It's Good to be a Foreigner...somtimes!

My apologies for being a lazy blogger these last few weeks. Eric and I have been watching an unhealthy amount of Criminal Minds and I haven’t been able to tear myself away. Pathetic, I know, but I’m back. So I know I’ve touched on some of the difficulties that come with a being a minority in Gwangju; the constant stares, being ignored, having our business turned away, etc. However, I want to write about some of the perks that come from being a part of a small foreign population—free stuff. Often times, large events that are held within our province, South Jeolla Province, admission will often times be free for foreigners. For example, when the Formula 1 race came here, foreigners could sign up in advance for free tickets. Also, members of the foreign community will often host events and admission will be free for all participants. This is to help bring the foreign community together, but to also help bridge the gap between the Korean and foreign populations.

Last Friday night, December 10, was one of these events. GFN, Gwangju Foreign News, hosted an Indie Rock Holiday Party downtown in the Kunsthalle Gallery. Four bands (B.O.B., Betty Ass, Used Cassettes, and Seoul City Suicides) were solicited to play three songs each. Even though the event was a holiday concert, the bands played their own material rather than Christmas jams. All of the bands were pretty decent too, considering they all met while working abroad in Korea. After the bands were finished, a DJ was hired to play music until 11pm. It was a lot of fun and really busy too. In addition to the free tunes, the concert hosted a free gift raffle, free beer, free coffee, and free t-shirts! To sweeten the deal even more, Eric won us two tickets to an art exhibit in town from the gift raffle. Overall, the concert was a very fun and affordable way to spend our Friday evening. So while I may complain from time to time about the inconveniences we encounter day to day, we are treated to some pretty nice perks as well.

Then on Saturday we had plans to spend the evening at Jimmy and Rachel’s to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. Eric and I figured that since we got away with such a cheap evening the night before, we’d treat ourselves to some barbeque for dinner. We frequented our favorite neighborhood establishment and order the usual. As we were ready to leave, we were stopped from paying for our meal. One of Eric’s students, and her family, were also eating at the restaurant, and they wanted to pay for our meal as a thank you to Eric. Of course we still offered to pay, but the mother would not have it. We ultimately just had to say thank you and move on.

So what should have been a spendy weekend turned out to be one of the most affordable weekends we’ve had here. So I guess sometimes standing out has its upsides!