O Day 4

Language lesson day! We divided ourselves into 2 groups: those who could read, and those who couldn't. I chose the advanced group under the delusion that I could read, though the days' classes would prove otherwise. And here she is, our beautiful, friendly, and knowledgeable Korean teacher, Ms. Yeon Jeong Kim (left). The morning was a long and intense practice of basic phrases, questions, numbers, and simple bits of conversation like names, dates, times, etc. Having to read the question off the board in real-time proved to be my downfall, since I could read at about .2 syllables /second. Still, she was very helpful and encouraging when we struggled. We left for lunch with a familiarity, if not a command, of the morning's lessons.

Lunch was at Bennigan's (insert Butters joke here). The one thing Bennigan's does right is ribs, but I foolishly decided to be adventurous. I still don't understand how they made a chop 'steak' taste like cheap fish, and I'm not sure I want to. Lesson: When in Korea, eat what the Koreans eat.

The afternoon lesson was easier, since we studied mostly vocabulary. After learning body parts, we learned a cute Korean version of "head, shoulders, knees, and toes". The Korean version also quiets children by design, including a little "shh" at the end. We then learned 아리랑 (Arirang), in which a dumped woman still loves her husband, and implores him to come back. It's sad and sweet. It also inspires national pride, somewhat like "Auld Lang Syne" without the confetti.


Our dinner was at a local Korean restaurant, where we went all out on the grilled meats. We had the traditional pork grill, which uses the same cut of pork used to make bacon. Once the meat is cooked, you place a piece or two in a large lettuce leaf, add onions, garlic cloves, a dipping sauce or two, and any of the other side dishes on the table. You then wrap it tightly together, and place it whole in your mouth while trying not to make a royal mess of the table / your lap. Or at least that was my experience; other people didn't seem to have that trouble. The next course was a marinated strip of meat off of the rib, which was even more delicious due to the marinade. The grand finale was the beef, which went perfectly with a few onions, a clove of lightly cooked garlic, and vegetable oil/salt/pepper dip. Talk about perfection...

Actually, I might have had this day's dinner and the previous one switched. Either way, after a nap, a small group of us purchased some soju at ridiculous prices (1000/bottle), and drank in front of the hotel while discussing the possible geopolitical climate of the 21st century. Well, we at least talked about which languages would be best to learn...which depends on which country is dominant in 20 years (*cough*China*cough*). It was a good time, but the need to pack eventually caught up with us, and we retired for the night.

So I've learned a fair amount about Seoul, including:

• They need better sanitation...the sewer waft in the side streets makes street food unappetizing (well, more unappetizing)
• For those familiar with racing, you'll know that if you are not at full throttle/brake, you 're too slow. Let's just say that the city drivers have really taken this to heart.