As you may know Koreans love a good BBQ. It's not the American BBQ you may picture, there are no grills set up outside, there are no picnic tables and no flipping of hamburgers and hot dogs. It is more like this: very long tables, very low to the ground where you sit on your knees around it and you take off your shoes when you enter the restaurant. Let me just recap my first Korean BBQ as it is fresh in my mind. I can still feel all the mystery meat churning in my stomach (although it was very delicious.)
Did I mention Koreans are also very last minute about telling you about events, lessons, etc. It is something we were warned about at orientation, and have come to get used to. So, as I am sitting at lunch today with some of the other Korean teachers we are having another broken English/my attempt at Korean conversation that we have gone about having day to day, and one teacher turns to me and says "you come to teacher dinner after school today?" I said, "oooh, I did not know about this, but yes sounds good to me!" I've heard it is rude to turn down any invitation they offer so even though I had previous plans, those were out the door at this point.
So the day goes on and 3 more teachers tell me about this "after school dinner for all teachers." I say "yes! yes!" to all of them, but I think they thought that since they were telling me about it they all thought that meant I would go with them or at least ride with them there because when 4:30 rolled around and the day had ended, I packed up, and went to stand up and it was as if the room froze. I think they thought I was ditching dinner and making a quick run for the exit. I heard a lot of frantic Korean exchanges mixed in with "Sheila" so I had a feeling I should sit back down and wait. However, one of my main co-teachers who knows the most English had told me to come with him and he was already out the door so I was torn in what to do. I gestured and pointed toward the door where my co-teacher was but that sent about 3 Korean teachers chasing after me. I made it to my co-teacher and he went back and forth with a few of them in Korean and then he turned to me and said "Okay, let's go." So, looks like he won. Haha. Off we went to his car with another teacher who actually owned the restaurant we were going to.
Well turns out it was literally 2 seconds away, we were in the car for about 2 streets and there we were. We walk into the restaurant and I see some cubby holes, and everyone began taking off their shoes. So, I took off my shoes and put them in a cubby as well. I just figured I would follow exactly what the other teachers did. Then we were brought into a back room where there were 4 long wooden tables very close to the ground and then there were cushions below them. They pointed to where I was supposed to sit and there I sat, perched on my knees not knowing what the hell was on the table in front of me. There was a dish that looked like something along the lines of a salad, some sauces, soups, many vegetables, a dish filled with what I later learned (a bit too late) was just oil, and then some other dishes full of many colors. And then came the (what I like to refer to them as) the rolled up pieces of bacon. I forget the Korean name for this meat. But, it looked like raw bacon rolled up and there was tons of it on a plate. There were scissors next to it and then there was a big round stove top burner on the table, (the grill.) Some teachers next to me began placing these pieces of meat on the grill and then pointed for me to do the same. Oh God, I had no idea what I was doing and I had to use chopsticks to place this meat on the grill. I thought I was either going to burn the place down or at least burn off a finger. Well they soon caught on that I actually had no idea what I was doing and helped me out. Phew. There was a lot of laughter as this went on and then I soon got the hang of it and began helping and they seemed impressed. Turns out these "pieces of rolled up bacon" were absolutely delicious. A little too good! I seriously think I consumed an entire "whatever animal it was that I was eating", but I was too afraid to ask.
