Saturday night was pretty exciting. We had dinner at a place where they brew their own beer, college basketball was on the t.v., there was a salad bar (with blue cheese dressing!), sides included mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, and you could pay in American dollars if you wanted. This was real, middle-of-America stuff right in the middle of Seoul.....found right in the middle of Yongsan Garrison, home to the Eighth United States Army. Yes, we had dinner on the military base and for those two hours it was exactly like being at home.
We were able to enjoy this wonderful privilege thanks to our friend Hassan. Hassan is actually from Turkey and a Sergeant Major in the Turkish Army, but now works in his embassy and has been stationed here for just about a year. He gets access to Yongsan Garrison and is allowed to bring no more than four guests in with him at a time. Hassan lives in Itaewon, right next to the base, so after enjoying another first of homemade Turkish coffee, he escorted us to "America".
It is somewhat of a process to eat dinner on an army base if you're a visitor. Contrary to my thinking that you just drive up to a checkpoint and an officer let's you through, when you drive through the gate you have to park and everyone has to go into a building where everyone hands over their alien I.D. cards. They check you against your picture and then keep the cards for the duration of your stay. After that, we were able to enter the 620 acres of "America" and boy was it ever like home. This was completely different than getting on an airplane, going to sleep and waking up in U.S. This was like snapping your fingers and instantly landing in Brenham. It was that quiet and the streets were that wide. There were real sidewalks, real yards and real stop signs. There were softball fields and schools that looked like Brenham Elementary. There was Taco Bell and Burger King, all the size of the ones at home with indoor playgrounds (and apparently they taste exactly like home, where the ones on the outside don't).
To get the full American experience, before dinner we stopped at a small store to see all the things that you don't think you miss or have forgotten about. It's not the largest commissary on the base but it beats the selections of my expat marts by a long shot. Actually, my expat marts don't even compare. They had an enormous selection of magazines (that's what I miss more than any food), Barefoot brand wine (my favorite cheap wine) and pretty much anything you can find at HEB.....and all of it at American prices. Hassan was the only one of us who could purchase anything and he is actually restricted as to the amount he can buy, as he's given an allowance every month. I don't think he often shops here, but he extended his privilege to us and RCP picked out two bags of pretzels. (RCP has this very strange addiction to pretzels and he's already gone through the three bags I brought from home.)
For dinner we went to a place called The Navy Club. Somewhat of an Applebee's meets JW's, (for those of you from Brenham) the menu was worthy of any small-town Texas establishment with it's selection of chicken wings and mozzarella sticks for appetizers, and platters of rib eyes and pork chops that included an unlimited salad bar and two sides. Salad bar and sides!? Only in "America". Then underneath the "Comfort Food" section of the menu I spotted it. Chicken Fried Steak. Sold.
I ended up changing my mind at the last minute because a New York Strip sounded just a little bit better than Chicken Fried Steak however, it would have been cool just to say I had chicken fried steak in the Far East since I bet this is the only place within 8000 miles of Brenham that I could have had the most delicious way to clog your arteries, but seeing it on the menu brought me enough joy. The steak ended up being just perfect. Not a prime cut of meat by any means, but to have a huge piece of meat that's brought to you already cooked, served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables? Nothing else could have brought a smile to my face. They even brought bread and butter to the table before dinner, which I didn't think I missed having but I do. And my two sides of mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy? School cafeteria quality but perfect.
After paying our bill in Korean Won and getting change back in Dollars, then picking up our i.d. cards back at the checkpoint we were once again civilians. For those who actually live on the base, you really would never have to leave if you didn't want to. I guess that's the point, but I do hope everyone who lives there does get out and experience all of what Seoul has to offer because there is a very exciting world beyond the walls and barbed wire. That being said, it was nice to go "home". Thanks Hassan, for taking us to "America". It was delightful.
**I'm sorry I have no pictures from the evening. I took my camera but forgot to put the battery in it.
**Additional information on Yongsan Garrison can be found here.
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