Oh, Korea

• This is blog entry is called, “Oh Korea!” because recently I find myself saying this phrase a little too often.
• Oh Korea, why are your women afraid to grow muscles? I saw an advertisement for what looks like ace bandages, but much tighter, to put on your arms and calf muscles to prevent them from growing. I also know that it’s also quite popular to perform such surgeries as severing the calf muscle, or sculpting (removing) the thigh muscles so they are thinner. Oh Korea, why?
Dad and I were talking about a Korean TV show that pits a Korean girl pop group against professional or semi professional (college) athletes. They then compete in physical challenges whereby the Korean pop girls somehow always win!?!?! The girls in the pop group are muscle-less twigs, and yet the fit athletes always fail the challenges. Why Korea, why do you promote the anorexic look over healthy fit bodies? What must the parents of these athletes on TV think of their children? “See, if only you had less muscles you could be successful! This volleyball /swimming / softball etc. is no good for you! You’ll never get a husband with calf muscles like that! We need to sever those muscles immediately! Then you can be a winner like the girls in the pop group!”
• Oh Korea, why is it okay to dress in drag on TV, but not to be a transvestite?
I’m confused, if you are a guy it’s okay to dress in drag if you are being filmed for a TV show. However, if you dress in drag because you like the way you look, or feel, then you are just wrong and shameful! As long as you dress up to imitate someone else, it’s fine, but don’t you dare do it for your own enjoyment! It is only for the entertainment of others you sick weirdo!
This all started when I went to see Rocky Horror the musical. I was so surprised that the audience seemed to be okay with the drag issue. Then I remembered that as long as it’s for entertainment it’s fine! Put it on stage or in front of a camera, anything goes!
• Oh Korea, why do you make employees sit in ranking order at the office? I know I’ve talked about this before, but it has never really impacted me until recently. I had been working on my own for 10 months, but now I work with a team of 3 others, soon to be 4 others. Well, the configuration of chairs used to be 3 desks on the right, and 2 desks on the left. But because of this highest ranking bullshit their needed to be 3 desk on the left, and 2 desks on the right. This is because the highest manager needed to sit by the window and for some reason only one other person could be in front of him, not two. So the desks had to be disassembled and reassembled on the other size.
Now, we had to go through all this hectic moving so that we could be in ranking order. But I’ve been with this company for a year and the new employee hasn’t started yet but she will be sitting behind me. A whaaaaa? Okay, truthfully, I will let it slide because you guys thought I was leaving in October. But I gave up my desk drawers for my manager because his desk didn’t have a set. And I ordered a new set of drawers a month ago when we moved. Still, no drawers to this day, yet sitting right behind me, in an empty desk, for an employee who isn’t even here yet, are a set of drawers not in use, and I am still waiting for my drawers to arrive!!! “Oh no, you can’t have those drawers, they belong to Ms. Kim.” “Well, why couldn’t I have used them this whole month while she hasn’t been here, and when my new drawers arrive she can have those ones?” “Oh no, because those are Ms. Kim’s.” Oh Korea, your killing me here!
• Ok Korea, why are your weddings so staged? I know I’ve gone over this as well before, but the bouquet toss at a wedding is ridiculously misinterpreted. This weekend was Hui Kyung’s wedding. Just like the other weddings I’ve attended, we needed to stage a photo where the girl who is scheduled to get married next (literally the next weekend in this case) gets to catch the bouquet. And we toss it over and over again to her until we get the right picture. Nothing new here, what is new is I asked what the girl was suppose to do with the bouquet now that she has it. I was told that the bouquet is dried out and then 100 days after the wedding of her friend, she is supposed to burn the bouquet. Yup, apparently it brings good luck to the bride and groom. I asked if you the bride and groom have to be present, like it’s some big ceremony, but nope, ya just burn it on your stove or however is most convenient for you. You can call them and tell them you burned their bouquet but they don’t have to be there to get the good luck, and you don’t have to call them if you are too busy. Oh Korea, why are you so strict when it comes to some traditions, and completely nonchalant about others?
• Oh Korea, why are your dress codes so confusing? So I’ve talked a lot about short skirts and wearing high heels to go hiking, but just when I thought I had the Korean dress code figured out, my assumptions about dressing up for a wedding were wrong. I mean, weddings are a big deal in the US. We dress up for the occasion. In fact, I was scheduled to go to two weddings this month, so I borrowed two dresses from Vicki. I mean, I didn’t want to buy new dresses for these wedding, but I also know how fashionable the Koreans are so I didn’t want to wear the same clothes I wear to work. I was really surprised that my colleagues came to the wedding wearing the same clothes they normally do! Guys in the same suits, girls in the same dresses, I mean, yes, Koreans are always dressed up during the week, but I figured weddings would mean you have to dress up even more than average. Oh Korea, really, I’m puzzled by the dress codes sometimes.

