코디아 괴 미첼

I will ask your forgiveness in advance—I just learned how to switch the language of my keyboard, so I will probably be typing some words here and there in Hangul (Korean). If you do not have a language pack installed on your system, these words will show up as question marks or a series of little squares. If you don't know whether you have a language pack installed or not, here is a test:

시험 일 이 삼, 시험 일 이 삼

Not to worry! If all you see are question marks, do not fret. Luckily for you, my Korean language skills are equivalent to that of a newborn puppy, so there will only be infrequent Hangul words followed by a parenthesized pronunciation and translation. Now, on to the important stuff.

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We took a long break from blogging but for no apparent reason. We have still been thoroughly enjoying our time on foreign ground and discovering something new every day. Preview: since our last update we have eaten 번대기 (bondegi/silkworm larvae), had our first 노래방 (noraebang/karaoke room) experience, went ice skating, had several productive wanders downtown, and started taking 합기도 (hapkido/a Korean martial art) lessons.

The Friday following our 동화사 (Donghwasa/Donghwa Temple) adventure, the teachers at 문깡 (MoonKkang, our language academy) were ready for a long night, and the fact that the bars never close here very well accommodated that desire. We started the evening at Beer Kaiser where we ordered a wealth of Korean/Western fusion cuisine including octopus soup, pumpkin stuffed with seafood and cheese (diappointingly not a common food item here), and, of course, the whole slate of traditional Korean side dishes. Here, we were introduced to 기위 소주 (kiwi soju/kiwi soju), which is like an alcoholic smoothie. Soju, a weak spirit made by fermenting rice and/or sweet potatoes, is THE drink of Korea. At any restaurant on any given evening, there is a very good chance that every single table will have at least one empty bottle, sometimes seven or eight.

Later, we migrated to 궁 (Goong, a different bar), and this is where I (Mitch) tried 본데기 (bondegi/silkworm larvae). Strangely, the servers bring it out on a little snack plate when you sit down at a table, as if it is something that everyone desires before piling on 맥주 (maekchu/beer) and the sweetness of strawberry or kiwi soju. Since the little bug didn't really have a flavor, I have been describing only the texture to those inquiring. Here it goes: it felt like a slimy gummy bear filled with a gritty paste. Very appetizing.


Conveniently, the 노래방 (noraebang/karaoke room) was just a climb up the stairs of the same building, so we had to go. Karaoke is a favorite here. When your crew feels like belting out some tunes, you get your own private room complete with a huge couch, a table capable of holding the weight of several people (for obvious reasons), a multi-colored disco ball, a super fancy karaoke machine chock full of songs in English and Hangul, and two tambourines. The songlist: Queen, The Beatles, Neil Diamond, The Who, several others whom I have forgotten, and some Korean artists, probably Big Bang, WonderGirls, etc. Private karaoke rooms make for a very special experience because people toss away all inhibitions provoked by singing in front of strangers. The attitude was, "Hey, we're all friends, but I can still laugh at you."

Hope you enjoyed!

안녕히 가세유 (Annyeonghi kaseyo/Goodbye [to person leaving])

-Us