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Last week the Holt adoptees in the Homecoming Program gathered together for a going away dinner for Susie who returned to MN.  Her homestay mom gave her a "fusion hanbok" and she wore it...it was so pretty.  While Susie has been here, she has trained for and run in at least two marathons.  Her boyfriend even decided to begin training and he ran in one marathon...incredible.  The dinner was great...we ate galbi...which is grilled meat (nicely seasoned) side dishes of kimchi, lettuce leaves to wrap the meat in, pickled onions, soup, garlic (they eat lots of garlic here...yum).  The meat is grilled on the table in front of us.  The grill is placed over a pan of really hot coals.  There was a little ventilation device in the middle to suck out the smoke from the grill, but it wasn't working very well.  Once the meat is nearly cooked, the server comes over with her utility scissors and cuts the meat into small pieces...so it can be eaten with chopsticks.  Scissors and tongs are almost always available at places where you have to grill your food.  This is very typical of how you eat out. This place also gave the ladies aprons to cover their clothes...the guys just had to try to be neat.

Last night was Korea's first game in the World Cup, so the whole country found places to watch the game.  In Seoul there were several large outdoor venues that had live entertainment before the game and then played the game on a huge screen.  The pre-game coverage showed the crowds there...all wearing rain ponchos, dripping wet...it didn't look like much fun.  I'm glad we chose a restaurant for our viewing pleasure.  I met two adoptees that currently live and volunteer at Ilsan Town...Holt's places for the handicapped orphans.



Before Martin and Melinda arrived, I walked around a bit and the city had a pep rally set up, singing going on, they were giving away these plastic inflatable "sticks" used to beat together for cheering...so I picked up a couple for us.  We definitely used them...they came in handy!  I went out on Friday night looking for a good place and found this one...it was perfect!  It's one of the few places that has TVs in their restaurant and plays sports...some of them have monitors that only play music and music videos. The tables looked like they were made out of wooden crates and they used milk crates as seats...added cushions on top.  There is a little drawer on each side of the table that holds napkins and a box with chopsticks and spoons (there is a box like this at every restaurant you visit...usually on top of the table.)  The cushions came off which  was handy for stashing our umbrellas and purses.  We got there a little early to make sure we could get a good seat for the game and to eat dinner.  It's funny...it was mostly a seafood place (I obviously didn't know that.).  LOL  I ordered the one dish that had beef...it was cabbage, bean sprouts, and beef...delicious. 

The restaurant was completely filled and everyone was dressed in red...the team's colors.  The team is the Red Devils, so some folks were also wearing horns that lit up...very cute!  Korea dominated the game and scored quickly--they won 2-0 against Greece.  The whole restaurant was cheering, chanting, and we LOVED it.  I met a girl from Alabama who is kyobo (Korean parents, grew up somewhere else).  She is here teaching English.  We also met a Holt adoptee from Rochester, NY.  He is here teaching English (18 months so far).  They were the nicest group of people...it was fun sitting with them and getting to know them.  What a small world.

Today I'm going to meet Leora and YiYi, the ladies that I know who work on the Army base.  They are bringing the flat rate boxes for me so I can mail back some of my stuff to make sure I don't go over weight on my luggage.  We're also going to a local church that has a Sunday only authentic Italian dinner.  I heard about this Italian dinner from an Italian who said the food was delicious, homemade pastas and raviolis...I'm excited.

This evening I'll meet the group that helps in the soup kitchen.  Next week I teach, tutor and on the weekend I'm going to Jeju do (do means island).  It is called the "Hawaii of Korea."  They grow a lot of the fruit and vegetables that are eaten in Korea.  There is a dormant volcano there, and who knows what else.  I'm looking forward to a change of scenery for a couple of days.  I will report back!  Have a great week.

Korean Potpourri

dinner the first night of my homestay

"little fishes", one of the dishes, served at every meal (found out it is little anchovies)

picture of my homestay house

from the garden looking out to the gate at the sidewalk

my room

I don't know if Koreans use potpourri, but here are just some observations about Korea so far, a little bit of this and a little bit of that:

• Today I spent over four hours trying to get my F4 visa. Go here, get a form, go there, get more forms, go see this person, see that person, get this, get that, pay fees, pay more fees. Oy. I guess government red tape is the same everywhere!

• I'm directionally challenged, so I got a bit turned around today on my way to InKas, an organization that will rent a cellphone to me while I am here. I arrived at their office at 12:05 pm, and it was closed (for lunch) until 1 pm. Arrrrggghhh!
  
  
• The Paris Cafe doesn't really have Parisian-style food or coffee. For instance, they sell hot dogs in pastry, not exactly a bon appetit kind of meal, I think.
  
  
• Motorcycles and scooters are allowed on the sidewalks. I think it's more of a self-preservation thing for them, but watch out pedestrians!
  
  
• All the sidewalks are made of the interlocking pavers. Initially, this seems like a good idea, as you can repair an area without pulling up the entire sidewalk, however, as the ground moves, tree roots grow, etc. the sidewalks are no longer level. In fact, they have rises and dips everywhere. If you're gawking around, like I am, it's really easy to stumble or nearly stumble. If anyone is watching me, I'm sure they must think I'm very uncoordinated.
  
  
• It's funny, but nearly every store plays English music. I guess it's too difficult to dub all the music into Korean...but it seems funny to me.
  
  
• Everyone seems really helpful and are quite tolerant of the people who can't speak their language.
  
  
• The wine selection in Korea is pretty bleak.
  
  
• Washers are prevalent. Dryers are rare...I guess they take too much electricity and folks just opt not to buy them, or if they have them, they don't use them.
  
  
• Love the ondol heating. The heat (via a boiler) is run through the concrete floors...and radiates up through the room. My feet are never cold! The homestay where I am can heat specific rooms, and not heat others...very efficient, but when I leave my room, it's pretty chilly.
  
  
• I went to the World Cup Stadium today. It's a huge, impressive stadium. I think it was used in 2002 for the World Cup (that's soccer for you non-soccer fans) competition. They have tuned the bottom floor into a huge megamarket, with food and household goods. I just thought that was funny...a huge stadium, now a supermarket.
  
  

I am really enjoying my stay and the challenges it brings. Tomorrow I go to visit several different schools. I'm not sure if it's more of an interview or just a visit. Thanks to my cousin, Audrey, I will be prepared with wonderful flash cards for my classes. I also volunteered to help in the office at the Holt's Post Adoption Services on Fridays. They desperately need more hands, and I'm happy to offer mine while they are in Korea. Goodnight.