Most of my fellow co-workers are attending the festival so we all meet downstairs our apartment complex to leave together. We pile into taxicabs and make our way to Han River Park. Many of us have backpacks full of food to take into the festival to save a little dough once inside.
About 15 minutes later, we arrive! But a few members of our party are not here, so we wait outside the entrance until the lost crew arrives. Then, disaster strikes. No food or drinks allowed inside the festival!!! So I guess the dozens of cookies I have packed into a lunch box will have to be consumed quickly. We eat what we can, attempt to conceal what we can, and I start giving cookies to others who are eating, or shall I say others who had the same brilliant idea, around us. Sharing is caring, right?
We pack up our stuff and head into the festival. Our bags are searched and not only are the security people discarding food and drinks, but precious Altoids, Aleve, and other random things. I admit that it’s a good precaution to discard the Aleve – either for safety or legal concerns, but Altoids?
I make it through the line and feel somewhat scandalous…I was able to sneak about 6 cookies and 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in…wha ha ha ha! Does this make me a villain now? I just couldn’t let it go to waste.
Anyways – we set up a base camp near the main stage and set off to explore. There are many vendors to visit and my co-worker Bebhinn and I waste no time with the boring ones. We head straight to the big tent. Inside is a Dance Dance Revolution game so of course, we have to play! Best part of all…it’s free! The music playing inside the tent is so loud we can’t hear the music on the video game so we end up doing poorly. But all is well, stepping side to side and back and forth only represents a small percentage of our dance repertoire.
We both leave the tent feeling pumped and ready to participate in more activities and end up coming across the tattoo parlor tent. Ten minutes later I emerge with my new tattoo of a dragon who I decide to name Frank. (Don’t worry Mom, it’s fake.) We show off our tattoos and decide to explore some more.For the next hour or so, I end up wandering around meeting up with different co-workers and discover that Brittany has been using her hula hoop to meet new friends. Elya has gotten a gigantic tattoo on her arm, and Jesse has painted his face with a huge mustache and black mask covering his eyes. There are so many cool things to do here and have I mentioned the music? Perhaps I should save that for later.
I head to the make-up vendor and receive a makeover. She asks me what I would like and I tell her to just make me look “hot.” Well, as you can tell from the picture she and I had very different ideas of what that meant, but I actually end up liking the makeup quite well. It goes along with my tattoo and outfit for the day and I am happy!
I meet up with Bebhinn again and we decide to head to another stage that has more vendors surrounding it. In this area, my FAVORITE area, I have jems glued to my face to enhance the eye makeup, make a button with my name spelled in Hangeul, get a Polaroid picture taken for free with my buddy, play the djembe drum, and have I mentioned dance like it’s my job yet?Perhaps I should start with the catalyst to the dance extravaganza. It all begins with an African drum circle. There are about 30 djembe drums open to anyone who wants to sit in on the circle. I begin to play the drum remembering the techniques from my lesson a few years ago. Other members of our group have found their way over and start to play as well. A crowd starts to form around the circle and I decide to get up to offer my drum to another person wanting to play. I walk over to a few members of our group who have decided to watch and then realize that the man leading the drum circle wants people to dance. I am not bashful in this situation and burst to the front. I start to dance recalling the moves from Dunuya Drum and Dance back home and the leader breaks into a huge smile. A group of Korean women come to the front and start following what I’m doing. It is here in this moment that I am, for the first time in a while, unbelievably happy.
I continue to dance for a bit and am handed a tambourine. Sweet! I dance a little bit longer and then decide that it’s time to start listening to the DJs. The drum circle has gotten me revved up for more dancing and it’s time to unleash the dancer in me even more.
Again, with my partner in crime, Bebhinn, we head over to the stage and listen to one of the best DJs I’ve ever heard. He plays music both new and old; songs that I warmed up to at cheerleading camp in high school; songs that are hits today; and songs that just make you want to dance…of course. A few others from our group end up coming over and we dance for what seems like hours. In reality it is probably only two hours, but it is fabulous nonetheless.A new act comes onto the stage and we decide to head to the main stage where our base camp is and where hundreds of people have gathered to watch and listen. I spend a few minutes talking to our group and find out the activities in which they have participated. Still pumped up by the previous DJ, I head up towards the front of the main stage alone to dance a bit more. Video cameramen are roaming around and just as one makes his way towards my area, a young Korean man comes up to me and we start mimicking each other’s dance moves. It’s quite comical (or maybe I just think it is) and the next thing I know, there is a video cameraman recording us. So, somewhere there is footage of me dancing with a random stranger and having one of the greatest nights in Seoul so far.
It is amazing to look around and see so many people dancing and enjoying the music. And for me, what’s more, is that I am starting to feel like myself. I’m starting to bounce back and once again, dance is the major factor in the equation.
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