The Adventure Gets Indigestion...Day 13 in Korea

I was counting on waking up early Tuesday morning like I normally did because I had the idea that I would go down to the park to get some exercise before work. This was not the case, though, as I woke up around 9:30 and would not have had time. I did, however, take a few pictures around the apartment to give some people a better idea of what it was like living there.

This is the view from the window in my kitchen/bedroom/living room/dining room.

This is the view from the window in my washroom/closet.

Someone wanted to know how it was possible to spray myself with the shower while using the sink. If you'll notice, there's a little button on the faucet, with a hose that is attached behind it which runs to the shower head. You pull the little button out when you want to use the shower. If you forget to push it back in when you're done showering, chances are great that you will feel like an idiot when you go to brush your teeth in the sink and get sprayed down by the shower head.

These are shoes that you keep in or outside of your bathroom. Because the bathroom is also used as a shower, the floor is often wet. Koreans don't want to get their socks or bare feet wet when walking in the bathroom, so they slip these on for any bathroom activities that happen after showering.

Breakfast consisted of good old-fashioned stick coffee.

Mrs. Yoon called to see if I was ready. I asked her how she was doing and she said that she was better than the day before. Although I knew that her heart was still heavy with the loss of her brother, I was happy that she was feeling some improvement in her life. We met at the gas station and rode in together.

At work, Mrs. Yoon sat behind her desk and made lots of friendly conversation with the other teachers and me. She seemed to be feeling a lot better and the mood in the office was very light while we planned our lessons for the day. There was a white board in front of my desk that I often used to make quick notes. I started getting Jenny to write Korean words and phrases on it that I wanted to remember. (The name of the spicy chicken that I love so much is Dahk-ahm-jeong).

Jane, Jenny, and I decided to grab something to eat before we had to start teaching, so we all walked outside together. I thought that we'd just get street food like we usually did, but they were thinking more about a restaurant where they could sit down. I knew that this was going to be expensive...probably around 5,000-6,000 won. (Under $6. And you don't tip here. I know, I'm hilarious.) We went to a little restaurant in the basement of a building. I was happy to have the girls there, because I was not yet able to order at a restaurant and I needed other people to help me order and read the menu. Otherwise it would be a guessing game of what I was getting and what I was trying to order. (I'm sure it would be very frustrating for the waiter) The girls said that we were going to get "cold noodle," but Jenny asked if I would like "spicy noodle." I agreed, of course. Once they figured out what they wanted to order, they called the waiter and gave him our orders. He brought out our noodles, along with sides of kim chi, yellow turnip, and a big plate of meat that he put in the middle of the table. My noodles were green (apparently made from seaweed) and had a red spicy sauce in them. Eating them was like having a hot, spicy heaven in my mouth. (Yes, I realize that description sounds a lot like hell to some people)

It was kind of like this, only with a spicy sauce. Yes, I forgot to take pictures. I'm sorry.

 The girls had grey noodles that came in a chilled broth. We all ate until we were content, and then chatted for a bit at the table. I found out that Jane had a pretty serious boyfriend who she wanted to marry, and that Jenny was robbing the cradle by dating a really young guy back in the USA. (They'd been together for quite some time). I was just happy to be sitting in a restaurant with two beautiful women, enjoying great food. They had all kinds of questions about my relationships and dating status. I think they were wondering why I wasn't married yet.

After paying, we headed back to the school. The girls said that they didn't think that the food at that restaurant was very good. I wondered what good Korean food tasted like, and thought about how great it was to live in a country where even the bad food tasted good. Oh, how I loved Korea.

 Classes were fun and easy. We did vocabulary drills in most of my classes, throwing in some rules to make them competitive games. (Kids hate to think that they're learning) The children were all good, and very respectful. I hoped that all my classes would stay that way throughout the year.

I was still full from lunch six hours after eating at the restaurant. I was working at my computer when Jane, who was sitting behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I "digested well." "Sure," I replied. She told me that her lunch wasn't settling very well. I guess mine wasn't really settling well either. Jenny said that she was having the same problem. I just felt really full, but was still happy.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Yoon told me that she needed to go by a department store to buy a present for a friend. She asked me, "Will you go?" Of course, I thought that she was asking me to go with her, but in retrospect, I think she was trying to ask me if I wanted to go. Either way, I agreed. We first went to a subway station that had a lot of shops in it. Unfortunately, they were all closed when we got there, so we left and went to a big department store. Mrs. Yoon looked at designer clothes for her friend while I walked around the various floors of the store with Jake. I spent most of my time reading the Korean translations of American companies. (Some were pretty hilarious. "Levi's" was written in Hangeul as "Lee-ba-eye-suh") I made a little game out of reading the Korean names of things and then checking the actual brand name to see if I had guessed correctly. It was a fun way to practice reading Hangeul. The rest of the time I got Jake to teach me Korean words.

Mrs. Yoon met us in the food court when she was finished shopping, and bought us dinner. She ordered spicy fried rice for me and gave me some sushi. (Sushi is called "chop-shee" in Korean) Jake had the same thing. I was still stuffed from lunch, but knew that it was rude to refuse food so I ate as much as I could without exploding. Rice + Noodles = Really Full Patrick.

Mrs. Yoon drove me to the gas station and dropped me off. I walked the rest of the way that night, eager to get home after a long day. I spent the rest of the night Skyping, updating my blog, and answering emails. I finally went to sleep after midnight, feeling like a hot air balloon from all the food that I'd had that day.