today i was walking back to my apartment in cool autumn weather under an oppressive gray sky, inhaling pollution and watching the cranes building high rises when i had an epiphany. GLORIOUS KOREA. i think the place might be worming its way into my heart somehow. i still cant speak with the people, although i do get lots of friendly smiles and bows, especially from old folks. but i am starting to find a place in my heart for the green trees, the giant wasps, the flowers through concrete. im beginning to emigrate.
i once had a teacher who lived among and studied the maya in southern mexico and guatemala. being a little people with a difficult and obscure language, they were always surprised when whitey gringo spoke maya. the first thing they would always ask him upon hearing him speak was, 'what do you eat?' puzzled, he would answer that he ate what they ate: tortillas, enchiladas, etc. then they ask for how long, and he would reply, a year or so (or more as time went on). then they would smile and nod like they understood now. see because the maya believe that god is in the corn, their main staple (he's in everything else too, but the corn is a special gift) and their flesh, fed on corn, is literally god's flesh incarnate. SO when my teacher explained that he had been eating their corn for over nine months, they understood that, nourished by the flesh of their maya god and after a gestation of nine months, he had been reborn maya and thus could speak mayan.
anyway, the point of all of this is that maybe im becoming a little foetus korean. i have been here for a month now, so what, i dont have a heartbeat yet but i probably have little hooded eyes or something. the place is growing on me.
on another note, to do when i get back: learn to bake with things besides butter. i know i am harping on this, i am just so amazed at the options! in america we use butter or cream to thicken and flavor things. its delicious, no one should argue that, and far preferable to junky margarine and other fake fats. but its monotonous. the french are sort of more creative, they sometimes use eggs instead, which leads to delicious creamy custards. but asia is something else. the other day i had a donut filled with pumpkin and rolled in sesame seeds for sweetening! yes it was deep fried, so still not the healthiest, but these new flavors are amazing, and it was probably totally free of unnatural sugar. these squishy, gooby treats are so creative, and so effective at hitting the spot! of course i haven't converted completely, although i have expanded. i still look forward to baking macarons when i get home. macarons are the new cupcakes.
also i can now fit into pants i haven't fit into since i got married how about that. i still have a bit of a muffin top in them, but i can close the zip. woo! trouble is now they are out of style...oh well i will wear my flare leg rolled cuff khakis in triumph anyway!
so korea. having a good time now. we'll see if it lasts.
konglish of the week: "I don't like her because she follows strange hair rules." (written in student's essay...there are hair rules, aren't there?)
7 comments:
I'm glad Korea is growin' on you...or you on it? Keep havin' a blast!
can you get other things at the pee n poo store?
besides...you know... pee...n poo
nah im pretty sure its strictly a specialty store :)
Har har har.
That was a funny blog.
I love that goofy picture of just yours and Justins heads. Goofy.
You are a writer!.... a little "foetus Korean...without a heartbeat, but little hooded eyes." That was terrific, Anna.
The Mayan story was fun.
And I would like to order one of your dounuts with pumpkin filling and rolled in sesame seeds. That sounds yummy, but I think that I would rather have it rolled in chocolate to start out with.
..."not completely converted, but expanded." Nice.
Oh, and those little red peppers drying in the sun.
We have about 4 plates of those hot little things drying on our kitchen sink right now. I think that if they don't go moldy, they will join our 30 yr. supply of food!
yeah i like the idea of korean fetus anna. i bet you already have fingernails! what sort of dessert are you eating in the 4th pic? It looks like a coco puffs-corn flakes-oreo o's-sugar wafer-marshmallow-sour cream sundae
that, my friend, is EXACTLY what it is! its shaved ice with sugar syrup, kind of sno-cone style, and then topped with one scoop of ice cream, marshmallows, sugar wafers, and sweet cereal. mm! you can get it with fruit topping too, but that day i was craving sugar cereal.
also the bread? that's whipped cream on it, not butter. weird but surprisingly awesome.
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