0
Soccer and out to eat with the teachers
Posted by DomHyo
on
Friday, April 24, 2009
So earlier in the week, one of the male teachers invited me to play soccer with them against another middle school.
*Sidenote...when talking about invited here in Korea many times it may mean it is imperative that you go, or they insist that you go...aka if you don't go, will will be angry lol...I assume it's seen as disrespect*
Now I have poor stamina so I was not looking forward to it. I hadn't played soccer (at least a full game) since elementary school and it's not something I'm good at. Nonetheless I went with it raining and all and I actually had fun. I was out of breath and I missed the ball several times when I went to kick it, but all they cared about was if I was enjoying it. The teacher that invited me who is very nice kept saying "just enjoy...enjoy!!" So I did. They understood that I had never really played and soccer is very popular here.
So afterwards, they tol...ahem invited me to come to dinner with them. We went to some kind of seafood place and again I was wondering what type of food I was going to be trying today. I learned it was a type of stew or soup with octopus, veggies, and what my teacher friend described as "fish stomach" (can't remember the korean name)...At first I was like hold up, but then I thought about it, a lot of my african american counterparts back in the states eat chitterlings (CHITLINS LOL), pig feet, and the like and they smell way worse than what I was smelling at the restaurant. (Oh yeah at the restaurant you sit indian style which I'm sort of used to because I did it all the time as a kid)
So after they brought the soup out, I tried it and it wasn't bad. It was actually quite good with this sauce that they had. This is a big feat for me considering my picky taste buds. I also ate a type of dried seaweed that was salted and wrapped it around rice which was pretty good. I tried the octopus but couldn't roll with that. It was rubbery and I didn't like the taste. I also tried a fish egg lol. It was so so. Later one they also brought out a type of fried potato which tasted like hash browns to me so I tore that up.
So the fun part comes in with the alcohol. Now me being a christian I try to stay away from alcohol. As a matter of fact, I don't think drinking a beer or something every now and then is a sin, but getting drunk is the problem...overindulgence. So part of the culture here in Korea, especially among co workers and bosses is drinking the shoujo, Korea's famous liquor (kind of like saki in Japan). So I tried just a bit and it was very strong. Also in Korea, you don't pour your own drinks. When your glass is empty, you ask someone to pour you more (while holding two hands) and vice versa. So people kept trying to fill my glass, but thankfully my teacher friend told them I was a christian and as a matter of fact another teacher there was a christian as well so many understood and backed off. Too bad I couldn't speak korean because we could have some good conversations. I ended up drinking a few more shots because the principal was very thankful for me being at his school and said I was doing a good job, and that was it. Not nearly enough to get drunk and I spent the rest of the time drinking Fanta pop lol. My teacher friend said that this is the part of his culture that he doesn't like lol.
So after that, it was time to leave and by this time, the principal and other school bosses were drunk and tried to get me to come with them for more!! You kiddin me??!! LOL.
My teacher friend and I slipped away and he dropped me off at my apartment. I am so tired right now and I am going to rest for the rest of the night. Tomorrow I have to wash clothes and clean my apartment for the first time and then head off to Seoul to see a play of some sort preaching against violence against women. Then off to church on Sunday.
So until next time...1
*Sidenote...when talking about invited here in Korea many times it may mean it is imperative that you go, or they insist that you go...aka if you don't go, will will be angry lol...I assume it's seen as disrespect*
Now I have poor stamina so I was not looking forward to it. I hadn't played soccer (at least a full game) since elementary school and it's not something I'm good at. Nonetheless I went with it raining and all and I actually had fun. I was out of breath and I missed the ball several times when I went to kick it, but all they cared about was if I was enjoying it. The teacher that invited me who is very nice kept saying "just enjoy...enjoy!!" So I did. They understood that I had never really played and soccer is very popular here.
So afterwards, they tol...ahem invited me to come to dinner with them. We went to some kind of seafood place and again I was wondering what type of food I was going to be trying today. I learned it was a type of stew or soup with octopus, veggies, and what my teacher friend described as "fish stomach" (can't remember the korean name)...At first I was like hold up, but then I thought about it, a lot of my african american counterparts back in the states eat chitterlings (CHITLINS LOL), pig feet, and the like and they smell way worse than what I was smelling at the restaurant. (Oh yeah at the restaurant you sit indian style which I'm sort of used to because I did it all the time as a kid)
So after they brought the soup out, I tried it and it wasn't bad. It was actually quite good with this sauce that they had. This is a big feat for me considering my picky taste buds. I also ate a type of dried seaweed that was salted and wrapped it around rice which was pretty good. I tried the octopus but couldn't roll with that. It was rubbery and I didn't like the taste. I also tried a fish egg lol. It was so so. Later one they also brought out a type of fried potato which tasted like hash browns to me so I tore that up.
So the fun part comes in with the alcohol. Now me being a christian I try to stay away from alcohol. As a matter of fact, I don't think drinking a beer or something every now and then is a sin, but getting drunk is the problem...overindulgence. So part of the culture here in Korea, especially among co workers and bosses is drinking the shoujo, Korea's famous liquor (kind of like saki in Japan). So I tried just a bit and it was very strong. Also in Korea, you don't pour your own drinks. When your glass is empty, you ask someone to pour you more (while holding two hands) and vice versa. So people kept trying to fill my glass, but thankfully my teacher friend told them I was a christian and as a matter of fact another teacher there was a christian as well so many understood and backed off. Too bad I couldn't speak korean because we could have some good conversations. I ended up drinking a few more shots because the principal was very thankful for me being at his school and said I was doing a good job, and that was it. Not nearly enough to get drunk and I spent the rest of the time drinking Fanta pop lol. My teacher friend said that this is the part of his culture that he doesn't like lol.
So after that, it was time to leave and by this time, the principal and other school bosses were drunk and tried to get me to come with them for more!! You kiddin me??!! LOL.
My teacher friend and I slipped away and he dropped me off at my apartment. I am so tired right now and I am going to rest for the rest of the night. Tomorrow I have to wash clothes and clean my apartment for the first time and then head off to Seoul to see a play of some sort preaching against violence against women. Then off to church on Sunday.
So until next time...1
Post a Comment