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It has been my primary concern to establish and maintain a good social network with living in South Korea. Namely because things happen well outside of my control on a daily basis and not having fully mastered the Korean language I am at the mercy of inference. And while I am wasting time playing the Guessing Game attempting to decipher a news clip or understand an imperative statement you can come up short even with your best "A-Game."

So in an effort to make lots of new friends to hang out with or meet really cool local Koreans who will show you around the area I have decided to share my secret. Keep in mind that while using these tools you can also develop a friendship with locals or different foreigners to do what's called a "Language Exchange." Where you meet for a coffee, lunch, etc. and you practice a target language. I have done this before and it has proven to be very effective. Plus the site is really fun to use. If you have ever used Facebook it operates similar to that. The best part is that in order for you to match you with other people you just answer quick personality questions. And for every question you answer the closer you get to meeting people that you share similar tests with. So get out there and make some friends; and don't say that I never gave you anything...because I am quick to slap an ungrateful SOB! ;)

Link: http://www.okcupid.com



Joe - OUT!!

Now I'm not actually in Busan, unfortunately, but I did have a chance last weekend to taste what the food would be like if I ever decided to go. Considering that Busan is a beautiful port city in Southeastern Korea and Galbi refers to traditional Korean dishes which usually require grilling, I thought "How could this get any better?!"

To begin, I had the opportunity to go to lunch with my good friend Sarah. This was cool because since she has taught longer than I have, is part Korean and speaks Korean I used this as a chance to ask a lot of questions about types of food and etiquette. She should be given a medal, because normally my inquisitiveness is bad enough for even Mary Poppins to tell me to "take a teaspoon of sugar, and shut the Hell up!"



Since this restaurant was located in Itaewon I was comfortable navigating my way around. After attempting to find a good spot for lunch Sarah and I came across 3 potentials after walking down a busy alley. Each of us were feeling pretty indecisive at the time so we chose this particular restaurant by playing a very sophisticated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (which I lost).

Once inside I ordered a bowl of Mixed Noodles while Sarah ordered the Bulgogi. Bulgogi is typically made of thin slices of sirloin or cuts of beef. The meat is usually pre-marinated marinated in soy sauce, sesame seed oil, garlic and sugar before it is grilled. What you have in the end is this tender meat mixed with vegetables and served with.....




....you guessed it, Side dishes! Coming to understanding that all restaurants in South Korea offer you side dishes I still get excited when I see them come out with a tray of bowls for you. They really do spoil you with food and side dishes out here. In this picture we have some spinach, lettuce, coleslaw, kimchi, garlic, bean dip, sliced radish and bean sprouts.



And this is Sarah showing me how it's done.



This was my main dish Mixed Noodles! They weren't spicy at all, but the noodles tasted kinda funky. They were very thin and chewy, not my favorite. After about 4 bites I returned to the side dishes and the Bulgogi.



Regrettably my fixation with the city of Busan was not enough to deter the veraciousness of my taste buds. I will have to rate this restaurant as FAIR. Although the food was cheap and the helpings were plentiful, it doesn't really matter if you can't enjoy the food. But hey if your don't believe me go check it out for yourselves.

Its Itaewon, located near the Hard Rock Cafe. Its to the left of the this building...



... and down this alley short alley way.



Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves and until the next blog....

Joe - OUT!!