After sending Tess off to the airport this morning and a full day of work, we hopped in a cab and went down to Hongdae to get some deliciously spicy curry at Abiko Curry House. We've been here before and we've always loved the richness of their curry. They smother pork cutlet with a brown curry that burns your mouth, your throat, and your belly with a deep, hot and lingering burn. They also lay on garlic chips, green onions and a raw egg to really make your taste buds explode.
The curry house has five levels of spiciness - we've never done a level five dish before. The first level of spice was so mild we couldn't even feel a burn. The second level of spice is enjoyable for me, leaving me feeling a burn without feeling pain. The third level was almost too spicy for Brad, and was too spicy for me the last time I ordered it - it made my eyes water and my throat feel engulfed in flames. Nick and our other friend who came with us tried the fourth level of spiciness tonight. They enjoyed their meals immensely, but sweated and cried through the entire thing. It's good to know that they've had their limits tested. The waiters who served us were very concerned for them, too - they came by twice to warn us of the spice and to ask the boys if they wanted to reconsider. When the food did come, the chef came over and told the boys that if it was too spicy they could go stand up and be by the water cooler. It was funny.
Tonight was the last night Tess will be in Korea. We took it easy (we've been going to so many places every night for the past week!) and stayed in Hwajung. We feasted on marinated pork bulgolgi at the fabulous restaurant next door to our apartment building. Both of our friends were incredibly pleased with the barbecue, the spicy soup, the ridiculous amounts of grilled garlic and all the yummy sides. We took our time with dinner and spent a few hours talking and eating.
Afterward we returned to our apartment and the four of us shared a bottle of wine, all while talking, laughing, and reminiscing. We listened to some of our favorite music and looked at older pictures too. It was really nice and a good last night together. I'll miss her terribly - getting the chance to spend time with her has reminded me how much I miss my friends and family back home.
Nick's friend, Brad, is staying until Sunday, so tomorrow we will be going back into Hongdae for some super spicy curry. Both of our friends have truly enjoyed the food and culture since being here, and we are glad that we've gotten to show them around and have so much fun.
PS - Our new Nikon camera arrived, and starting Saturday we will be using it for the bulk of our photos. We have to get a lens protector before we feel safe using it outside. We are very excited though!
Today we took the City Bus Tour around Seoul. It was fun doing the touristy thing with Tess. We stopped at the Korean War Memorial first. I had never been and it was very interesting. Large, aggressive monuments and statues told a story of pain, sadness, and war. There were tanks, planes, helicopters and rockets all over the grounds. You were able to climb up and take pictures in many of the cockpits. We walked around, took lots of pictures, and then looked at the hall of names.
After some time we picked up the bus and went to the traditional Namsangol village near the Chongmuro station at the base of Namsan Mountain. We meandered through the village watching old men weave wicker shoes and baskets. Children were playing Yut and running hoops around the squares. We even got the chance to get dressed up in Hanboks and take pictures with huge hairpieces. It was wild.
We rode the bus up Namsan, terrified that it was going to tip over and roll down the incredibly steep and narrow roads. Then we rode back down the hill and hopped off near the Blue House, where the Korean President lives. We went to a great little dumpling house and gorged on dumpling soup and cold buckwheat noodles in kichi sauce. It was wonderful.
We returned to Hwajung just in time to see Nick bring in his friend from the airport. Now we were really excited - TWO amazing friends visiting us in Korea! We decided to give them the experience of eating San-Okji, the wiggly octopus that we had months ago. We went to the traditional seafood restaurant and ate a mountain of raw fish and poked at the wiggling limbs.
After playing with our food and having it play back, we picked up some fried chicken to make sure our hunger was truly satisfied. Tomorrow we have to go back to work, but we look forward to spending the evenings with our friends! We will be going to the Tuna House tomorrow, and we are very excited to show our friends more of our favorite places in Seoul.
Today was a shopping excursion!