I am truly mind boggled as to how Koreans stay so small and skinny. They can eat so much and can throw back the alcohol like no other. I was then given some Hite beer. I think I am supposed to pour it into the eldest one at the table's glass first and use two hands, but one of the teachers who is my friend who knows a bit more English already had my cup full of beer before I could even think. Then came the "toast" or the cheers. They went on about something in Korean for a while and then we put our glasses up and toasted. The teacher next to me then leaned over to me and told me they toasted to "my development into Korean culture" or something along those lines. Haha, gotta start somewhere! They were so very kind as always. However, after we finished the meat, rice, salad, vegetables, kimchi, etc. I thought wow, I am FULL. Well, THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!! There were about 4 more rounds of meat, soup, rice and even some more things I am not sure of. I kept eating whatever they gave me because I did not want to be rude. Finally, I literally could not fit another piece of "rolled up bacon" into my mouth and had to say "wow, sooo delicious, but so full." They understood, or the look on my face probably explained it enough. I think I broke out in a Korean BBQ sweat from all the different foods consumed. Well, none the less, it was a delicious meal. My legs had turned numb after sitting on them for 5 minutes so I tried about 6 different positions of sitting: indian style, on my knees, knees to the side, one leg under table and one leg indian style, and so on. You get the point, I have no idea how they do it! Koreans amaze me every day. Well I didn't know how or when it was okay to leave. A few of the older women teachers had already left and I thought I either leave now or am going to be rushed to the hospital for over consumption of food. Well luckily my Korean friend teacher next to me had to leave and so did a few others that I was sitting near so they told me to go with them. I forgot to mention every single woman at the table took out a little mirror after they ate and checked their face, teeth and applied either lip gloss or lip stick before getting up. I see almost every Korean woman doing this in the subway, out to dinner, at a cafe, etc. they are always making sure they look perfect! It is so funny. They probably think something is wrong with me since I don't have one. Looks like I need to invest in one...
They also brush their teeth every single day after lunch. The men do it too. But, I already caught on to that the first week and now I have a tooth brush and tooth paste in my desk drawer at school. Oh how happy this would make my dentist back home...
Anyways, I got up from the table (after sitting down for over an hour) and I guess my legs were still a bit numb because they gave out a little and I kind of stumbled. Great! They probably thought I had a bit too much of the beer and soju and was properly drunk at this point! They all looked up as I said "gamsamuda" which is thank you in Korean and each one of them made an attempt to say "see you tomorrow." The vice principal and principal nodded and said the same and off we went out the door.
Although I probably may need to refrain from eating meat for the next 3 years of my life in fear of my arteries clogging after a meal like that, it was completely worth it. Oh, and the dish of oil next to me I had no idea what it was until the end when my friend told me I had been dipping my meat in oil. HAHA, game over. The Koreans won this first round of Korean BBQ. I will know better next time! I highly suggest everyone takes part in a true Korean BBQ once in their life! :)
Did I mention Koreans are also very last minute about telling you about events, lessons, etc. It is something we were warned about at orientation, and have come to get used to. So, as I am sitting at lunch today with some of the other Korean teachers we are having another broken English/my attempt at Korean conversation that we have gone about having day to day, and one teacher turns to me and says "you come to teacher dinner after school today?" I said, "oooh, I did not know about this, but yes sounds good to me!" I've heard it is rude to turn down any invitation they offer so even though I had previous plans, those were out the door at this point.
So the day goes on and 3 more teachers tell me about this "after school dinner for all teachers." I say "yes! yes!" to all of them, but I think they thought that since they were telling me about it they all thought that meant I would go with them or at least ride with them there because when 4:30 rolled around and the day had ended, I packed up, and went to stand up and it was as if the room froze. I think they thought I was ditching dinner and making a quick run for the exit. I heard a lot of frantic Korean exchanges mixed in with "Sheila" so I had a feeling I should sit back down and wait. However, one of my main co-teachers who knows the most English had told me to come with him and he was already out the door so I was torn in what to do. I gestured and pointed toward the door where my co-teacher was but that sent about 3 Korean teachers chasing after me. I made it to my co-teacher and he went back and forth with a few of them in Korean and then he turned to me and said "Okay, let's go." So, looks like he won. Haha. Off we went to his car with another teacher who actually owned the restaurant we were going to.
