It's all Korean to us

---

So this is going to be a quick entry. We have been negligent with reporting of February activities. The month seemed to go very quickly as we eagerly anticipated the visit of my sister Christine...on scene. She arrived on February 21, the same night that Kristy and I attended an Oasis concert. The concert was ok (they only played for 1.5 hrs, and did little to impress the crowd), but not necessarily worth the $66 American, and the 2 hours it took me to write out detailed directions (with pics) that would guide Christine safely from the Airport in Korea to our humble home. Yes...we are bad hosts and abandoned her. However, she did find the place and was happily enjoying a Korean brand beer when we arrived.

So, these photos date back to the end of Jan., and beginning of Feb. They are mostly meal photos. I guess we like to eat.

The first photo was taken from the apartment of one of the nice ladies from church. She is the one who sent me a ton of food back in November. She put on a huge spread for about 20-30 of us, to celebrate the first full moon of the lunar new year. It was very elaborate. I had to be careful though, as it was the one time of year that many nuts were being served. The cracking sound of the nut (walnuts and peanuts) is said to keep the bad spirits away. I figure my kimchee breath is good enough to do just that.

The next two photos were taken when Kristy and I were treated to a huge traditional style Korean meal at a pretty fancy restaurant. It was our first. He is a friend of mine (the Doctor) and she is his girlfriend. The meal was about 20 000 dishes all served by women in traditional hanbok dresses. We had our own little room with cool traditional music.

Next, just one of Kristy’s oh-so-cute- Pink class turkeys. I’m happy to report that her class will become my class starting March, as she will take on the brand new batch of Kindergarten babies. Good luck…..

Next, just some shots from around town. A super cool motorbike, a super cool jacket, and a super cool looking restaurant.

The last photos were taken from another dinner where Kristy and I were treated my one of my adult students, Hye-Min. She was a little too kind and generous and treated us to a very expensive meal at a traditional Korean restaurant. Strange that we went 4 months without ever trying one of these fancy meals, and then get 2 in two weeks. Again the meal consisted of about 30 000 separate dishes, which seem to arrive every 5 minutes or so. Each dish, as with the meal the week earlier, is very beautiful and painstakingly created. However, we both found that you would get MUCH more bang for your buck with a dinner at home. This restaurant was unique, however, in that it offered entertainment during the meal. Traditional music and story telling made for some cool pics.

Anyhoo, must make this a short one as the ‘Christine-on-scene’ entries will follow shortly.

colin

---

Photos

9 traditional panch'an
Side dishes such as these are a regular part of each meal, but usually only 2 or 3.

Kristy, Ken and Girlfriend
Korean names are very difficult to remember.

Cool ambience
Foreigners sitting on floor in small room with paper walls.
And yes, bleached hair.

Julia...such a cutie
This little girl is soooo cute. She's in Kristy's class, which is called "Pink class"...appropriate n'est-ce pas?

Sweet Hog.
I wish I had gotten a picture of this in motion, however I've probably seen worse.

I couldn't resist
Looks like a friendly place.

My sweetie
In case any of you were worried that I wasn't seeing the real Kristy.

Pitcher of Sangria
A very cool bar called Liquid Lounge with funky lighting and cool beats being spun by live D.J.

Kristy with Hye-Min
This is the outside of the restaurant.

Dish #1
She prepared mini-rice roll type appies in fronto of us. Cool.