Sometimes I think teaching here can be a real drag. Smart students too sullen to answer a simple yes-or-no question (not to mention the toughies that might require a full sentence -- in the preterite); younger kids who don't understand, after 4 months, 'get out your book;' the isolation of not understanding anything I read or hear while my attempts to learn Korean prove almost futile.
But last night I called up my new friend Suzanne. We met at the 7-eleven between our apartments, bought some mekchu (there's one Korean word that has been well impressed into my vocabulary) and hung out at a 'street meat' stand for about 40 minutes. There were plenty of kids coming by in their uniforms, book bags hanging from their hands; drunk old men shuffling by; old women packing up fruit and vegetables they'd been selling on the sidewalk.
Like toting water, I guess eating street meat makes me feel a little more connected to the community here. And anyway, street meat is awesome. Though illegal, it's cheap, convenient, pretty tasty, you can eat as much as you want and then pay afterwards, there's always a small yet diverse crowd gathered. And not surprisingly, I ran into one of my students there. He was on his way to a class that would end at 1am.
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Lizzy: I just received the silkworm larvae. It looks absolutely delicious, although I gave up silkworm larvae for the 21st Century. It is practically all I ate in the 20th. I almost puked when I opened it and saw what was inside. I am very very impressed that you have actually tried it. And you also mentioned that you are eating kimchee regularly now---I hope you like it and aren't just eating it to get it onto your breath so you can't smell it on everyone else's breath. It is good, isn't it? So thanks so much for the larvae; let me think about it for awhile. OK, I thought about it. I ain't eatin' that stuff. How do you spell G-R-O-S-S in Korean?
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