Road Trip

* I know, I suck at this whole keeping up my blog regularly thing! But this week is Chuseok, Korean thanks giving, so I have the week off. Maybe this will allow me to catch up on some of the things you’ve missed. So here are the top 5 changes that have occurred recently that you’ve missed out on. (1) I am staying in Korea till January 14th. (2) Lucas was laid off from his job so one of us needs to have a job. (3) I belong to a team of 3 other people at my work so I no longer work in isolation. (4) I’ve been training for a half marathon so I’ve been running a lot lately, taking advantage of Olympic Park. (5) Because I renewed my contract to stay in Korea, I can now get a visa to go to China, I will go October 20th for 4 days with my friend Hey Jeong.
* This weekend I took a road trip with Bonyun, her husband, and her brother. We went east of Seoul about 3 ~ 4 hours to Andong. First stop was lunch at a wonderful picnic spot. You first order a tray of food and then take it to your private bungalow. Here I got to see sooooo many wonderful creatures!!! They weren’t inside our bungalow, they were outside of it and along the river. I found a praying mantis, huge grasshoppers, a rather plump caterpillar the size of a highlighter, and lots of frogs too! Bonyung got the grand prize of creature discoveries though. When she went to the bathroom she found a snake! I was sooooo jealous!
*After lunch we went for a hike up a mountain with a great view of a little peninsula town surrounded by the river. It was hot so we went down to the river and splashed around in the water for a while. Then, we drove to a really really long bridge. We also go to wonder around the mock town and fortress that they use for some of the TV historical dramas.
*Afterwards, we met with Bonyun’s Mom, Dad, and a Buddhist monk. Her parents are Buddhist so they like to take the monk out to dinner every once in a while. Once again, they were amazed at my ability to use chopsticks, because it’s always assumed that foreigners can only use forks I guess. And I in turn was amazed that the Buddhist monk was eating meat. I really think that only Buddhist in Korea eat meat. I don’t know if it is that they cannot refuse any food that is offered to them or they just interpret things differently in Korea. The next day, when we ate at the temple, we were served all vegetarian foods so maybe they are only vegetarian at the temple. So perhaps what happens outside of the temple, stays outside the temple? Or rather, what Buddha doesn’t know, won’t hurt him?
* After dinner, her parents went to stay with the monk at the temple, and we went to a traditional house. The house was built in 1663 and 14 of its rooms are rented out to people. It is advertised as an artists’ compound where they can go and listen to the earth revolve. The owner had to move the house uphill a few years ago when they dammed up the river and turned it into a lake. It’s a very serene spot he chose to move the house to. It’s tucked into the hills overlooking the lake. Many artists come here to write poetry and do calligraphy. In fact, the owner writes poetry and he gave me an autographed copy of his book of poems that were translated into both English and Japanese. He also showed me the calligraphy and art samples that some of the artists gave to him. He let me choose a piece and take it home with me!
*At the 1663 house, I got to share the American art of making s’mores. I got the marshmallows, Hershey chocolate bars, and graham crackers smuggled off the army base because they don’t sell such things in Korea. Then we used wooden chopsticks to roast our marshmallows on a small coal fire. Everyone loved the sticky, sweet treats! I even gave one to the owner and one to his wife. We also handed them out to any of the guest that came over to see what we were doing. It was I’m sure the first, and only time, s’mores have ever been made at that house.
*The next day we went to the Buddhist temple and Bonyun’s brother taught me how to bow properly to Buddha. You bow 3 times to Buddha and just once in the same fashion to the monk. So when I went to greet the monk I had just practiced with her brother in the temple so I did it correctly. When Bonyun and her husband came in a bit later to greet the monk, her dad told them to bow to the monk and they did didn't do it quite as well. So the monk was laughing and so were we because these 2 Koreans who both have Buddhist parents, and couldn't bow properly to the monk, but this foreign girl could. I guess they needn't know that I had just learned not 15 minutes prior!
*When we finished having tea at the temple, the monk gave me a beautiful stone bracelet. It is to help you keep track of how many prayers or bows you have done. I'm not too sure how to use it, I will have to ask Bonyun's brother for more clarification. Anyways, after we left, we all went to a mask museum. There were masks here not only from Korea, but around the world. It was very interesting to see differences and similarities among cultures.
*I had a great weekend. One of the hardest things about living in Korea is not having family around me. So this weekend, I really felt like a part of Bonyun’s family. I am so grateful to her and her brother for organizing and orchestrating such a great weekend for us!

