Americans and 3 Koreans, and save for the tone-deaf guy, their skills blew us out of the water. And let me tell you, shy little Max quite nearly put R. Kelly to shame. I was blown away. He is also a hip-hop enigma. Who knew timid little Max had the spirit of a black man and a performer in him? And tough, macho Frank! Frank sang some soulful, slow, romantic songs quite beautifully.

As for me, singing into a microphone made me realize what a horrible singer I am. A few times I got so tickled at how bad I sounded that I just turned off the microphone and laughed.

But, being bad at something never stopped me from doing it, so I'm sure I'll go back.