Last Day of School - Teacher Lunch!

Today was the last day of the semester, which means it's officially summer vacation for me!!  All of the teachers left school at 11:00am to have lunch together at a seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor!  

These are the kindergarden teachers and assistants... some of the sweetest women at my school!  When I teach kindergarten, the girl in the white shirt is there with me to help translate!  Her English name is Jennifer. :)

It's an unspoken understanding that when the teachers all go out to eat, Stella and I save each other a spot right next to our own spot, so we can sit together!  Sometimes it's the only time, in a week, that we get to chat!  

The first thing to be served was this bowl of what I THOUGHT were noodles mixed with veggies!  Turns out,
"IT'S  ACTUALLY  SHARK  FIN!"
And yes, I ate it!  And yes, I ate it before I realized what it was!  Guess it's just another thing to add to the random things I've eaten while living in Asia!  I just hate when I get tricked!

After hearing that they served shark fin, I knew this would be a lunch to document!  So, I did!  I've never been served so many delicious varieties of seafood at one meal!  On the right is a seafood salad.  On the left is a plate of raw fish, octopus, and clams.  Most of what is served is family style, so a total of 4 people dig in on the same plate and soup!

Pumpkin and nut soup.

Fried shrimp in spicy red sauce.  I didn't take a picture... but there was a GIGANTIC tray of raw fish served with this!!!

This was served to each person at the table!  (rice with shrimp, a special rice & bean mixture wrapped in a leaf and string, and a small sweet potato mixture, rolled in pink fried good-ness!)

I don't know that I've ever tasted something more heavenly than this!

This was some sort of pumpkin and bell pepper mixture, topped with melted cheese, served on clam shells!

There's an interesting custom in Korea, where teachers pour drinks for their Vice Principal and Principals...  Then the VP or P pours a drink for you, in return.  It's a way of showing your respect for each other!  This is my VP pouring me some Chilsung!  It's official... he respects me!  

Who doesn't love a whole plate of crab legs?!  mmmm

Each person was served their own individual baked salmon fillet, in the shape of a fish!  (Mom, you would never buy another COSTCO salmon after tasting this!  It was incredible!)  

Then came a plate full of fried shrimp and zuchini for us to share! 

No one at my table thought this looked good, so, we didn't even touch it...  I felt bad, but Stella said it was okay!

Tofu (which we call "tobu" here) and potato spicy stew for everyone to share!  Yes, we double dipped, over and over and over again!  I used to think it was gross, but now I do it all the time without a second thought!

Whenever stew or soup is served, a bowl of rice comes along too!  This rice was mixed with red sauce, sprouts, peppers, onions and some other random stuff!  It was delicious!

And for dessert... ORANGES!  This is a very typical dessert at Korean restaurants... which is probably why everyone's so tiny around here!!

After oranges came the rounds of coffee, and then goodbye's for the summer!  I'd be hard pressed to find a school in America that treats their teachers to such fancy lunches!  It was the prefect way to end my 3rd semester in South Korea!
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