Novocaine for my Seoul

• Many of you are wondering, “Renee, where have you been?” “Long time no write,” and so on. Well, my sister came to visit for 3 weeks, and then I was sick for 2 weeks after that. Must have been withdrawals from not being with my sister, since I had been with her night and day for 3 weeks, clearly I became addicted.
Anyway, this blog is not going to be an update on what my sister and I did for 3 weeks. Nor is it going to tell about my river rafting adventure or learning how to cook pajeon (Korean pancake). No, this post is about how I went to the dentist. Sounds exciting right? Well, just keep reading, it gets interesting.
Every year, all of the employees have to go for a physical exam. So, Hui Kyung and I went together to where they perform the physical exams for large companies. When we arrived, we filled out some forms and then changed into our spiffy, orange, monk-style scrubs. We are herded around through a gantlet of test with other employees in scrubs. We do blood work, urine tests, eye exams, hearing tests, and “womb tests.” Hui Kyung and the others also went for chest x-rays and mammograms, but since I get to do that at City of Hope when I get home (as part of a long term study) I opted out of those tests. No need for the extra exposure to radiation, or booby smashing.
After we finished these tests, we were presented with the option of having a dental exam, too. Knowing that I will not have health insurance, let alone dental insurance when I return home without a job, I jumped at the chance to see a dentist. Little did I know that going to the dentist in Korea is not like going to the dentist in the U.S. I got what they called “scaling” done for a little less than $40. It’s very similar to getting your teeth professionally cleaned in the US, but it’s much faster. It only takes about 5 minutes on the top and the bottom, which is a definite plus. Downside is it sounds worse then fingernails on a chalkboard!
Have you ever been so unfortunate as to be driving in the rain and have the rubber peal off of your windshield wipers and scrape along the glass? No, well I’m sure you can use your imagination and this is what was happening inside my head, for 10 minutes.
Oh wait, the story gets better. Much better! Have you ever been so unfortunate as to have a dentist drill into your tooth without giving you Novocain first? No, not that either huh? I can just hear your reaction, and oh yes, I have.
Apparently I had a small cavity on one of my back molars. So, the dentist said to me, “I suggest small pain, no shot.” My initial reaction, “I suggest you shove it!” But he kept insisting it would be a small pain. I asked, “long pain,” motioning with my hands, but he said no, “small pain.” So, foolishly I believed him and said I would try my best to endure the pain. And I did. I survived it. Thanks due in part to the dental assistant holding my arm and soothing me as best she could.
Actually, it was nothing compared to a bone marrow biopsy. No, haven’t been so unfortunate enough for that one either eh? Well, that’s far worse than having a dentist drill into your tooth without Novocain. I’m sure if it was a deep cavity I would not be saying the same thing though. Overall, I’m glad I did it. It was way cheaper then dental work in the U.S. and I can now go another year without visiting the dentist.

