Yesterday I went on a field trip with Danny for the employees of his school, CDI April. His boss, Mr. Jung, owns the CDI Hwajeong branch too, so the employees from that school were on the trip too. It was a good opportunity to finally meet some of the other teachers that live in our neighborhood. We took a coach bus from Hwajeong to the countryside in the north. First we stopped at this small village, where we made Korean traditional pottery. It wasn't totally traditional though because we got to use a pottery wheel. I made a small vase, which I painted and designed after. The pottery we made has to be fired in a special oven ("kiln") two times to harden the clay and protect it. So we will get the pottery back sometime next week after it has been fired. Next to the pottery house was another small building with hundreds of pottery items on display and for sale. The owners gave us each a small pot with a little plant in it. After we made pottery a woman demonstrated the preparation of traditional green tea. The tea leaves were so fresh and potent that the leaves were only steeped for a few seconds. In Korea, people drink at least 3 espresso-cup sized shots of tea. The first cup represents the past, the second is the present, and the third is for the future.
For lunch, we drove to another traditional Korean place in the countryside. The food was cooked mainly outdoors and they had both indoor and outdoor seating. It started to drizzle lightly, so we sat indoors. It was my first time sitting on the floor to eat in Korea (most restaurants here have floor seating). The heating in Korea comes from under the floor, so it was nice and warm sitting there. The meal was definitely one of my favorite in Korea so far! Everything was so fresh and flavorful. We had so many side dishes, called "ban chan." The side dishes are an important part of the meal in Korea, and they usually consist of vegetables, soups, and rice or noodles prepared in different ways. We had marinated pork that was roasted over a wood-burning stove as well. And we had a whole grilled fish too!
After lunch we went to a small horse stable. The owner introduced us to his horses, which were mainly older horses. He explained that they were from Russia, Mongolia, China, and Korea. Most of the horses were much smaller than horses I've seen in America. He said these small horses are ideal for battle. We each got to ride a horse around a small ring for a few minutes. I've been on a horse only once before in Montauk, but it only walked. The horses that we rode yesterday started out walking and started to move very quickly. I didn't want to ride the horses at first, because I was a bit scared. I'm glad I did though because it was really fun! When everyone finished riding, the owner let us try one or two shots at shooting with a bow and arrow. I practiced archery a few times in middle school gym class, but I was never very good. So yesterday I wasn't successful either. Danny's arrow went flying and just passed by my head though! Some of the people that worked at the stables presented a special show for us afterwards. Two women and one man dressed in traditional Korean clothing from 1,500 years ago and did archery and spear tricks while riding horses. The two women could shoot a target with a bow and arrow while riding a horse! Apparently they are the only two women in the country that can do this.
For dinner, Danny's school owner took us to a galbi restaurant in the neighborhood that we live in. It was delicious! Danny and I sat at the same table as his owner, Mr. Jung. The meal wouldn't be complete without plenty of beer and soju (Korean liquor). I told Mr. Jung that I was Italian, and it turns out that he is a big fan of grappa. He said that he tried it when he traveled to Rome and it reminds him of an oriental liquor. It was still early in the evening when we finished dinner, so most of the group decided to go out to a "norebang." I was excited, because I've been dying to try it! "Norebang" literally translates as "song room," and it is a place that has private karaoke rooms. As I had expected, it was tons of fun. The Koreans in the room sang to K-Pop songs, and the foreign teachers all sang to American songs. It was still really early after the norebang, so a bunch of us went into the Hongdae area in Seoul to go to a bar and dance! Of course I'm exhausted today, but I'm off to go run or play soccer with Danny!
