I ate a head!

... an octous head!  And it was one of the grosest experiences!

Last night, I went to dinner with the teachers at my school.  One of the items served were WHOLE baby octopi.  

 

April (the music teacher at my school) placed one of the baby octopi on my plate.  eeehhhh.  This means I'm gonna have to eat it.  I proceeded to chop it's head off with the table scissors, because let's get real...  I was not gonna eat an octopus head!  

"No, no!" She said, "You should eat that!  It's good for your health."  After much bantering back and forth, I reluctantly popped the octopus head in my mouth and bit down!  

First chomp: Okay, this isn't too bad.  It's just really rubbery!

Second chomp: OH MY GOSH!  What just popped and squirted warm liquid all over the inside of my mouth?  I was instantly disgusted and literally probably looked like a deer in headlights just staring in shock and disgust!  Imagine biting into a fish egg the size of a peanut, and that's about what it felt like!

It took everything within me to decide to be a big girl and not spit it out!  I chewed that nasty octopus head until it was small enough to swallow... ehhhh!

Then, I was determined to find out what that liquid bubble was that popped in my mouth!  So I secretly disected another octopus head under the table.  I found it!  The infamous white sack of nastiness!  I poked a hole in it with some scissors and squeezed a little!  The most vile white puss looking stuff oozed out the way a fresh pimple would!  And yes, I almost gagged!  Turns out, after looking at this picture...

 

Not only did I eat it's brain, eyes, poison gland, digestive sack, stomach, gonad, kidney, heart and ink sac, but I ate it's ANUS too!    Oh, and for the record, I did my research, and you're actually suppossed to remove the insides of the head before eating it, and secondly... April didn't tell me that before I ate it!  Thanks April~ Thanks a lot!

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No awkward good-byes!

It took a little getting used to when I first arrived in Korea.  I would be sitting with 10 teachers, drinking coffee, or eating slices of fruit, and then all of a sudden, there would only be 8 teachers and then 6 and then only 4 teachers.  Where did they go?! And were they coming back?!

I quickly figured out that Korean's don't always feel the need to say "good-bye" when leaving a room, a group dinner, etc, and it's actually NOT rude at all!  In fact, it's considered MORE rude to leave a party early and say goodbye, than to leave quietly without anyone noticing. 

This really comes in handy when I'm sitting with a bunch of teachers who are all chattering in Korean, and I want to go back to my classroom to lesson plan (or watch Gossip Girl on my computer!!)!  I just simply get up and quietly walk out!  haha...  It sure is nice to reduce the amount of awkward good-byes!

You should try it sometime! :)

I love when this happens!

Tonight, I decided to have dinner at a new korean restaurant on the street leading up to my apartment.  I guess I should clarify... I don't know that it's really a restaurant.  It's basically one woman cooking 1 of 4 dishes...

in a teeny tiny kitchen with 4 small tables for guests.  

Tonight, I was her only customer!  I felt bad, because I knew she wanted more people to come, but I could tell she was happy that I had chosen her place!  I ordered Dwenjang Cheegeh (a korean soup) and some rice.  But, as you probably know by now, Korean restaurants serve lots of side dishes... Tonight was no exception!  It literally took her about 15 minutes to cook everything (which is a really long time for Korean places)!  I kept looking up at this clock, wondering just how long it would take!

I was in NO hurry though, and actually appreciated the way she was making everything from scratch, taking special detail to each thing she was preparing for me!

And how could I get bored with a TV in the background playing a Korean drama?!  Believe it or not, nearly every Korean restaurant has a small TV for it's guests!

She very proudly set my tray on the table, and I KNEW, at that moment, that even if I didn't like something she had given me, I was gonna eat it ALL!  How could I not?  She was so proud of what she had cooked me!  

And boy did I stick to my guns... I ate it all... the nasty ham slices with green peppers... the sprouts, boiled mushrooms, eggs cooked in water, seaweed soup, white cabbage with red sauce, kimchi, more soup, rice, and the worst - sardines!  eeehhh!

My tummy was full, but was actually very happy with the healthy things I fed it!

I ended up staying here for 2 hours!  Not because I needed all the extra time to digest all the crazy side dishes, but rather because I ended up meeting half of her family!   This is her:

First I met her 2 little boys (11 and 8 years old) who came running into the restaurant after finishing their Hagwon (private academy).  I talked with her 11 year old son about his favorite fruits, games, TV shows, etc...  Basically asking all the things I knew he should be able to understand at his age.  We became instant friends when I offered him a piece of dried mango and a piece of gum!  

He asked his mom for some money and then left a couple minutes later.  He came back with some ice cream for himself and a bottle of Pepsi for me!  He knew I liked Pepsi from our earlier conversation about our favorite food and drinks!  It was one of the sweetest gestures!

Next I met her husband (56 years old), and then her oldest daughter (21 years old) who I gave the name Lisa!  She was sooo excited about her new English name!  I found out that the woman who runs the restaurant is 44 years old, and has been married for 21 years!  They have 7... yes, count em'... 7 kids!  The oldest is 21 and the youngest is 8!  Talk about a baby making machine!  Here they are, all together (minus their other 4 kids)!

They were definitely one of the nicest families I've met, to date, in Korea!  They even invited me to their home, for coffee!  And the mom is making me "chocolate and crunch" cookies tonight, which are apparently her specialty!  She told me to stop by after work tomorrow and she'll have them ready for me!  Ummm, YES PLEASE!

As I was leaving, they all said goodbye at the door and watched me walk up the hill to my apartment, waving to me the whole way!  My cup runneth over!  

  ***

Double Date!

Last night, I double booked myself - a dinner, and some drinks, with the girls in Gwangali and a casino night with Aaron!  Can't think of many other ways I'd like to spend my Saturday night!

Truchen and I rode the subway together to meet her new friend, Gill (pronounced Jill) from South Africa!  What a doll she is - a human barbie doll actually!  

Gill invited her friend Julianna (from Britain) to dinner and drinks with us as well!  I love living here!  Where else can you go to dinner with 3 girls, and have them be from different parts of the world (S. Africa, Britain, and California!)  It was so nice to meet two new fabulous girls, and to have Truchen there as well!  Not to mention, their accents are to die for! Thank you Jesus for all these new, sweet as can be, girlfriends!

Around 10pm, I headed over to Seomyeon to meet Aaron, who was looking extremely dapper, if I don't say so myself!  We played Roulette at 7 luck, had free dinner, and hung out for about 2 hours!  The casino is a great place for people watching, which is one of my favorite past times!  And to make things even better, I walked away 40,000 won (about $32.00) richer!!

This is what hanging out in a casino for 2 hours does to us!   Besides, who can resist making funny faces when the guy they ask to take their picture decides he's going to do a photo shoot for you?!  Yes, we have about 10 pictures of this moment!  I chose this one for my mom, because she thinks Aaron is so funny!

It's currently 2:30am, Sunday morning, and this lil girl is sleepy!  I've decided not to book myself for anything tomorrow... other than a nice relaxing day of football watching with my guy!  

***

Comb-over, gone bad!

I'll be honest... I feel a tinge bad posting a picture of this poor man, who Aaron and I spotted sitting on a bench in Nampodong... but his comb-over, flailing in the wind, was classic!

We had a hard time not staring and decided to document the moment with a snapshot!

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