Random Korean-isms

* Ok, this post will be a hodgepodge of different little comments that I’ve been meaning to share with everyone. My first short story reveals the mystery of “Girl Poops.” So, if that’s kinda gross and you don’t want to hear about it, then just got right ahead on to the next * story. So, when I moved offices, Chin informed me that I no longer get to take my 2:30pm skype break to talk to my family. While I was working in close proximity to her, she had been holding me to U.S. law. So, I used to get a 10 minute break for every 4 hours I worked. Well, she said because I was moving into an area where there are other employees, I need to follow Korean law. Korean law apparently states, “work hard, work hard, work hard.” They are not given 10 minute breaks; in fact, Koreans are not supposed to take breaks at all! And now I too am not allowed to take breaks!
So, what’s the secret; how is it possible to work all day continuously without taking a break you may ask. Well, you can’t. And I don’t say this because you’re most likely not Korean; I say this because Koreans do take breaks. Hence the mystery of the ‘girl poop’ is revealed to me at last!
As a girl, before coming to Korea, I could never imagine a culture where girls sit on the toilet and read news papers, use the bidet, or talk on their cell phones while pooping in a public place. Now that I know Koreans are not allowed to take 10 minute breaks every 4 hours like I used to be allowed, I understand why girls take poop breaks at work. Though I still don’t think I will ever be able to do that.
* Lucas and I were wondering why, when we were in Japan, we saw so many girls walking with their feet turned in. I told him that girls in Korea do it too. I theorized that maybe walking that way made your butt look smaller. Because it’s not a genetic deformity, they choose to walk this way. I saw girls who would climb stairs with their feet faced forward like normal, and as soon as they are on level ground again they turn their feet back in. So I knew it was by choice, but I didn’t know why they chose to do this.
Turns out, Japanese Geishas walk this way. So, to be a more like a subservient, meek, geisha-esk girl, they walk with their feet turned in. Geishas do it to take smaller steps so that look dainty. Asides from looking retarded, I think some Korea girls do it took look like they need assistance. Maybe it will get the guy they are with to hold on to their arm and steady them as they walk like a duck in 4 inch heels. Who knows! That’s one girl mystery here I’m still working on understanding.
* Another interesting Korean-ism I learned about while living here is the importance of titles. There are some Korean-isms I’m not going to do, and one of them is always calling people by formal titles. Apparently, because I’m younger than Chin, I’m not supposed to call her by her name. I’m supposed to call her ‘sajanim.’ When I refer to her to other Koreans, I will use this title; only because it makes them visibly uncomfortable if I don’t, but when I am talking to her or emailing her, I use her name.
The other day, my two friends Dasom and Hui Kyung were told not to call each other by name because Hui Kyung is a year older then Dasom, so it’s unprofessional. HA! These girls went to grad school together, are good friends outside of work, and sit next to each other at the office, and they are not allowed to be on a first name bases with each other?!?!!? WOW!
Actually, it was even more Korean then that! They weren’t told directly not to call each other by their first names. No, nothing is ever told directly to someone. The order was given in a round about way by means of a suggestion. Like, “wouldn’t it be more professional if you called her [insert Korean title] instead, since she is a year older?” Hahahah! So Korean!
* One last little bit of random Korean facts for you. That awful T.V. show “Medium,” well, they actually show it on T.V. here too. But they don’t call it ‘Medium,’ they call it “Ghost and Crime.” I think it is because they don’t make a size medium here. They only make small and extra small, so they don’t have a word for it. Ha! Just kidding, I know medium is a homophone. Who knows why they didn’t just replace it with a word for that has a similar meaning to a medium, I guess they don’t have that type of person in their culture. Although they do have fortune tellers, and palm readers, so I would assume they would also have people who claim to take to ghosts.

