Sunday, April 13, 2008

A strange list

Well, this month has been dragging, and I'm feeling a little blue, so I'm going to make a list of some of the interesting and strange things around here that still make me laugh.
1) The most annoying thing--no toilet paper in the stalls. Even if a public restroom has TP, you have to get it from one large common dispenser.
2) The worst thing I have eaten--a toothpick. I did not eat this intentionally: it was holding together some eggy appetizer thing, and I was with some coworkers, too embarrassed to spit it out. I chewed A LOT, thinking it was a bone or something, and proceeded to dissect the next one carefully with my chopsticks--yep, I ate a toothpick.
3) The most unappetizing thing that I witness on a common basis--people washing food, usually vegetables, with a bucket on a tarp in the street--the same streets where people spit and smoke regularly. Funny thing is, I still eat fresh vegetables and fruit. I just try not to think about where this stuff comes from.
4) The most unappetizing thing that I have only seen once--the fish market at Nampo Dong. This was a really strange market with shark, squid, eel, octopus, and so many other fish, and it was several blocks wide stretching for maybe a mile. The weird thing was watching the fish dance in the bowls and aquariums next to the same chopping blocks where they were going to be slaughtered. It was a little like a surreal zoo where all the animals end up cooked.
5) The best thing I have eaten in Korea--Mexican food, I have to say. I miss it a lot. There's one place that is quite expensive, but they serve free chips and salsa and guacamole with dinner. A close second is anything I eat at my language exchange family's house--the mother can really cook.
6) The strangest thing I have seen--the shark with kyphosis. Or at least I recall the shark from the Busan Aquarium as the shark with scoliosis. Very interesting. I have no idea if this was a defect, a specific breed, or an accident.
7) The best part about working with kids--teaching them to say things like, "Yadda, yadda, yadda," or walking into a classroom and having one of the students start singing, "Everybody dance now," or have one of them run up to you and hug you for no reason whatsoever.
That's all I can think of, except to wish Mikey a happy birthday. I hope you are making a list of things to do, and I hope pinnochle is on it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Heath what a great list you can write because you are in So, Korea. No one of those things would apply here in Indy! Keep writing, I love it!!! mom

Unknown said...

Somehow, i can imagine you not wanting to spit out the toothpick..