Korean Barbecue

I had my first Korean Barbecue last night. I'm really sorry I didn't have my camera, because it was definitely an experience.

First off, we all removed our shoes and sat on mats on the floor. That wasn't a requirement, because they have tables, but one of the girls we were eating with was leaving Korea for a teaching position in India, so we were going all out traditional.

Next, as soon as the fluent guy in our group ordered from a menu of which no English was written on, a giant pot of coals was placed inside the big hole that was drilled into every table. Soon after, the woman came back with 3 slabs of pork, all marinated in sweet barbecue spices that are similar to what American's think of when they think barbecue but not so much a thick sauce as much as spices and juices. She lays a grill over the coals and throws the pork on top while handing out dozens of side dishes. Cloves of garlic, slices of sweetly marinated onions, soup to share, a bean paste to dip the meat in, leaves of lettuce, tofu balls, kimchi, and individual salads. The salad's were the only thing not meant to be shared, because in Korean culture, you just dip your meat right into the communal bean paste and leave it at that. I don't think double dipping is considered polite, but neither is making small plates for yourself. Kimchi is also a Korean speciality, the main component of which is a hot, red, spice paste. It is usually on cabbage (like this restaurant) or bean sprouts, but can also be on meat.

Spicy cabbage? It explained, immediately, why there are so many diarretics in the corner stores.

The woman in the restaurant takes care of the meat for us, cutting the large slab into smaller pieces, flipping them until ready. We also tossed on onions, garlic, and kimchi onto the grill, eventually putting everything into the lettuce leaves to make cups of tasty goodness for ourselves.

The studio I'm eventually moving into is located right across the street from the restaurant.

Korean beer is around one fifty American dollars, while the food we ate was around 12. A taxi ride for 5 miles came out to 6-7 American dollars, and a subway ticket is around 1. All the teacher's complain about how much better the exchange rate used to be, but from where I'm standing it still looks pretty good. The most expensive thing I've paid for is $12 for a meal the size of Thanksgiving Dinner, and that price included a bowl of noodles for another girl who couldn't eat the meat (we just split the bill 4 ways) and one beer per person. Korean food is far cheaper than Western food and, if like this meal, unbelievably tasty.

It's nearly 5 AM and I'm wide awake. The jet lag is definitely taking some getting used to. Yesterday I was only able to sleep in until 6, today I was tossing and turning around 4:30. It's definitely hard getting used to the time distance. In the morning I plan on walking around (this time with my camera) the neighborhood to acquaint myself with the area. Everything seem to be going well, but I really wish a furry little cat was following me around during my early morning hauntings of the apartment. And, of course, I wish my family wasn't all several timezones away. But mostly, I miss my kitty :)

PS- Posting comments is always appreciated, even if you have nothing specific to say about the blog, I'd love to hear your voices!
(kelli's already posted 2 so, Dad, if you don't know how give her a call and ask for her help)