Bau Haus Dog Cafe

* Like I reported in my last post, things had been a little tough for me after my parents left Seoul. I don’t belong to a team at my work so while other teams have monthly dinners together, I am left to wonder why I’m not included in their reindeer games? So, I decided to stop being sad and to do something about it. My solution was to threw my own dinner party. I had a few guests over from work and cooked dinner for them. They really enjoyed my cooking. Especially, the crustini with homemade salsa. They kept asking me for the recipe, but since I made it up I had to show them the steps I took to make it. So they learned something new.
I also learned something new from Hui Kyung. Before we ate dinner, Hui Kyung went into the restroom to wash her hands. She asked if she was supposed to use the Neutrogena face wash soap on her hands. I told her, “No, use the Korean stuff.” She started laughing, so I knew I had committed another faux pas. She was laughing because I had put soap for washing dishes in my bathroom. I couldn’t tell the difference! It’s all in Korean; soap is soap right? Since this incident I have replaced my bathroom dishwashing soap with Dove bar soap, so let’s hope future dinner guests will be spared any needless confusion.
* Speaking of needless confusion, I had a very strange dream the other day. I dreamt that I needed to pick something up to rescues it from getting wet. Well, I ended up falling out of bed rescuing this imaginary object. One minute I’m asleep in bed, the next I’m laying on the hardwood floor wondering why my knee and elbow hurt so damn much. I crawled back into bed, but I had trouble falling asleep again because of the pain, and the fact that I couldn’t stop laughing at myself.
* Guess where Vicki and I went…..the long await, world famous Bau Haus!!! It’s a dog café! And no, although Koreans do eat dogs on occasion, this café only served drinks and dog treats. This café has at all times 10 or so dogs on hand, plus some people bring their own dogs to play, too. It’s a wild scene! Dogs barking, running, biting, and scratching, it was a dog lover’s paradise! We got to cuddle every kind of dog from an Afghan to a schnauZer!
I brought dog treats from a local market but they were confiscated at the door. The dogs are only aloud to have the treats that we buy at their café. It’s also a one drink minimum per visitor. They sell smoothies, tea, and bottled beer. If you leave any drink unattended a dog might try to share it with you. The dogs own this place! The roam around the tables and bench seats visiting any guests with doggy treats available.
I spent most of my time with one big sleepy doberman pincher who loved cuddling with me. He was sleeping on me for most of the 2 hours we were there! Though other dogs came and went so I got to cuddle other dogs as well.
The dogs were pretty well behaved for the most part. We only saw a few have “accidents” that were promptly cleaned up by attentive staff. And every time a staff member called one of the dogs by name it would come running and then sit down near him or her. The dog would then sit while people posed around it for photos.
* After Vicki and I left the dog café, we went to a Mexican restaurant. All I can say is it was a very interesting take on Mexican food. I’m not saying it was bad, on the contrary, I liked the quesadilla I ordered. It just didn’t use a corn or flour tortilla like your average quesadilla. This one was made out of some kind or omelet-crêpe-potato-paddy hybrid. It was not crispy, it was fluffy with melted cheese and different types of mushrooms inside.
* After the dinner, we followed the loud cheering that was coming from the park. There was an amazing Korean band playing. They covered all English songs with the added twist of a Reggae beat, tap dancing, and beat boxing. The group was called Soundbox, and they covered songs like Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ and Radiohead ‘Freak’. All while adding interesting beat box noises or dramatic tap dancing dueling sessions between the dancer and the base player. Really interesting stuff, so creative! I think they are there ever weekend in the park so I can’t wait to go back and check them out again soon… when I get to bring Angela!!! I can’t wait for my sister to visit!!!

