Message to Kansans: count your blessings

7:42 p.m., 18 july 2007

So, today was the year-end faculty luncheon. Classes were held in the morning, and all the teachers headed out that afternoon for our meal. Around 11 a.m., rumors on where we were eating began to circulate: a beef restaurant. I haven't gotten any beef so far (besides a burger), so I didn't know the significance, but I witnessed the excitement emanating from my fellow teachers.

Myong-Soo drove us to the restaurant, where 40 teachers crammed into the banquet hall. The ones that couldn't fit in the elbow-to-elbow room went into another room (we went into this room after we ate & it was much nicer; there was a hole in the floor so one could eat with one's legs hanging down instead of cross-legged knee-to-knee with one's neighbor). Young-ji had warned me that the restaurant is one where people sit on the floor, so I knew that I would be removing my shoes; therefore I brought socks. Unfortunately, the weight/room restriction for my luggage hadn't allowed me to bring a wide selection of shoes, and I felt uber-lame wearing socks with flip-flops. Being me, instead of letting people view it in private and think that I had the fashion sense of an adolescent gorilla, I boldly pointed them out & let my coworkers laugh at me.

En route Young-ji & Suk-nam invited me for a picnic in Suwon, which I gladly accepted. Then we started discussing a potential bike ride, which Young-ji immediately turned down. I soon found out why. Apparently Suk-nam has a habit of riding to places like Jamshil, which is about an hour away. I know that if I ever hit up steriods and can actually make it there, I won't make it back. Young-ji had gone with Suk-nam once, and that had been it. Suk-nam also likes to hike, so aside from the fact that she gets up at 6 am to do it, we might go for a hike someday.

Back to the food. mmm mmm mmm mmmm... We actually didn't even eat any rice. But we pretty much consumed every other Korean dish known to mankind. There was kong, anchovies, pyogot bossut, buetchingae, mul nangmyun, and a whole lotta dishes that I don't know the names of but enjoyed. And the beef... they brought out three types of raw beef and we fried them on the woks inset into the table. I found out why everybody had been so excited about beef: two pieces is going to do about $20 damage. At that rate, I think the moment I get back to the States I'm going to hunker down to a juicy steak, with meatballs and bulgogi on the side.

At lunch they also brought out Hite, but I knew better and stuck with the sidah (clear soda).

After lunch Young-ji & I went to Shinhan bank to open up an account. Shinhan is the place to go, as it is one of the few banks that gives bankcards to foreigners. Get this: my bankcard is a Manchester United card. Park Ji-Sung is the miracle man in Korea.

I'm going to jet. Gotta go pick up a hair dryer.