Surprisingly no one asked why the party was being held on a Tuesday. No one asked why an event (for some it might even have been called an ordeal) of food, drinking, and basement norebang occurred long before the work week ended.
These days, I seldom go out with students unless our ages are somewhat similar. It isn’t that Bruce Springsteen lament of “not being that young anymore” but more to do with compatibility, and not having to be the centre of attention. Tuesday was one such day.
One of students decided to celebrate his birthday in style. He invited about 25 people to eat Korean food. My girlfriend and I arrived at the restaurant and were quickly herded into one of a series of rooms separated by removeable screens. It turned out that this was the Staff room as it contained another teacher from the school (who turned out to be one of the best at norebang –generally I would refer to it as karaoke, but we were in a Korean establishment) and the maintenance supervisor. Other rooms were filled with mature students and immature students–perhaps I am being unfair–younger students.
The table was piled high with soju, beer, soda, and samgyeopsal. It was quite delicious and we feasted very well. We also sang Happy Birthday in multiple languages. People hopped from room to room, or slid the dividers open. The host appeared and disappeared, trading drinks and cheers, making speeches and taking pictures. It was a bit rowdy in the way great parties always are.
When it was time to leave, the Birthday boy wanted everyone to go next door and sing. We tried our best to escape, but were caught and dragged to the singing room and told we had to sing at least one song. If you are thinking it would be easy to escape from my student and get to the subway, you would be wrong. If you have never experienced extreme hospitality, you might think it possible, but it isn’t. We tried to make a jailbreak after a few minutes but were dragged back again.
The host was convinced that my voice would be perfect for singing. This wouldn’t be my contention–my voice is rather deep and raspy. I think it would be great for voice acting, but apart from the spoken bits of Convoy, I don’t think I should ever be allowed to sing. I eventually “sung” a song or two when very few people were paying attention to facilitate our escape.
Today's Perfect Moment 
Good for you, participating in the singing, even if you don’t think you’re that good at it.
Mmmm Korean food! Haven’t had any in 6 years! Can’t wait to get back to ALL the Asian foods!
I am definitely not good at it, and worse, I have not found a song that I can at least be mediocre at. I was hoping “We Will Rock You” might be mine but no.
Maybe I should try some Screamin Jay Hawkins….
Yes, you’re going to most definitely find yourself among more food choices. I can’t wait to read about you rediscovering your old life again.