Well turns out it was literally 2 seconds away, we were in the car for about 2 streets and there we were. We walk into the restaurant and I see some cubby holes, and everyone began taking off their shoes. So, I took off my shoes and put them in a cubby as well. I just figured I would follow exactly what the other teachers did. Then we were brought into a back room where there were 4 long wooden tables very close to the ground and then there were cushions below them. They pointed to where I was supposed to sit and there I sat, perched on my knees not knowing what the hell was on the table in front of me. There was a dish that looked like something along the lines of a salad, some sauces, soups, many vegetables, a dish filled with what I later learned (a bit too late) was just oil, and then some other dishes full of many colors. And then came the (what I like to refer to them as) the rolled up pieces of bacon. I forget the Korean name for this meat. But, it looked like raw bacon rolled up and there was tons of it on a plate. There were scissors next to it and then there was a big round stove top burner on the table, (the grill.) Some teachers next to me began placing these pieces of meat on the grill and then pointed for me to do the same. Oh God, I had no idea what I was doing and I had to use chopsticks to place this meat on the grill. I thought I was either going to burn the place down or at least burn off a finger. Well they soon caught on that I actually had no idea what I was doing and helped me out. Phew. There was a lot of laughter as this went on and then I soon got the hang of it and began helping and they seemed impressed. Turns out these "pieces of rolled up bacon" were absolutely delicious. A little too good! I seriously think I consumed an entire "whatever animal it was that I was eating", but I was too afraid to ask.
I am truly mind boggled as to how Koreans stay so small and skinny. They can eat so much and can throw back the alcohol like no other. I was then given some Hite beer. I think I am supposed to pour it into the eldest one at the table's glass first and use two hands, but one of the teachers who is my friend who knows a bit more English already had my cup full of beer before I could even think. Then came the "toast" or the cheers. They went on about something in Korean for a while and then we put our glasses up and toasted. The teacher next to me then leaned over to me and told me they toasted to "my development into Korean culture" or something along those lines. Haha, gotta start somewhere! They were so very kind as always. However, after we finished the meat, rice, salad, vegetables, kimchi, etc. I thought wow, I am FULL. Well, THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!! There were about 4 more rounds of meat, soup, rice and even some more things I am not sure of. I kept eating whatever they gave me because I did not want to be rude. Finally, I literally could not fit another piece of "rolled up bacon" into my mouth and had to say "wow, sooo delicious, but so full." They understood, or the look on my face probably explained it enough. I think I broke out in a Korean BBQ sweat from all the different foods consumed. Well, none the less, it was a delicious meal. My legs had turned numb after sitting on them for 5 minutes so I tried about 6 different positions of sitting: indian style, on my knees, knees to the side, one leg under table and one leg indian style, and so on. You get the point, I have no idea how they do it! Koreans amaze me every day. Well I didn't know how or when it was okay to leave. A few of the older women teachers had already left and I thought I either leave now or am going to be rushed to the hospital for over consumption of food. Well luckily my Korean friend teacher next to me had to leave and so did a few others that I was sitting near so they told me to go with them. I forgot to mention every single woman at the table took out a little mirror after they ate and checked their face, teeth and applied either lip gloss or lip stick before getting up. I see almost every Korean woman doing this in the subway, out to dinner, at a cafe, etc. they are always making sure they look perfect! It is so funny. They probably think something is wrong with me since I don't have one. Looks like I need to invest in one...
They also brush their teeth every single day after lunch. The men do it too. But, I already caught on to that the first week and now I have a tooth brush and tooth paste in my desk drawer at school. Oh how happy this would make my dentist back home...
Anyways, I got up from the table (after sitting down for over an hour) and I guess my legs were still a bit numb because they gave out a little and I kind of stumbled. Great! They probably thought I had a bit too much of the beer and soju and was properly drunk at this point! They all looked up as I said "gamsamuda" which is thank you in Korean and each one of them made an attempt to say "see you tomorrow." The vice principal and principal nodded and said the same and off we went out the door.
Although I probably may need to refrain from eating meat for the next 3 years of my life in fear of my arteries clogging after a meal like that, it was completely worth it. Oh, and the dish of oil next to me I had no idea what it was until the end when my friend told me I had been dipping my meat in oil. HAHA, game over. The Koreans won this first round of Korean BBQ. I will know better next time! I highly suggest everyone takes part in a true Korean BBQ once in their life! :)
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