Kimchi, not for me

and I had two drinks. It's funny to me, because going to a bar wasn't something I would have ever even *considered* when I lived in the States. Living in the South, in the Bible Belt, going to a Baptist Bible college, smoking and drinking are major issues. It was when I got to Israel that I realized it wasn't like that everywhere. It was there that I first met Christians who seriously loved God and also would drink on occasion. They weren't even backsliden!

So anyway, today was just a day. The A/C drama goes on. I turned it on for an hour this morning, from 11 AM to noon. They called and said it was too loud - like a construction zone, those were their exact words. In the same conversation they said it was too loud at night (though it was only on one night, and hasn't been on since I spoke with them last week), and that it was okay to have it on during the day. That statement was followed by the statement, "But it's too loud right now." I finally said, through tears of frustration, "Fine, I'll turn it off." And then I hung up the phone, which was probably really awful to do culturally, but at that point I honestly didn't care. The day was frustrating for other reasons as well. The point is that, when thinking about what to do tonight, I decided I wanted to go to a bar in the foreigner-frequented part of town, and have at least one drink. And so I did.

This part of town (where I go to the doctor, buy phone cards, go shopping for clothes) is almost like stepping out of Korea and into North America. The bar (also a restaurant, I'll add for good measure) is totally like stepping into North America. All the songs were in English and popular (I knew most of them). They had cocktails I was familiar with, and the place was full of white people. I actually found it to be a bit overwhelming, but definitely a good experience. It was a much-needed time of relaxation.

And the whole issue of alcohol...I've mostly only heard it explained that one should abstain in order to keep a brother or sister in Christ from stumbling. I haven't found that to be a problem outside of the southern US. While I do know of some great Christians who drink too much on occasion, I have found it to be liberating. Alcohol is a dangerous thing, and should be handled with caution. I have never been drunk, and plan to avoid it. Yet at the same time, when drank in moderation, I think it's really not that big of a deal.