Everyone was up at 4 or 5 in the morning because of jet lag, regardless of how tired we were. Eventually Christine and I got to sleep again and slept until 9:30 or so. Then we met up with Rebecca and Amy to go exploring for power converters, some lunch, and just to see what there was.
We walked up one of the main roads. Most of the signs for shops are in English, not Korean, which was a surprise but also a help. All the little shops remind me of England, and today we faced a lot of rain, so it was almost familiar. The smell of food was everywhere, but eventually we ended up inside a bakery that sold egg pastries and Korean spicy chicken salad, cakes of all sorts, and a number of different rice cakes/balls. We all got a few things to try (we could read it since it was in English as well as Korean) and headed back to the room to review the training videos and grammar before the exam.
Two of the girls had already taken the exam and failed it twice (there is no limit to how many times you can take it), so we all got a bit apprehensive about that and almost wrote down word for word what the videos said in our notes. It turned out to be a bit over the top (for me at least) since we then almost all passed it first try, or second.
After that we had a little downtime before we'd arranged to meet up with a group of people contacted by the recruiter (it was all arranged over the internet originally and then became a matter of word-of-mouth so by the time we arrived there were about 20 of us waiting to go). We counted off into groups so we'd meet new people, so five of us headed out into Gangnam to find our dinner.
Some of the others had been exploring before and discovered that under the main street we'd walked along before was a big shopping mall and walk-way. It was cover from the rain, and also prevented running across streets where people seem quite happy to run red lights or take off out of nowhere without warning. It's full of shops down there, like Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, and a bunch of clothing places, shoe shops, and whatnot. Amy (she's from Scotland, and she'll be teaching at Bucheon with me) and I decided to come back again once we get paid in January and see if there's anything we like.
My group consisted of Amy, Margaret, David, Dominic, and myself. When we emerged from the underground mall, it was fully dark out, and Seoul was lit up. Most of the main street is shops, but not restaurants. To find them (the good places, not the massive world-wide chains), you have to head back into the alleys.
We all ended up at a Korean Barbecue done in a traditional manner, so it was a little room with a wooden floor, low tables and benches to sit on. Since we're in Seoul, the menu was in English as well as Korean, and the waiters understood English fairly well, so we were able to order. We got two vegetable Bibimbap and one rib meat barbecue (this came with lettuce, noodles, and kimchi.
The beef is brought out raw but marinaded, and you cook it yourself over a pot of coals set atop some heated bricks they put on the table. The noodles and kimchi come separately.
This barbecue was amazing. The meat was gorgeous, and the rest was just as good. Kimchi is actually really nice. It's got a bit of a spicy kick to it, but nothing too bad at this place, and it was actually really tasty. The Bibimbap (we ordered the vegetable one) is a stone-cooked rice bowl. They bring you a hot stone bowl in a wooden holder with rice, vegetables, and a raw egg yolk. You break the yolk and then mix it all together, and because the bowl is hot it cooks it right there while you do it.
We managed an entire meal between the five of us for about 10,000 won each, or 10 dollars. This included drinks, as well as two bottles of Soju.
Soju is a rice liquor (can't remember if its beer or wine). Its drunk in shots, similar to vodka, and its clear in color like vodka too. The others said they liked it, but I didn't. It has an odd flavor that bothered the sides of the front of my tongue, and the taste lingers a bit bitter in the mouth for awhile afterward. It's not terrible, but it isn't my favorite, and it takes awhile to really affect you, so it's not immediate upon drinking it. In my opinion it's best with a chaser. Two bottles was enough for about 3 shots each of it.
These people, from the left are Amy, David, Margaret, and Dominic.
All in all it was a really good night out. We've got medical exams first thing tomorrow morning for our Alien Resident Cards, and we're not allowed to eat before going for that. Then it's off to the Training Orientation!
Margaret and Dominic at the Korean Barbecue
Amy and I at the Korean Barbecue
You're obviously not going to go hungry then!! :)
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