A night with uncle...

I think the person most excited to see me here in Korea, besides my grandma and my dad, is my uncle.  He calls me his favorite nephew and said that he wanted to do all the things he couldn't do for me the 20 something years we've been apart.  So last night we went to go shop for groceries to grill at his place for dinner and drink.  The quality of beef at the market was remarkable, the marbling on the meat was similar to what Kobe beef looked like...yummy!  The store we went to is called "E-Mart" and had 5 or 6 levels with escalators taking you from one floor to the next.  The first floor had the groceries and as you ascend to the higher levels there were things like appliances, clothes, a food court, makeup, etc.  You hear that?  It's the sound of my mind being blown.  Anyway, after we got all the groceries we picked up some alcohol for the night.  I was so happy to see that they had a section for foreign beers and liquor :)  My uncle asked if I've ever had Hennesy but I told him that it was always too expensive for us to go buy so he got me a bottle of that and a couple of beers, Kostritzer to be exact.  The shopping carts were designed so that they locked into place on the escalators to prevent them from rolling down the slope, awesome!  We picked up some ice cream for the girls and were off to the house.  

     I was surprised to see how nice the apartments in Korea were these days.  My uncle's place looked like a penthouse you would see in New York.  Spacious and all modern appliances.  I entertained the girls until we were ready to grill.  Now grilling in Korea means using like a flat top griddle or something similar and then cooking the meat at the table along with onions and garlic.  Then you wrap it in leafy lettuce, cabbage, or some kind of vegetable along with hot peppers and chili or soy bean paste.  We started with a couple of glasses of the Hennesy and let me tell you, that stuff is delicious and smooth!  Then we shared a bottle of Soju, kind of like a rice liquor similar to sake.  We finished the night off with a couple of the beers we picked up.  Since we were eating as we drank, I wasn't too intoxicated which is always a plus.  We had some nice dinner conversation and then went to bed soon after.  Good night ^-^

    This morning I went to eat this soup that people usually have after they drink the night before.  It was similar to menudo that Mexican people eat except it had bean sprouts and veggies along with the expected organs and stomach.  Don't hate, it was delicious and super spicy.  I got home around 1:30 pm which is about 20 minutes later than I usually leave the house for work so I changed in less than a minute and was off to the subway.  My teaching job here is pretty easy for me.  Not much to prepare and I mostly cater to the student's needs and level of proficiency so the book that I was given to teach out of is just a reference tool for material.  For my English conversation student, I Skyped Rob Adelman as he was the only one up back in the states since the difference is 4 hours behind me and opposite time of the day.  The student was really shy and was anxious to be speaking to an English speaking stranger.  He was amazed with Skype but I also got the feeling he appreciated my unconventional methods of teaching.  I'm sitting here now, pecking away at this entry while my writing student is working on the essay prompt I gave him.  I'm awesome.  Anyway, more pictures:

Grilling some duck, hater, what you know about that?  It had a smokiness to it, almost tasted like bacon too.

Escalator in the "E-Mart"

Thank you trade for foreign beers!

Drankin' that Hennesy and grilling' meats!

Baby cousin. 'Nuff said.

The driving range from my uncle's apartment.  

Hangover soup with rice.

Kimbop (rice wrapped in seaweed with filling).  This is not traditional kimbop but it's sold in the convenience stores here as a quick snack for students who go to their after school study programs.  My conversation student bought one for each of us to snack on as we walked back to the hagwon.  What a nice kid :)