Yesterday concluded well. The afternoon kids were more subdued than the morning's 7-year-olds. They were also more hesitant to speak in class. I hope that it is shyness, and that they will become more out-going as they get to know me better.

After work, Mel, Jamie, and Heather took me to "fake" gaubi. It waas a dish of fatty pork cooked in the center of the table. Each table has a place for hot coals to be inserted, then the pork is cooked over that with garlic, mushrooms, onions, and many side dishes. I tried squid in a spicy sauce that really wasn't too bad. It tasted like tougher crab. Kimchi. Bean paste (delicious). Pancakes that Mel loved. Because we were the only customers, the proprietor cooked it all for us and when we slowed eating, she fed us, too. Lol. What you are supposed to do is take a piece of the pork, put it in a leaf, wrap it up with various toppings, and eat the whole thing in 1 bite. Heather is pro. I am not. It is possible I will no longer subsist on peanut butter alone, however.

Especially since Mel showed me where to get ice cream.

This morning was my first Korean Kindergarten birthday party. There were probably 85 pictures taken of the birthday boy, his cake, his classmates, his teachers (me!), and et cetera. It went about as well as an American birthday party, except I didn't understand most of it. On second that, that's pretty much how American bday parties go, too.

Just before I left to work on materials for my afternoon class, I watched them get their lunches and was handed a piece of what Heather had been calling "duck." That's what it sounded like, anyway. It turns out it was like a gummi made of rice, and the Koreans call it rice cakes. Not too shabby. I feel badly ditching Heather with a classroom of screaming 7-year-olds, but my time will come to hand out the sardines, rice, fruit, and other mystery condiments.