Day two began with a sense of
accomplishment. I had 8.5 hours of sleep and I was feeling as if I
had truly conquered this so-called jet lag. Breakfast in Korea...or
at least at orientation...was very similar to breakfast at home.
American staples like cereal (something that resembled coco puffs)
and bacon were served as well as some Korean staples such as white
rice and of course kimchi.
We had a long but easy day ahead of us
starting with a tour of the campus, a welcoming ceremony, then meeting our class (divided
by province), followed by dinner. We were warned that the medical
check-up was the following day and were not allowed to eat after 10pm
or drink after midnight. A small group of us decided it would be
best to have a double dinner by venturing out for some Korean BBQ
just before the fast began. Drinking anything was not in the cards
for us that evening. We had been warned that even Aleve could give
us a false positive on the drug test so there was no chance we would
risk that for some So-ju (I guess I had spelled it wrong in my
previous post).
The welcome ceremony was pretty
interesting. A group of 태권도(Taekwondo)
students did a 20 min presentation for us that was pretty impressive.
Then a gentleman from Canada who has lived here for 16 years gave us
a run down of Korean history, culture and some interesting
“Koreanisms”. One of the most important things I learned was
that not only was any tiny hint of cleavage a taboo but having
uncovered shoulders for women was considered risque. However, it was
perfectly fine if we wore teeny tiny shorts practically exposing our
who-ha. Go figure.
Class was pretty boring, as it went
over the general rules that had been drilled in our head repeatedly
since arriving. The one thing I did learn was that because I am
hypoglycemic I had no choice but to go first on the medical exam at
6:40 am. So much for sleeping in. Speaking of sleep, the jet lag had begun to creep up on me. Going out now was essential or I would be asleep by 7:30 pm.
By 8:30 pm, sur small group ventured off campus and
came across a small Korean BBQ restaurant. We stepped inside, slipped
off our shoes and sat cross legged on the floor in front of a large
wooden table with two “grills”. Luckily, some of us actually
spoke Korean and were pretty familiar with the process. Soon the
woman handed us a plate of raw pork belly or 삼겹살
(pronounced Sam-gyeop-sal) followed by an array of
"banchan" (반찬)
which is Korean for “side dishes”. Every meal I have experienced
in Korea has come with an array of sides from kimchi to sea creatures
to radishes. All of which I told myself I would try at least once.
One of our banchan dishes was teeny
tiny little crabs soaked in chili paste and still in their shells. I
struggled with this one as my usual motto is I won't eat anything
that still has it's feet and face. The idea of crunching down on
something while it looks at me is just too much. After some
relentless teasing I decided I would give it a go. But first I had
them chop off the little tiny legs and the sad eyes that stared at
me. One...two...three, I popped it in my mouth and crunched
down. I made the boys repeatedly say “chicken nuggets” to me
while I was eating it so I wouldn't think too hard about what was in
my mouth. I have to say, it was delicious. Will I try it again?
Hell no.
Overall, the Korean BBQ experience was
one of my favorites so far. I made sure to add samgyeopsal to my new
Korean vocabulary.
Korean Snacks
Cafeteria
Fun Fact: You have to keep your key in this nifty key holder in order for the lights to work in your room.
Just like Jersey, you don't pump your own gas in Korean
My little coffee shop...
Apparently you can have anything you want delivered in Korean, usually for free...
Its important to use two hands in everything you do here. Handing someone something or taking something with one hand is considered rude. Even with a handshake your other hand must be involved in some way. Whether it's on your rib cage or your arm, it has to be there doing something!
So...um...I haven't seen these yet...but they exist...
Need service? Don't call the waitress, just press a button and she comes. This one has two extra buttons, one for beer and one for So-ju. Now that's convenience.
My Korean BBQ experience:
(oil and salt, delish!)
No comments:
Post a Comment