Yeosu - Day 1

Buzz buzz, time to wake up. The virtual alarm clock in my phone rings and pulls me into the realm of life. It's six twenty in the morning, which gives me ten more minutes to dwell in the sweet pool of sleepiness before I really have to get up. I open my eyes for just a second to scan the room. Then, eyes closed, I plan out my morning.

The platform is crowded and poorly climatised. Waiting for the train I dislocate the shoulder straps of my heavy backpack, because they soon announce damp spots on my shirt. Trying to keep the heat out of my head I think about what happened yesterday. Cindy was having her last night out in Seoul. She is leaving for the US, back to Philly.

We had a great time, that's what happened, and in addition to Cindy's farewell, Gi-woun hyung announced that he would join Jeunes hyung, Dongmin hyung and me on our trip to Yeosu today. And that was excellent news. Three might be the magic number, but if you think about it, four holds much more stability. Four. Don't you think?

The train arrived and I rode it to Chungmuro, where I transferred to line no. 3. I crossed the Han river and reached Sinsa Station with ten minutes to spare. Perfect timing. At Manoffin I got an ice latte for Dongmin hyung and a hot Americano for myself, plus a walnut muffin. At the convenience store I bought some orange juice and finally walked out exit no. 8.

The sun was blazing hot at nine o'clock, and getting a hot cup of coffee felt like the worst mistake. We were laughing about last night when I spotted Jeunes waving from inside his car. We followed him and got in around the corner. Gi-woun got the front seat, committing himself to the serious duty of deejaying. He connected his player to the car stereo and that's when the trip started.

The air-condition brought peace to our minds, and by the time we were relaxed, Dj G1 surprised us with amazing Schnittchens that he had bought in a German bakery in Hannam-dong. They must have been quite expensive, but he got us two each, one with Schinken and one with Salami und Käse. Amazing goodness. Hot coffee was a genius decision.

The navigation system told us in friendly digits that it would take us about four hours to reach our destination. Jeunes, our driving force, predicted two jams at least, due to the popular holiday season and the fact that it was the second to last weekend of the Expo. There were further calculations and announcements, but I couldn't care less. I was at peace.

Jeunes was right. There were three jams, for several kilometres, and we spent more than five hours on the road. I feel a bit sorry for Jeunes, because he was the only one driving, but I honestly had a great time. Five hours with three of my most favourite hyungs, including the freshest deejay of the nineties, results in a lot of talking, laughing and reminiscing.

Our friend Durie had prepared three tickets for us that she gave us as a present. That's how awesome she is. We met at the entrance, met after what felt like many years, and made promises to hang out more in the evening. Back at the train station the hyungs had met Yoni, who I haven't seen for almost a year. She was rocking things all over the Expo.

Together we waited for Hannah, my friend and Joseph's little sister. We met earlier this year in Berlin and I was looking forward to meet her again here. She came to the entrance and handed me the fourth ticket, which was a special ticket. She wasn't feeling all too well, but she showed us around anyway. She gave us easy access to everything.

The 2012 Yeosu Expo is a kind of a big deal. People come from all over the world to get into diverse pavilions after standing in line for hours. They pay large sums for food, plane tickets and hotels. We came in a funky jukebox time machine, we never had to wait longer than a “come in, quick”, and we got discount on ze Haxe and ze Weizenbier.  

And it's all thanks to our friends, who we later met again at the beach party. It was a hassle to get there, because not all of us fit in Annegret's car. We split up and Jeunes and I took a cab with Mei from Brunai and a friend of hers. By the time we got there Jisun and Durie were already dancing and waiting. We put down our stuff and quickly joined in.

Looking back now, I have to say it was a great experience. Some of us sat at the beach and fought an inner fight, while some of us got too excited and swallowed sea water, and some of us got thoroughly pissed off at a rural taxi company. But, when the lights went out I think we all found our smiles again and looked back on an amazing day.