Black Day

Today is April 14th. Single Ladies Day in Korea. But it's not really a happy holiday. Today I'm supposed to go eat jjajjangmyeon out in public to let single men know that I am available. After which, said man is welcome to come share the food with me.

Yes, because I want a complete stranger coming and eating my black bean noodles...

So there's not much about this day that I do like. Really not. It's not like Valentine's Day isn't bad enough. So yes, let's throw in another day! Haha.

On this note, I had a date Saturday night. It was nice. Nice to actually have a date as it's been almost two years since I last had one. It was with a Korean guy I met a few weeks ago. Let's call him Nervous Guy. Because he definitely was. He took me out for dinner for his favorite dish- spicy chicken. Laura calls it 'crazy chicken' because, well, it is. Ddokdoritang is a very spicy dish and I think he was really surprised that I was able to eat it. Then we went out dancing at the West Coast Swing club that I really like. The biggest problem I had with the date was that he was REALLY nervous. I get it a little bit, I'm a foreign women, he doesn't really know any foreigners well (told me that) and had a strong case of "English sickness." It's a Korean thing where they get really ill (not sure if it's really physical or just psychological) when they are around foreigners and have to use English. But I still would have liked to go on a date with a Man...not a boy.

I do have to give Nervous Guy props for conducting the entire date in English. I know I couldn't conduct a date in Korean or French. But still. A guy should have some nerves of some kind when on a date. I felt like I was pushing for anything. Pulling teeth would have been easier. But it was still nice. Until we got out to Hongdae and met up with some of my friends to hear a band. I liked the music and didn't need to have a drink to relax, but Nervous Guy did. And did again, and again, and again. I'm not OK with that on a first date. A person shouldn't need a lot of alcohol to relax around someone. So I finished the date and then we parted ways. My friends and I got a taxi home and that was the end.

So it looks like I will be eating the jjajjangmyeon a bit longer at a table alone as I don't see this going further and it's been four days since the date and I've still not heard from him. Ce la vie.