I had a great time last weekend. It was a nice balance of Korean and American things. It started out Friday night after school. The Korean manager randomly decided to invite a few of us over for a raumen party (instant noodles). We had some cheesy noodles with some spicy, barbeque chicken. Oh, so yummy. After that, a friend came over to my place, and we hung out.
On Saturday, I started preparing my Christmas decorations. I bought some red and green paper and cut them into strips. After that, I connected the strips to make some nice Christmas chains. I was going to go with a friend to Namdaemun market to do some Christmas shopping, but I instead went to my friend's home to make some kimchi with his family. They thought it was a little weird that a foreigner was interested in making kimchi. They thought my friend asked me just because of the extra help. In the middle of their living room, they had a huge tub full of some kind of spicy sauce. They gathered around the tub and rubbed the sauce over huge heads of cabbage. It was messy but kind of fun. They then put the cabbage in plastic containers and put them outside to ferment. We had a great spicy chicken dish for dinner. My friend and I then went for a walk around Bucheon stadium and had some fried food around my place.
On Sunday, I got out early and headed to Bucheon station by bus. My friend met me there and took me to his Korean church. I was a little interested in the church so I took my opportunity when he invited me. The service was, of course, all in Korean, but my friend translated most of it for me on his notebook. At the end of the service, the pastor pointed me out to everyone, and they all clapped for me. I guess because I'm a foreigner? They had lunch together in the basement. We had a great fried kimchi dish with some rice.
That afternoon, I met up with the English church in town, and we headed to the US Army base in Seoul. Technically, I was back in America. It felt like I was in America, too. Everything was in English, everyone spoke English, and everyone looked like Americans. The dinner was excellent. We had turkey with all the trimmings. We were even entertained by a K-pop star named Brian from the group Fly to the Sky; the Koreans there went crazy. I, of course, had to go back from seconds; it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without seconds. I was certainly stuffed like a turkey as I got up to leave.
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