A Visitor

So finally someone took the time to come and visit me in Korea (mostly joking, I'm not bitter, really). My cousin on my dad's side, Jennifer had three days off from her job and decided to swing by the friendly Republic of Korea for those days. She has been working as an English teacher, somewhat like me, over in Japan for almost two years. Actually, hearing some about her experiences had an influence in my decision to come to Korea.

Anyway, the time we had together was short, she got into the airport Sunday night at 8:00 and I had to work Monday afternoon. Actually, her flight was perfectly on time, and my bus ended up being delayed by over an hour. That was an excruciating three hour forty minute bus ride having to watch the clock as I'm more and more late. I ended up at the airport at about 9:10, so then just the quick one hour subway ride to her hotel, and we were free to hang out for the rest of the night.

I should also introduce her friend, Gini, who is an English teacher in Japan and came with Jennifer. She has been in Japan for something like nine years, which is pretty crazy. She had an opinion on just about everything, and she ended up being pretty interesting. I also found that her full name is Regina, which I liked because that is the name of the street that I grew up on.

So here's a picture of Jennifer, she's looking very excited because we about to enjoy her first authentic Korean barbecue.

Here is Gini, also very stoked about the dinner.

Now here is the Korean barbecue meat, and this isn't just any meat, its galbi. That means its high quality beef.

I don't think I've talked much about Korean barbecue on this site, so I might as well put in a few words. It's this meal where you watch meat get cooked over a gas stove or over hot coals at the center of your table. The meat is usually pork, and in this case we had beef, which is excellent. Also on the table are a series of side dishes, ranging from kimchi, the time honored Korean favorite of fermented cabbage, garlic, various sauces, and sometimes even other meats. I actually had a similar meal on Friday where thin strips of raw hamburger was served. That stuff was actually super good. Anyway, you watch the meat cook at the center of your table while turning it yourself to make sure it's evenly cooked. Actually we were all novices at this so the server did most of the work. Once the meat is cooked, it is put into an open leaf of lettuce which is placed in the palm of your hand. Then, you pile on the side dishes to your liking, roll it up, and pile it all into your mouth. I have to say it's an excellent meal, and offers a very communal experience because everyone has to watch the meat cook, share the side dishes, and then build their own lettuce pile.

So I'll move on anyway. The rest of the night was fairly low key since each of us was somewhat tired. We walked around the area of the hotel, where we found a nice walkway which had a Korean workout park that Jennifer and Gini really liked. I showed them how just about every block in Korea is about the same because it has the regular PC room, singing rooms, convenience stores, and then the trash piled everywhere. I don't make it sound too nice, but if you can get by the trash, it's a nice place.

I should mention, because this is pretty funny, I slept in their hotel room on this really small couch thing. It was in two different pieces, one was about 2' by 3', and then another section which is about 2' by 2'. I put the larger one under my head and abdomen, and then the smaller one under my feet, so it did serve as a bed. This hotel unfortunately didn't have any extra pillows or blankets in the room and I didn't want to ask for any because I thought they might have charged extra. It wasn't the best night of sleep of my life. Actually, you might say it was toward the other end. It wasn't really that bad though, I slept soundly enough to snore it up. That's what I tend to do when I'm on my back, which is the only comfortable position I could come up with on that thing.

Jennifer brought me a few boxes of fancy Japanese candy, one of them Fran Whipps and the other Pocky Men's Bitter Chocolate. I have yet to try the Men's Bitter Chocolate, and I'm curious to know what the 11% is about. Is it 11% more bitter now? I'm not sure if anybody who reads my blog knows Japanese. Oh well.

So anyway, Jennifer I hope you had a great trip and everything went well. I also hope you have a good impression of Korea. I'll make sure to check out your blog for updates about the trip.