In this blog I'd like to focus mostly on Korean food, of which we in England it has to be said know very little about. First things first there is Kimchi, which is at everything single meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner). It is pickled, fermented vegetables although it is mostly cabbage and at times I think it can be life threatening due to just how spicy some of it can be. It certainly doesn't look very appetising, but when I was first taken to dinner by my boss I didn't hesitate and went straight for the Kimchi after struggling with the steel chopsticks used here. I'll say one thing for Kimchi, it isn't bland!!! I don't however agree with eating at every meal, everyday. When I asked my kids what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the answer was all the same: Rice and Kimchi.
Variety is not a word used when referring to Korean diet. James told me that the main ingerdient in all Korean food is "red" and he's not lying. All Korean food is red. It has that same taste which is likely to bring tears to your eyes and knock your socks off if you eat it in large enough quantities. There are some odd mixes such as the Army Soup, invented during the Korean War when the American soldiers gave the people food supplies - so it consists of glass noodles, tofu, kimchi, bean sprouts and spam and hotdogs!!!
They also have the barbeque restaurants which are fantastic as you cook your own food at the table and pick and choose from a variety of side dishes. It is extremley difficult to do if you don't have a bowl of rice and are having to do everthing with you steel chopsticks (which slide out of your hands when greasy)
I have to say that I am happier with the food here than I was in Thailand. My main problem with Thai food is that most of the time it simply wasn't designed for someone my size, an English man can only take so much rice with a few scraps of meat. The korean bbq's are truly filling.
Lastly on the subject of food, it has come up a few times in conversation with Koreans here that we in the West like to eat lamb. A few of my friends have mentioned that they have spoke about this with Koreans too. The Koreans are quite often disgusted with me when I've mentioned that lamb is my favourite meat, that is until I politely remind them that they eat DOG!!!
Korean Kids
I have found it strange just how good my kids are at English considering that in everyday life barely anybody is able to speak a word. Shopkeepers and waiters will quite happily rant at you in fluent Korean and then look perplexed when you're unable to speak back to them. Even if you can speak a little bit, they're not used to speaking to someone who's first language is not Korean so they won't slow down or change their words or even use charades to help you!
My kids are almost all super intelligent, but this is no surprise because they have no choice in the matter. All Korean children are sent to extra English, Maths, Science, Korean and Music classes to supplement the government school system (in which the standard of English is horrendous). They are pushed to the limit of what the human mind can take when they study but they are equally sheltered and treated like babies for a long time and they won't leave their mothers until they are married!
The Korean alphabet has no F,R,V,Z, TH, or X which can cause huge problems with pronounciation. They are also incapable of ending most words without putting an extra "uh" or "ee". "Englishee" and "Robertuh" being prime examples. The F is pronounced as a P ("ehPPuh" they say) and the V as a B ("BuhWee") which was very funny during the World Cup Final when Cesc Pabregas, Rafael Ban Der Baart, and Robin Ban Persie took to the field. My older kids have learnt the alphabet properly but problems do occur quite a lot still.
They do say some very funny things during class. Actually the three examples below are all from one girl in my more intelligent classes, she was deadly serious in all three.
1: Me: Name a scary animal
Jenna: My Mother!!!!! (all the other girls in the class then agree that their mother is very scary too)
2: Me: Describe your mother
Jenna: She has brown eyes, glasses, short black hair and a skin condition!
3: Me: Jenna read your story please.
Jenna: One day Mr. Cole the art teacher came into class dressed as a superhero and asked the students to draw him. The students called him crazy and then the headteacher sacked him and now he is a beggar. The End.
It is very hard to keep a straight face when you hear things like that in the class room. It is also hard to keep a straight face when trying to discuss geography with Korean children, it is clearly not an important subject here.
Me: Name a country that speaks English
Children: KOREA!!!
Me: No, a country that SPEAKS ENGLISH
Children: OH!...........SEOUL!!!
According to that class: China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Mexico and France all speak English. None of them said England even though they know that both I and my predecessor were English.
Right that's all for now. I have loads more I want to talk about, but I'll bore you if you read it all at once. So I'll leave you with news that I discovered there is such thing as Kimchi doughnut available in all Dunkin Donuts across Korea.......I think I'll pass on that one.
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