Two months in, and my first blog post from Korea

I have bad visions of this blog turning in to the online version of one of the many, many half filled journals littering my bedroom, but I'm determined to keep some kind of blog going while I'm here.

Unfortunately, about two weeks after I arrived in Korea, I came down with a massive sinus infection, which lingered for about a month. I kept telling myself it was a bad cold because I didn't have my alien resident card and therefore, could not go to the doctor. So, I spent a month dragging myself to school, sitting in a small room with 5 to 10 screaming Korean children, and then dragging myself home at the end of the day with a splitting sinus/noisy Korean child induced headache, ready to do it again the next day. I didn't go anywhere or do anything for that whole month. If it required more energy than laying on my floor (no couches in Korea) and staring at the TV, I was not participating. So I apologize for the lack of blog posts, but I'm better now. I got my alien resident card, a paycheck, and so many pills from the doctor that I felt like a walking pharmacy. Also, I didn't really mind being sick last month, because the weather was still terrible, and I didn't feel bad for not going out and exploring Korea when it was 13 degrees Celsius and raining.

It's almost May now, and everyone keeps saying that the weather is going to get better any day now. Saturday seems to be the day...20 degrees Celsius (about 68 degrees Fahrenheit) and sunny is the weather report. I'm planning on climbing Sorae Mountain (not technically a mountain, but the closest thing I have to a mountain within walking distance of my apartment) and am really looking forward to getting out of the apartment.

I realize that I have a lot to catch up on, having not written anything for two months, so I will try to do that gradually. Today's topic will be food. The food here is amazing. I love spicy food, and I've found plenty of it here, but even if kimchi is not your thing, there is plenty of good food to be had. Fortunately for me, my school provides dinner for the teachers every night, so I was able to sample Korean cuisine right off the bat. Some of my favorites so far include kimchi jjigae, galbi, mandu, and bibimbap, although to be honest, I haven't really had anything over here that I've disliked so far, with the possible exception of seaweed soup. The food here is pretty basic, but still delicious. Meat is expensive, so most dishes are rice, vegetable, and egg based. Generally, meals are rice, soup, and various side dishes (usually veggies and fish). The most common spice seems to be red chili paste, which can be bought in huge containers at the grocery store. Anyway, below are some descriptions of some of the food I've had so far.

Kimchi Jjigae: Spicy kimchi stew with tofu, onions, beef, and sometimes rice noodles and mushrooms. Usually served still boiling in an insulated bowl. I did not like this the first time I had it as it appeared to have seared the taste buds off of my tongue, but now if a week goes by with no kimchi jjigae for dinner at school, I head down to the amazing little restaurant near my apartment for a heaping bowl of it.

Galbi: Seasoned meat (chicken or beef) cooked on a grill on the table in front of you. Generally served with lots of delicious side dishes and eaten right off of the grill with chopsticks. One of the few decent sources of protein in my life right now, this is becoming a Friday night tradition.

Mandu: Dumplings (sort of like won ton) stuffed with meat and/or kimchi. I've eaten these for lunch almost every day for two months and still have not gotten tired of them. It doesn't hurt that there is a restaurant close to my apartment that sells seven of them for 1000 won, which is about 89 cents.

Bibimbap: Rice and vegetables topped with a sunny side egg, sometimes served in a hot stone bowl which continues to cook your food as you eat it. Also has the unfortunate side effect of cooking your hand if you accidentally touch the bowl, but still delicious.

Gimbap: The sushi of Korea, but less fancy. Seaweed and rice roll stuffed with strips of egg and vegetables, and sometimes crab, tuna, or beef.

I'm still trying new food all of the time, so I'll post more about new discoveries as I make them, but one of my favorite things about meals in Korea is that most of them are communal. Generally, everyone gets their own rice and soup, and all of the side dishes go in the middle. If you want some kimchi, you dive in with your chopsticks and eat out of the same dish that everyone else is eating out of. When you eat galbi, everyone eats the meat off of the grill and the sides out of the communal dishes. I like this in part because I almost never finish an individual portion of food in a restaurant at home, but also because I like to share. And maybe eat a little bit of every single thing on the table.

I'm going to get ready to head in to work now, but I will post again after this weekend, and maybe even include some pictures if I can figure out how to post them. Next topic: climbing Sorae Mountain, and the fine art of teaching English to non-native speakers (or, how to make classroom discipline overcome the language barrier.)