Out Drinkin

*So recently, both the US and Korea were in a little program called the World Cup. Heard of it? Well, here in Korea it’s a huge deal! They even keep the subways open later on the nights that Korea plays. Although, I did just learn that the subway stays open later during the week then it does on the weekend!!! Like me, you might be saying, ah waaa? That’s right, the weekends are to be spent with your family, not out drinking with your friends! Silly, that’s what week days are for!
Anyways, back to the World Cup. Vicki and I, although not huge soccer fans we are well aware of the rules of the game, so we decided to give it a go and join the fans in Gangnam. It was pouring rain and every bar we went to we were turned away. At first, I thought it was because we were foreigners and the bars were full of Koreans so no waygooks allowed! But no, some young Korean girls with their skirts up to their hoo-ha’s were turned away too so we knew there must be another explanation. Well, the deal is most places you needed to have a reservation. There is no such thing as standing room only. You can’t order a beer and stand near the bar and drink it, noooo! You have to have a seat and a table or nothing at all! Strange right? Yeah, I thought so too.
So we ended up watching the first half of the game out in the rain, under umbrellas, drinking canned beer from the GS. The game was televised on a huge TV / billboard so we got to see if just fine, although my shoes were filling with rain water. At half time we decided to start out search for a bar with an open seat once again. We finally found one! Hooray!
Now this whole “much have a table thing” seems really strange, but the deal is that most places require you to buy ‘anju’ or snack foods in addition to your beer. So you can’t just order a 30$ pitcher of beer, you have to order squid, pancakes, or French fries too. Yet, Vicki was not aware of this rule after living in Korea for 7 years so its really just a law they enforce if you are with a Korean. If it is two waygooks then they don’t bother. Trying to translate this requirement for us in addition to having to translate their menu that has no English on it would be near impossible so Vicki and I are safe as long as we are just hanging out with each other.
*Vicki and I went to a bar near my house and got really excited when we saw the following on the menu: Red Beer, Blue Beer, Purple Beer, etc. So we thought, yes! We are gonna get a picture of us drinking every color of the rainbow! This is gonna be sweet! So I ordered the purple beer and she ordered the orange beer. Oh god! It was the worst beer I have ever, and I mean ever, drank in my entire life!!! In fact, I could only have 3 sips before abandoning it and ordering a regular beer.
What makes this beer so terrible you ask? Well, it was cheap Cass, which is not all that terrible by its self, but what makes it “Red, Yellow, Blue, etc” is the addition of fruit syrup. I know it might not sound that bad, but trust me, it really is worse then you are imagining. So the “purple beer” I had was full of raspberry syrup, and the “Orange Beer” contained peach syrup.
Dear Korea, stop making your already poor quality beer even worse.

