July 2009
Tuesday started with a walk to Insadong and lunch at a place known for its use of fresh herbs in their cooking(closed). When we entered, there were several very large bottles of herbs soaking in different liquids. Most were probably drinks. Also, for those of you that are not familiar with Korean food, most of these places give us a ton of little plates filled with all sorts of things. Some of these little plates are beginning to look familiar. Others are not. Others look familiar, but they aren’t after I taste them. Most are reddish, but the level of spiciness varies. I have a great picture of the little dish phenomena coming up on Friday’s post. We left stuffed.
After a walk back to the apartment, we were picked up by the businessmen, with whom we are here to work. They took us to an English Village, where children go for a full week at a time, overnight and everything, to learn English. We were given a tour, and it looked like a fabulous facility, but there are some problems with the Village. First of all, there is no curriculum. The Village has many different areas to facilitate English speaking scenarios like “Immigration”, “New York Street”, or “News Station”. However, because the areas are so specific, the lessons are limited to the environment in which they take place. Second, the establishment is losing money because the kids come for a week, and then they do not come back. Third, the kids that enroll are at different levels of English speaking ability. Fourth, there is no follow-through or repetition of the English learned for most, so it goes away. Fifth, every kid we saw was playing a game. Overall, it looked like a fun English camp, but the kids might learn some new words, but they do not know much. The major discussion is how to make the village profitable and have the kids actually learn English.
After the tour, we went to this huge, impressive barbeque place for dinner with the businessmen. Kathy and I had our own grill, so we cooked a lot of meat (all proudly Korean beef), onions and garlic. After we were stuffed, YK let us know that it was time for our meal. I had forgotten that if rice doesn’t come in the beginning part of the meal, then there are courses to the meal. So, after all the meat and millions of little plates, we had rice, soup, and bimbimbap. I did not pace my stomach well that evening.
Wednesday was day one of three of recording. Kathy, Hyun and I are recording the teacher training these three days and then doing live teacher training (which will also be filmed) on Saturday and Sunday. We split up for lunch. Kathy, Hyun and Jasmine went back to the North Korean Noodle place and Dad, YK, and I went around the corner. There is this whole alleyway where there are countless places to get food. There are also a lot of people petitioning for you to go to their restaurants. One particular man, who was advertising cheap coffee, was a mime on stilts. We had bulgogi at one of the places that said we could get free drinks if we went there. After the meal, YK said “I guess this place is known for its pork”. Then the next question was, “Then why did we have beef?”
After lunch we were picked up by the driver and driven to the recording studio. Kathy and Hyun recorded during the afternoon, while Jasmine and I met up with Keh. Keh and I go way back. Many years ago, he dreamed of coming to the US and he applied to be a foreign exchange student. He ended up in Kansas. However, after spending a year in Kansas, he stayed with YK, Dad, and Patrick while he attended Venice High and then SMC. Keh and I had some adventures my last trip to Korea, and this time we included Jasmine in the mix.
Keh met us at the recording studio, and after a walk and a subway ride, we ended up in the COEX mall on the way to the Aquarium. This mall was the largest mall I have ever seen. The small bit that we saw on Wednesday just scratched the surface. Poor Keh had to put up with Jasmine and me as we stopped at many little shops looking for the perfect trinket. Eventually, we reached the Aquarium. I don’t remember ever having as much fun at an aquarium. First of all, this aquarium had monkeys, bats, a rabbit, a beaver, and penguins. Then there was a whole portion of the aquarium where they put fish tanks in normal, everyday things like a refrigerator, washing machine, a computer, and a vending machine. Also, every child under the age of three was at the aquarium that day. One boy, in particular, took a liking to me. He held my hand and wanted me to pick him up. I resisted, though it was tough. A couple of times I went to the bathroom after a million of these little toddler kids went there. I left unsatisfied. Keh, Jasmine, and I enjoyed the fish and the walkthrough giant shark tank as well. We were there for hours.
After a snack of pizza (Keh and I) and a smoothie (Jasmine) we walked to an area called Myungdong. Myungdong is a huge outside shopping area. It is like Insadong, but instead of arts and crafts and souvenirs, the shops and street vendors were selling knock-off purses, shoes, hair ties, and clothes. One of the quests of the trip was for a shirt with terrible English on it. Jasmine found one cheap that said, “Love u up, The New York”. I bought some more splat toys, this time tomatoes. We met up with Kathy, Hyun, Dad and YK at a Taipei mandu(dumplings) place that is all over China. YK chose this place because Jasmine and Kathy will not be joining us in China, because they are leaving Monday back to the US and other adventures. It is now official that YK, Dad, Hyun and I are going to Beijing and Shanghai and Jamyung, Euigyoo, and their daughter Hyanji (whose name I misspelled in the “Monday” email) are meeting us in Shanghai. The mandu place had a lot of mandu, but no soju, to my father’s disappointment. My favorite was the one that YK taught us how to eat. You pick it up with the spoon, puncture the outer wrapping, sip out the sauce, and then chew. YUMMY.
After dinner, Jasmine, Keh and I continued our adventure in Myungdong and then headed back to Insadong again. Jasmine was in charge and she got us home safe and sound.
Small Wide World 