After some much needed sleep we got up in the (late) morning and headed out to do a massive shopping tour of Seoul. Since it was going to be so much shopping, Nick decided to stay home. He enjoys going out and doing things, but shopping with some girls isn't really that high on his list, haha. One of the teachers from school came with us too. She's only been in Korea around a month and she was excited to see the sights.
First stop was Insadong, one of my personal favorite places in the city. We scoped out the tea houses, the ceramics, the antiques and the Korean traditional wares. The girls picked up some postcards and we all snacked on delicious fried pancakes that are filled with brown sugar, maple syrup, and peanuts. We also grabbed some bread dumplings that are a browned bun stuffed with meat, onions, and glass noodles. We enjoyed both street treats immensely.
After a few hours roaming the streets of Insadong we popped onto the subway and went to Dongdaemun. There we saw shoe alley and the numerous merchants selling sporting goods, clothing, random appliances, and much much more. We also went into the large fashion tower Doota to scope out the expensive and somewhat ridiculous fashions the South Koreans covet so much. We bought some french fry-covered corn dogs and smothered them in ketchup. Then it was time to move on to the next neighborhood for more shopping.
After that it was off to Myeung-dong, which is one of the largest shopping areas in Seoul. Pedestrian streets stuffed to the max with carts and throngs of people surging into and out of the plethora of stores. We couldn't even get into the new H&M because there was a line to get into the building! We bought some clothes and eyed sunglasses, purses, jewelry and more. Finally though, all the walking caught up with us and we decided to exhaustedly call it quits and head back home.
It was so much fun to have a girls' day full of shopping and roaming around. We took a well-deserved nap and then went out with Nick for bulgolgi and egg souffle. We ordered thick cut slices of bacon to barbecue up and ate lots of kimchi salad and delicious garlic cloves. It was delicious.
Wednesday my best friend, Tess, came to Korea for one wonderful week of fun and adventure. We have been having the BEST time visiting with her! It has been so great to see her after 9 months of missing her.
During the day today she came to school and met some of my students. She's a teacher in the States, so she had her class write letters to my third graders. My kids were so very excited to write letters back to their new American pen pals. It was a fantastic experience for them. They got to ask questions about the US and answer questions about Korea. Some of them brought stickers, photos of their families, and presents to attach to their letters. It was really sweet.
After school let out we went for duc-galbi, which literally means "Chicken Meat". We love it. It is very spicy chicken with rice cake noodles, cabbage, seaweed, and seasoning that is all cooked together in the middle of the table. After you eat the bulk of the meat then you get more rice, cabbage, and seaweed and fry it all up with lots more of the spicy red sauce. Delicious.
We ventured into Hongdae to show Tess the Seoul nightlife scene. We had a blast going to different places, walking around the busy (and cold!) streets and dancing late into the night. It was an awesome time.
Today we took the morning kids on a field trip. It was sooo much fun.
We went to a giant indoor playground in Ilsan, around 20 minutes from the school. It was enjoyable riding the buses with our kiddies. They were all very excited. When we got there, we all took off our shoes and jackets and the kids scattered like a bomb had gone off. Running, screaming, playing, tripping, falling, laughing, bouncing...they were wild. We spent a few hours chasing them, tickling them, and playing with them. It was great! Nick and I always love days where we don't have to put any stress on the children to complete their work or understand concepts...we love it when we just get to play with them.
The playground was pretty big, with lots of space for them to ride toy cars around. There were several ball pits, a big play house, an area for watching movies or playing Wii games, several small arcade style rides, a big bouncy slide, the main jungle gym area...even a train ride! The kids loved every second of it.
When it was break time, we herded all of the children over to the "dining" area that had loads of tables covered in red checkered table cloths. We passed out "Dot" ice cream and gave the kids a much needed rest and some sugar to keep them going for the next few hours. We took many pictures of the kids and also did group shots with our respective classes. Then, it was back to playing.
We had a fantastic time playing with our kids and even though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was totally worth it. As you can see from all of the pictures, they had the best time playing...and so did we :)
