Simple America

Well I’m itching to get back to writing this. So the hiatus is officially over, though taxes may slow my pace of posting a bit.

When we left off I had just escaped the girls of VD Hill by going inside the welcoming confines of the New York Club. This was one of the smaller clubs in Itaewan Dong, not much more than a hole in the wall, but I liked the ambience here. The bar was to the left as you entered and it extended long enough for 8 bar stools. To the right a series of four tables were set against the walls with 4 chairs at each table. The place was not too crowded and fortunately for me the girls from VD Hill could not enter. Working girls stayed out of the bars unless they had a date.

We sat down at the second table. A quick look around and we saw a couple on the bar stools and another couple at ` table. Behind the bar was an American GI and a Korean woman. The cute girl at the table said something to her date and then she approached us for our order. She had a very pretty round face with the high prominent cheek bones that Koreans tend to have. Her hair was the brown color that black Asian hair transforms to from a perm and her locks fell to the top of her shoulder blades. If the top of her head reached my shoulders I would have been really surprised. She was the younger Kim sister and she took our beer order.

I could not remember if we got an OB or a Crown maekju (Korean for beer), as those are prominent choices. I drank both though I prefer OB. Korean beer is not too bad. But they learned the art of distilling hops from Germans. So smart choice there. But the Koreans are very good at taking the best from other cultures and using it. This is evident today as their economy has grown so much since I visited.

Watched her go up to the bar and give Bob (the American GI that worked there. I do not remember his name, but Bob the bartender will do). While little Kim was getting the brewskies we watched the other girl working her magic on the GI sitting at the bar. This girl, Miss Jin, usually wore a dark hoodie or sweater and jeans with some sneakers from the ville. She was rail thin, but you hardly noticed that. What you noticed on Miss Jin was her hair, long down to her tailbone and luxurious in its ebon strands. You could get lost in there and someday I would try. But on this day she was working her magic on this fellow.  And I was seriously waiting for them to fall on the floor and get it on right there 

Little Kim came back with our beers and we got back to our business of just trying to stay awake until 8 so we could fight the jet lag. That’s when Miss Kim cam and sat at our table. She was the elder sister and as the conversation progressed we learned that she owned the New York Club. New faces interested her and we chatted a bit. This woman would become my good Chingu (Korean for friend) and she watched my back on more than one occasion. Too bad I was so stupid to ignore her almost every time. But she was my Korean mama, even though I doubt she was 30 years of age. The elder Kim was not as pretty as the younger. Her hair was fuller and not perm damaged and she wore it longer then Little Kim. Not as long like that of Miss Jin, who’s hair reminded me of horse’s hair. Miss Kim had a broader face, not unpleasant to look at but not as pretty as the two younger girls.

We finished two beers each and then we headed back to the Hotel Crown. Now Itaewon came to life as more GIs came into the ville. I realized now that the alleyway we had walked down earlier was another spot to find hookers. These residences served to house the working girls. Doors stood open revealing stairwells and young girls watching the men pass. Girls trying to keep warm and look inviting. The walk back passed quickly.

I don’t remember how well I slept the first night. Probably did not have much trouble. After Basic Training and Infantry School I learned to sleep standing up and walking, so I cannot imagine a strange warm bed keeping me from sleeping. The next day we went to Yongsan and had breakfast at the snack bar. Typical American food, I probably had donuts and coffee. That was always a favorite at an AAFEES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service) snack bar for me. Plus we could buy a Stars and Stripes newspaper there and get news of “The World”. Just to translate “The World” is how a GI refers to stateside, home, the good old USA.

After breakfast we went to worksite. We met this Sergeant First Class that was our liaison, as well as the Lieutenant Commander (yeah we had to deal with a squid) who was the Sergeant’s boss. Actually the Navy guy was not too bad and we used to bump into him at some of the clubs carousing. Of course he instructed us to call him Sarge on these occasions. Officers were not supposed to mingle with the Enlisted Men. So we got the lay of the land and caught a cab to our headquarters. We needed to move our tools to the worksite and then we could start work on Monday after using the rest of the weekend to shake any jetlag.

The drive across Seoul was really strange. I think I died several times in my mind. I don’t know why they painted lines on the street. No one paid them any attention. And the driving technique were peculiar to me. Floor the gas. Let it coast for a few ticks and then floor again. Repeat. Often. And everybody honking. One of the GI explanations of Korean drivers is a reference to the kimchi brake, which is whoever honks first has the right of way. I’m glad I never had to drive there. I know I would smashed somebody.

But we survived our trip to our HQ and back to Yongsan. We locked the tools up and inventoried the materials for our project. Then we decided to call it a day. We had some time and I needed a haircut (by Army standards), so we went to the Barber Shop in Yongsan.

The Barbershop in Yongsan was a new experience for me. I went in planning to just get my hair cut, but ended up getting my haircut and a FULL body massage. I had never been to a Barber Shop with all of these services. They tried to sell me on a pedicure too, but I was too macho to consider that. Sarge and the Spec 5 were with me and they both got another good laugh at me from this experience. This little girl that gave me the massage was so cute. My definition of “little bug” cute. She was teeny tiny, but she had these wonderful, beautiful hands and they did things to me that I did not now you could do. Especially while wearing my uniform. She had really cute eyes, though her hair was really extra curly from a perm (I never cared that much for extremely curly hair). Haircut with Full Body Massage for under $10 bucks too, great bargain. The kid that hated hair cuts was considering one everyday. And when I left her a tip, she looked at me with those pretty kitty eyes. Probably the biggest mistake I made was not giving her my room number at the Hotel Crown. The way she looked at me. Haiz…

Got back to the hotel and it was too early for dinner. We decided to go to the NCO Club and try out their restaurant later. I chilled out, took a little nap, watched the American Forces Network programs. It was getting about time to go out for dinner. That was when the phone rang. I answered the phone and guess who? Mama-san was calling again.