End of an Era, Big Parties and Big Things Ahead

As December 31 quickly approaches, one thing is happening without a doubt: My time as a teacher at Hambak Elementary School is coming to an end. Now, my teaching in South Korea isn't done, as I've had offers for part-time work with private individuals, small companies and even a substitute teaching gig at an international school.

So here we are. It's been an interesting three years in South Korea. From the absolutely terrible working conditions at my first academy, to my wonderful two years at Hambak and all the adventures in between, South Korea has become a great second home to me.

As far as Liquor Burger goes, things have been going really well. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at which we hosted 53 people. We almost didn't get the food, because the Koreans who work at the deli at the American military base failed to tell me that I need a base pass or escort upon my arrival in order to get the food.

I was in an argument with the kitchen staff for 20 minutes because they insisted they told me I need a base pass. When, in reality, they only asked me if I had a car and if I could come to the base. Apparently, those things are all the same in their mind.

Fortunately, we were willing to find a GI who escorted us in and out, and we are very grateful for him for that.

Besides that, we've been really successful thus far in expanding our business and getting our name out. Obviously, a lot of it is through social media and the Internet, but we've been fortunate enough to have word of mouth really work for us.

We're really doing what we can to help everybody, besides just giving them a fun place to drink. We've helped a few people get cell phones and bank accounts and we teach free beginner Korean lessons every Sunday.

We've also established ourselves as an interesting place among western bars. On most nights, our ratio of Korean to westerner is right around 50/50. Now, on a packed Friday night, the westerners outnumber the Koreans. But on a normal night, we have a great ratio. It's really refreshing to have a place where these different cultures can come together and just hang out and be buddies. It's awesome.

We've also established a very nice relationship with an international school in Songdo. They brought a busload  of people the night before our Halloween party, and turned it into a Halloween weekend. They also recently celebrated the end of Movember by bring 45 people over. We give them a good group deal on alcohol, and they bring a bunch of people. It's a lot of fun, and has even established some great contacts for me and my life after Hambak.

So what's next for us? Well, we have our poker nights on Tuesdays and are starting our trivia nights on Thursdays. Our first trivia night is tonight and we're super excited. After that, we have our Christmas dinner on December 24 and our New Year's party on December 31.

There is so much stuff going on right now, and I'm incredibly tired. But losing sleep is a small sacrifice for what will be my life after being an every-day teacher in South Korea. It's weird to think that I'm leaving the system that brought me over, but I'm sure it won't be a final farewell.

So here we are and here we go!

For more of our Thanksgiving pics, go here: https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBThanksgiving

For more of our general Liquor Burger pics, go here: https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger2