An Exchange

On Thursday I met up with a Korean teacher and her friend so that we could arrange an exchange of English for Korean. We met at Suwon station, which appears to be surrounded by a very large mall and many many places to eat.

As we waited for her friend to arrive, April and I went into a mall, and April explained the Korean obsession with the latest fashions. She said that even more than in North America, Koreans MUST have all of the latest fashions. They want all of the most expensive brands and the newest styles, and they don't care how much it costs. She also told me that the big brand names are more expensive here than in North American because Koreans won't buy the brand if it isn't very expensive. They figure it's not worth buying if it doesn't break the bank!

Upon meeting her friend (who's name I can never remember) we went for Tak Galbi (sp?) Tak is chicken, and galbi is a mixture of cabbage, hard rice noodles, green onions and very spicy sauce, all mixed and cooked at your table in a big skillet. With every Korean meal there are side dishes, usually including Kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), cabbage salad, and sometimes macaroni salad or hot peppers, depending.

So, I will be meeting for Korean lessons every Sunday now, except during Tusoc. I just hope that we will be able to understand each other!