Time Sure Flies

Wow! It's been a whole month since my last update.  I can't believe how that time just kept getting away from me.  I have been so busy working, and making new friends that sometimes I am just too pooped out to even think about composing and posting a blog.  Other times I just plain forget and then I remember just as I am going to sleep at night, or at 4 in the morning depending on how I was spending my time. 
     So, what have I been up to.  Well... hmm...let's see.  I have finally been fully initiated into Korean culture. Yep, that's right I did Norebang (노래 방) and Taekwondo (태권도).  If you don't know what Norebang is then don't rest assured because you are definitely missing out.  I mean who doesn't love making a fool of yourself singing karoeke in front of your friends and co-workers, disco ball and all?  The main difference between traditional kareoke bars(notice the two different spellings because I don't know which is correct and I don't feel like looking it up) and norebang is that instead of being up on stage in front of the general public, in norebang you rent a room by the hour, the room is equipped with mics, tv's comfy seating and tables.  There is also generally some type of disco or light ball and of course a giant book from which to pick your songs.  If you purchase drinks there, they will supply you with snacks and they will let you bring your own drinks in as well.  All in all, good fun people, a couple of bottles of Soju (beer if you prefer), some O.J to mix it with, or better yet mango juice, and you're all set for one of the best nights of your life.  Okay, that may be an exaggeration but seriously it is a blast.  Everyone I have met Korean and foreign, loves it
     About three weeks to the day after I arrived I met another foreigner in the grocery store.  She was an American names Suzi, from florida, and she invited me to dinner that night with a group of her friends.  She works at the private school very near my apartment and as it turns out she and her friends are super cool.  I did not go out with them that night but she invited me out again about a week later.  I went to shabu shabu (사부 사부) with them that night and discovered both new friends and a great new meal at the same time, all for about $8, a deal that can't be beat.  Shabu Shabu is basically a soup dinner.  You sit down at the table (on the floor traditional style) and a bowl is put on the heating unit in the center of the table.  A really tasty broth is added and it begins to heat.  During this time the waiter/ress is bring out platters full of green leafy veggies, onions rice cakes and mando (dumplings filled with various things) and another platter full of very thinly sliced beef or fish depending on how you order.  They also bring out various side dishes and salads as well as a bowl of rice with egg yolk on top,and a large bowl of thick noodles.  When the broth is heated you addthe veggies to cook and when they are done you toss in the meat, the meat takes litterally seconds because it is so thin.  This is the BEST SOUP EVER!  It is super filling and so good, and you can just make it a bit at a time as you go along.  when you have done a bit of that soup then you toss in the noodles and enjoy more of it that way.  After the noodles the waitress comes by and scoops out all the noodles and veggies, adds more broth if needed (the broth stays on the table for you to add as it cooks down), and then adds the rice/egg mixture.  Now this make rice porridge which is honestly pretty boring tasting to me but I think it has potential to be spiced up with more flavor.  At this point I was so pleasantly full I barely bothered with it. Shabu Shabu has definitely made my top list of Korean foods.
Something else happened that night.  I met Samantha (Sam to most).  Sam is an American from ??? and she has been here just a bit longer than me I believe.  The important thing about my meeting Sam is that she takes Taekwondo.  Now, I had been thinking about it for awhile but the thought never made it far, and I was trying to hold out for Tai Chi.  Sadly Tai Chi is Chinese and so not easy to find here, while you can find a Taekwondo school on every corner, literally.  To make a long story shorter, I signed up for taekwondo 2 weeks ago and haven't been able to blink without feeling it since.  Yes, I know this exercise thing is supposed to be good for me but geeze! Must I be able to feel every muscle in my front and back with each breath?  And I do believe the masters enjoy torturing me.  Unless of course his gleeful smile as he yells, harder, faster, one more time, one more set of torturous side crunches or push ups, actually means he feeling sorry for me.  Hmm, no, I think he enjoys it.  The really sick and twisted part is that I do to.  No matter how much he puts me through in the beginning of the session, being able to kick and punch him at the end is really cathartic.  So what if I am nothing but a mass of sore muscles, so what if I couldn't even bend down yesterday to use the laminator, so what if walking up to my second floor apartment feels like a special kind of torture(and let's not talk about the steep hill from the bus to the school...sigh), I'm sure it's worth it...................in the long run.
     There is more I'd like to tell you about, but this post is long enough.  So this is where I say goodbye and promise to tell you all next time.  Peace and blessings people.

Korean Trivia #6  The Korean education system is very competitve and your future is pretty much determined in middle school.  If you don't do well on you high school entrance exams then you don't go to a good high school(unless you have a massive number of performance points up till then) and if you don't go to a good high school than you can kiss getting into a good college goodbye.  If you do poorly on your high school entrance exam and have not shown promis till then, then you go to a tech high school and learn a trade, completely forget the university dream.