The fact that we actually found a salsa club in Ulsan also makes it feel a bit more homey. Alan and I had decided to Seongnamdong last Friday night for a date. There was a Thai restaurant there that Alan found online. So, as we were walking down the street, about three doors down from the restaurant, we found this.
Shock was my first emotion. We hadn't seen anything anywhere for salsa dancing in Ulsan. We stopped inside after dinner and the owner said there was a salsa party every Saturday night. So of course we were going back the next night.
Dinner was at a place called The Sarojin. It was absolutely delicious. And the restaurant had a lovely setting. There was a courtyard outside that we were seated in. Besides the occasional crack from the bug zappers they had, it was a very beautiful restaurant. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I liked this or Arun Thai better. 
On the way back through Seongnamdong that evening, we came across a performance going on. It seemed to be professional juggling bartenders. They were juggling bottles of alcohol, setting things on fire, and making flaming cocktails that they gave to people to drink. They also brought out a mime/magician halfway through. He was pretty hilarious. He brought up some kids on stage and just set out to make everyone laugh. Both parts were really good performances. 
The next night, that Saturday, Alan and I headed back to Seongnamdong for the salsa party. Guess who we met there. The same performers that we saw in both Busan and at the Ulsan World Music Festival were the dancers that frequented this club. So we spent the evening dancing with them. They seem like a fun, goofy group of people and I had a really good time dancing. Alan danced with the ladies of the group and had a good time as well. We're going back either tonight or next week most likely. So we'll have to see if they habitually go to this club or if it was just a huge coincidence that we saw them there that night. 
The club itself was very nice. It was open to the street...as in no front wall. The club just extended into a fenced patio out into the street. So people walking by tended to just stop and watch the dancers for a bit. It was not crowded and the floor was really nice. But at times it felt more like I was performing for the people in the street than just social dancing since there were so few people on the floor. 
A group of older business-looking people came in soon before Alan and I left and just sat there watching and drinking. They came over and gave (forced?) shots of tequila to us and asked where we were from and such. They were pleasant people and I was somewhat afraid that they would keep offering us shots (salsa dancing and alcohol don't necessarily mix well). But we left soon after that.
It felt really good to be able to go home after salsa dancing and not have to go to a hotel. Back in the states, Alan and I used to go out for Thai food and then go salsa dancing all the time. So I'm sensing the beginnings of a similar routine here. :D
In other news, we've started making some new acquaintances. We started going to the Simin International Church a few weeks ago and the people there have been great. It's at the Book Cafe at the Samho Bridge about a 15 minute bus ride from home. It's a mixture of UNIST students and ESL teachers (and a few others) and it's been really comforting to meet people that are in life situations like ours. It makes Korea a little less lonely when you have people you can vent to and get advice from who've been where you are and are doing what you're doing. It's also just nice to be able to go hang out with people again. The community is not at all uniform either. There are people from all over the world from all sorts of backgrounds and so you hear a lot of interesting stories. Overall, it's just been a great experience with these people. It's funny. I'm seeing posts from friends and family back home on Facebook about the temperatures dropping and the snow starting. But it really hasn't been very cold here at all yet. Sometimes, I still don't even need a coat. And the mountains in Korea are full of coniferous trees. Everything is green. So it's easy to forget that it's fall here too. But today, walking through Guyeong-ri where we live, I realized that it actually is autumn in Korea as well.
I'll just leave off with a note that Alan is supposed to write a blog post about his recent adventures in Seoul/Gwangju. Don't let him off the hook people! XD
