It's not Korean Air, but it's not bad

Today has been a series of naps and trips to the outside world. Troy and Jenny (her Korean name is actually Pak Gi Hae) picked me up and we went to the restaurant across the street from my apartment with her parents (I am don't know Lauren's husband's name yet). The experience was interesting and tasty. Shoes are taken off at the door and placed in a cubby, I was wondering if I was going to get animal crackers and apple juice to eat, because the last time I placed anything in a cubby was in kindergarten. Oh well, I love socks. We sat on pillows on the floor in front of a very long table with a barbecue in the middle. Prices here are pretty cheap. You can get an entree for about 3,000 won (which is about 5 bucks). All side dishes and drinks are free and refillable, also tipping is not done at all. I have died and gone to discourteous heaven. Troy claims he can save thousands a year in not tipping alone, and I believe him.

So, meal time. Saying there was a lot of food is an understatement. I would have best been placed at a trough. It was craaazy. I had to come out of the vegetarian closet, and it definitely helps that I eat seafood. I got some tofu in broth with spicy things at the bottom, rice with veggies and fish eggs, and noodles in broth. Then like 20,000 side dishes that just come with it. Everything is communal, so people were eating everything in sight. In addition, they had beef on the grill and Lauren persuaded me to try some. I rationalized it by saying that my strict eating wasn't because of my hatred of cruelty to animals, and it isn't. The meat industry in the United States is awful, pumping hormones and such into the food. Anywho, I will probably regret this decision later, but in all honesty, it was delicious. You dip the meat in a red sauce and then fold it into a lettuce leaf. Troy had to remind me that it wasn't like a hot dog and to eat it in one fell swoop. It may have been my imagination, but I swear that everyone was saying "Stupid American and her non-meat eating habits". Pretty sure. That's not half of the dishes that were on the table, but in all honesty, I am going to fall into a food coma relaying them all, so I won't try.

Jenny (Gi-hae for short) was still cute as a button. She may just be trying to butter me up, but she kept saying how pretty I was. She will probably come to me in a few months for money because her boyfriend lost his job and they need a place to stay. She's only 5, but I know there are ulterior motives at work. She was in a relay race of sorts. The place we ate had a playground in one corner so she would eat about 2 bites, and then yell loudly "PLAY!" and skip to the jungle gym. After 5 minutes she would come back and start the process again. Seriously. She then complained that she could use chopsticks because she didn't have enough energy in her fingers. Which reminds me, I need to start using these all the time. I thought I was adept, but I have no skill. Most chopsticks in the U.S. are wooden, so I can really grip them. These were like silverware and flat, so I looked like an idiot for about 5 minutes trying to get noodles on them, until Troy requested a "pork", which is actually a fork, or perhaps I was eating like a pig. Not sure. He then told me that this place probably has one fork, I told him I was honored to receive such a gift. Waitress were summoned using a bell, Gi-hae was always more than happy to do this.

When I was full, Troy and I left, I felt bad about leaving the bill with Lauren and her husband, but Troy didn't so I guess it was cool. Her husband now probably thinks I am a sloppy-eating free loading American, but I guess that's alright.