Out with Coworkers~!

So, one idle Tuesday, we (meaning Paul, 4 of the Korean teachers--Debbie, Bumi, Sue, & Hankyoung, and I) all decided to go get some dak galbi-- spicy chicken-- and drinks.

A side note: office politics rule at my school-- the principal of the English school doesn't like the foreign teachers and the Korean teachers to be friends. Friendly, but not friends. So, when we all went out, we had to sneak out to go drink together. It was bizarre. And, despite all our efforts, one of the administrators found out about it anyway. *roll eyes* They would never say anything to the foreign teachers, but apparently, the Korean teachers got an earful about it. While I am grateful for this dynamic (of the Korean teachers having to deal with everything from parents to the demands of the principal), I realize how unfair it is to them. :-(

Anyway, we had a blast. It was so nice, because this was the first time that I really got to talk to the other teachers about things that didn't have to do with school. Although, we really should have gone drinking on a Friday rather than a Tuesday, when we had school the next morning. T_T 

 So, we went a dak galbi place that Bumi recommended in Seokchon, about 10-15 minutes by taxi. It's in between Garak and Jamsil. I regret not taking pictures of the area, but I didn't want to seem like a tourist.

Well, we commandeered a long table for all six of us and we have two grills each. The waiters came and poured  a mixture of chicken, noodles, rice cakes, and some veggies into our grills. Then, dumped a type of chili powder on top. YUM~~!
The Korean teachers also thought that my Korean was really cute, so if they needed the waiters for anything, they would tell me what to say and I would shout it out to the waiters.

My bowl of some dak galbi. The clear soup on the upper right of the picture is a sour broth which is an AMAZING compliment to the spicy dak galbi.

Side Dishes (ban chan): red = kimchi, green = pickled radish <3, mixture = macaroni salad

Now comes the soju. In case I've never mentioned it before, the taste of soju is very similar to (watered-down) vodka. Although, the alcohol content of soju only ranges from 20-45%. So, first you have to shake the soju to make a mini-tornado within the bottle to get rid of the "evil" inside. We all took turns doing this. ^.^

Another activity that revolves around soju is flicking the... I don't know what it's called, but the excess pull tab from the bottle top. You twist it and flick it. If you get it to break, the two people beside you have to take a shot. I had to do two shots. >.<

Picture of one of the pull tabs that we took turns flicking and me flicking the stupid thing.  I had no luck.


The last event that involved soju is there is a number inside the bottle cap. We all took turns guessing the number. If you get it right, you drink.

Sue and I are doing a one-shot because Paul managed to flick the pull tab off. Smug bastard.  Again, not lucky on soju games. Well, lucky depending on your POV, I suppose ^.~

I think this picture was to show the empty grill, as opposed to Sue and a blurry Paul.

After lots and lots of soju shots, we were getting a little loud and the staff approached us to keep it down. So, we decided to head to a bar so we could drink and be loud.

 We arrived at the bar (hof) and ordered kimchi pajeon (scallion pancake with kimchi mixed in) and grilled pork and kimchi. The kimchi was really sour, which means that it is old, but the Korean teachers told me that old kimchi is good and.... not prized, but enjoyed. Give me new kimchi, fresh from the clay pot please. I like my kimchi spicy, not sour.

A funny episode that happened: there were a lot of young waiters at the hof, so they were even more determined to have me talk to the waiters to ask for things. So, they were telling me what to say and I would talk to the waiters. However, one time they argued over what EXACTLY I should say. So, they went back and forth, changing what I needed to say. I got confused and ended up blurting out, "Youngye, namja juseyo~!" Which unfortunately means, "Young guy/boy! Go get me a man~!" The entire table busts out laughing, the poor waiter beat a hasty retreat, and I went bright red. YAH~~~~~! 

Sue, Paul, and Hankyoung

Debbie, Me, and Bumi

On a side note, American bars have beer nuts, Korea has either cereal or rice puffs.

Well, that was our night. It was lots of fun, but again... I wish we went out on a Friday instead of a Tuesday. Woke up with the biggest hang over ever, was sick, and still had to teach all day. :-<