Post for June

*Well I’m sorry to say I have been slacking in my blogging activities and I have no excuse for that. All I can say is that my mother and father came to visit me in Korea recently and I did so much sight seeing with them that after they left it took a week to regain my energy. Then, another week or two to get over the depression and alienation I felt in their absence. So, here I am, back again and in brighter spirits and ready to share my interesting stories with you all once again.
My parent’s visit was much like my visit to Japan, way too much information and activities to write about. I will give a short list of the activities I shared with my parents: went to the beach, Korean National Museum, open air market, Han river boat cruise, Insadong tea house, the presidential Blue House, Gyeongbok palace, Hanok traditional village, the giant Buddha statue near Coex, and Lotte World amusement park. Hard to believe they were only here 4 full days! I think I am now officially a certified Seoul tour guide! Let me know if you would like to schedule a tour with me (within the next 4 months of course).
*In other news, I got a new desk! I’ve gone from a seat as a secretary to a seat as a sajanim, or boss. (I started using the term ‘saj’ for short, kinda close to serg. which is short for sergeant). Now I have a nice corner desk with a window right behind me! I guess maybe I have earned the right not to have someone looking over my shoulder constantly?
* I was talking to one of my friends from work, Dasom, about some of the cultural difference I have come across and she made some good observations too that I never noticed before. She said that Korea doesn’t have any drive thrus. No drive thru coffee, fast food, or in some selected states drive thru liquor stores. And yes, I have been through a drive thru liquor store in Kentucky so I know we have them in the U.S. But not here in Korea. I guess because of the limited land they have to work with, drive thrus just aren’t feasible.
She also said that Korean friends do not go to each other’s homes. This I thought was really strange. I mean, that’s what we do in the U.S. If someone is going to bridge the gap between coworker or study buddy to a friend, this transition occurs by inviting them into your home. So when I was feeling down because I had only been to 3 people’s homes in the past 8 months, she explained that that is totally normal. For Korean’s, they always just meet up outside the home at bars, restaurants, or movie theaters. They don’t invite each other over to watch movies or have a BBQ, that just isn’t done. I felt a lot better after she explained that to me.
* Dasom also helped me find a vet to get Tokey Pokey fix (and no, I don’t mean BBQed, stewed, or shish kebab) and I taught her two new English words: spay and neuter. Dasom and I walked to the local vet’s office and she talked to him for me. He seemed really surprised that I wanted to have my rabbit fixed. He does it all the time for cats and dogs, but this was his first rabbit. He said he would try. And although that statement didn’t instill a great confidence in his ability, I also knew that this was probably my best hope of finding someone to do the procedure.
Now I know what you must be thinking, why do this procedure in the first place? Well, once Tokey Pokey reached sexual maturity he started pooping and peeing everywhere! All that hard work to get him potty trained when he was a baby was wasted! I also know that I most likely cannot bring him home to the states with me. And if he is no longer potty trained, I would have a hard time finding a good home for him with a replacement mommy.
!!!!!!This is very important, please skip this next section if you are grossed out easily. Just go to the next * instead of reading further!!!!! I took him to vet today and dropped him off, hoping for the best. I returned in the afternoon with my fingers crossed that everything went well. I came into the office and the vet went into the back room and brought back Tokey Pokey’s testicles on a paper towel. He said, “Testicles,” and I said “Ohh, ohhh.” I think he registered the look of shock on my face and put the paper towel down in front of me at the reception desk and went back to go retrieve my rabbit. I was thinking to myself, “What in the hell am I suppose to do with these? Earrings? Soup?” I was so grossed out!
When he brought the box with Tokey in it I just grabbed it, thanked them, and left with both hands full so I didn’t have to worry about taking his testicles in a “to go box” with a ribbon tied around it! I know that sounds terrible but if you have been to Korea, you know it is all about presentation; they box up your left over food at restaurants and tie beautiful bows around it, so I was half expecting them to try to make me wait while they did that to Tokey’s parts.
*Ok, always end on a happy note. So I love a Korean animal TV show! I’ve told you about it in previous posts. This past show was great! There was a baby chicken and it was best friends with a cat! The cat would lay down and then the baby chick would jump on top of it and start pecking the fleas off, or pecking the ear mites etc. The cat would eventually get tired of this and get up to walk away and the baby chick would follow the cat every where it went. The owner even built a little dog house type structure for the cat and chicken to share. So cute!
Another great episode showed a mamma hen who had her chicks taken away from her. She was feeling motherly and had no one to love so she adopted some baby guinea pigs! So freaking cute! These five or so piggys would all cuddly under her like she was one of those pet store plastic igloos! And she would just sit on top of them, keeping them warm?
* Oh I almost forgot, I made a Kook Bok! Its my account of all the Korean dishes I have made so far. I'm not done with it yet, I didn't finish describing how to make the last dish, but the rest are up and available. http://www.wix.com/rbazant/Korean Kook Bok