Horse

Last week I had the opportunity to go on a teachers training with one of my schools. First did a great hike, but I’ll write more about that later, because I’ll definitely do it again with Mike and friends. After the hike we went out to a traditional sit on the floor restaurant that specialized in horse. I gathered from the pictures that they mostly cater to wedding celebrations.

Fortunately my schools know that I don’t like meat, and they ordered me basic rice and veggie fanfare, but I did try some things, and just being there to see what happened was an experience. When we arrived the table was already set with the kimchi, other side dishes, soup, and a beverage. I ate the rice soup which was made with horse broth, and contained a few tiny bits of meat. The soup was really good, and didn’t taste anything like beef or pork broth.

Then there was the beverage. It was served in a tea cup that was slightly larger than a shot glass. The cup was probably 3.5 or 4 ounces. Inside was a dark black liquid, that looked like coffee. I’m not sure the mechanics of this, but my teachers explained that it was juice squeezed from horse’s bones. They told me that in traditional Asian medicine it is used for joint pain. The drink thick like a good dark beer and it was served warm. The taste was bitter, burned, a little of chicory, and kind of nutty too. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t like it. I tried really hard to finish it, if only for the health benefits, but I only got through half. I did try harder than one or two of my colleagues though, so I think I did okay. The ones who did drink it, tossed it back like a shot. I should have tried that with the last half, but I was afraid of gagging.

After the soup and medicine came hunks of bright red, raw meat, about as long as my thumb. All but one teacher was really into it. I had never seen raw meat eaten like this before. In the United States the meat is so dirty that you couldn’t eat it raw unless you were trying to get sick. It makes sense to eat some raw meat because it has more nutrients than cooked meat. After the first round of raw meat came two other rounds of raw meat which were each cut and served differently than the previous. I assume that they were different parts of the horse, or maybe even marinated differently. Then came several rounds of cooked meat. Finally there as another soup and some juice. All in all the meal took nearly three hours.

I wanted to try a bite of the horse because it is novel. I was afraid and curious at the same time. (I’m so afraid of raw meat!) I have no reason to believe that I would have liked the meat, but it’s nice to try new things. Those who know me well know that I just don’t like meat, and I’m getting more set in my ways about it. I didn’t offer to try it though because they had gone to the trouble of ordering me something special. Additionally I was concerned about setting up a dynamic where they think I only eat what I want when I want. The language barrier makes me uncertain if everyone would really understand my ideas about eating and adventure so I just stayed in my little veggie box. Perhaps other opportunities will present themselves.

Eating horse is super expensive. A whole horse is over $1,000. I think the bill from our feast must have been in the $500 range. More than the bone juice is considered medicine. The whole horse is supposed to be very healing. My teacher explained that the school accountant was so happy to be at the restaurant because a few years ago he had troubles with his back, and horse helped him recover.

Sports Day

This past weekend I had a blast at sports day with my schools. The whole community comes out for sports day, including Grandmas and city officials. The best part is the grandmas, and the rest of the family participate in events.

One of my schools opened with traditional Korean drumming.

Once the formalities were over my fellow foreign teachers and I watched a few games, then we went into the lunch room for snacks. Snacks included fruit and alcohol, both of which indicate a celebration.

A small hour after snacks we had a wonderful lunch, and then it was back out to the games. One of my favorites was a relay where the adults wait half way around the painted track. When a sign is shown saying something like “Pretty Aunt” “Strong Man” “Big Belly” etc, an adult fitting the description steps forward to run with the child to the finish. It is absolutely the adults’ responsibility to make sure each kid has someone to run with, because that kid will keep running. Occasionally an adult had to chase a kid across the field so that they would have someone to finish the race with. I think it is really cute to see people running and holding hands. My colleagues told me to run with at “Likes to dance” and “Beautiful teacher.” After the race “Likes to dance” the principal stopped the races and insisted I dance in front of everyone. The embarrassment was short lived.

The woman in this photo is my fellow foreign teacher Stephanie. She was told to run at “wears earrings” Her ears are gadged so that a quarter could fit through the whole in her earlobe. Gadged ears are very unusual on Jeju, which has a reputation for being more traditional and insular. One of the third graders decided to talk to me about Stephanie’s ears while we played a game using adjectives. My student looked at me with such innocence and determination to speak. She said, “Teacher, Stephanie Teacher ears big circle. Scary.” It took everything I had not to laugh. Her eyes were so big, and she was gesturing. I was very proud of her for using the words we studied. Hahahaha:)

I was asked to participate in a few relays, races, and events. As if the pleasure of participating weren’t enough, I go prizes too!!! Prizes included barley, flour, tissues, and a towel.

I’ll leave you with this final video. This is a really hard event. Cheers!

Haenyo

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to help our friend Adam move to the beautiful city of Seongsan. Seongsan means sunrise, and it is a major tourist destination on Jeju. After we schlepped Adam’s few worldly positions to his charming new flat we struck out to find some much deserved food. The initial mission was to eat at a pizza place run by the family of one of Adam’s students, but we couldn’t find it, so we wandered over to a restaurant Adam had heard of at the base of Sunrise Peak. Adam said something about a diving demonstration so off we went.

It turns out we arrived just as the infamous Haenyo divers were emerging from the sea with diner. The Haenyo are women divers who can dive 20 feet, and hold their breath for two minutes. As a point of reference a friend of mine dove 25 feet with a tank this weekend. All of the women seemed to be older than fifty. They were smiley and cute.

So we bought a large plate and feasted on delicacies such as sea cucumber and abalone that were alive mere moments earlier. It as chewy, and crunchy, and I didn’t eat my share, but I was so happy for the experience. The beach was stunning, and the energy was vibrant. There were hordes of excited people all over the beach snapping photos and picking their food from the tanks. It was a unique and unexpected experience which was only enhanced by such good company. I knew famous divers were on Jeju somewhere, but I hadn’t researched it, so it was extra fun to just happen upon them.

Coming out of the water with the catch. The plate before it as chopped. Mike with the food. (Mike is so handsome that tourists wanted a photo with him. hahahaha!) Adam at the tank where the fish is chosen and chopped. The view of Sunrise Peak from our seats at diner.