Peanut Butter and Hangover Soups

You learn a lot about yourself through the food situation in Korea. 

You learn what distance you are willing to travel and what price willing to pay for familiar junk foods like peanut butter, Mac&Cheese, Dr. Pepper.

You learn some weird stuff about your psyche: you start craving foods you never cared about in the States, simply because you can't have them.  Like Toaster Strudels. I never ate them in the States. I want them now. 

You learn that there are different types/qualities of kimchi, and that cake can be eaten with chopsticks.

And more. 

**

School is out for the next month, starting tomorrow.  Which prompted the following conversation between my co-teacher and me.

SH: Principal will buy lunch for teachers on Thursday.  You want to eat?
Me: Yeah, sure.
SH: We must choose.  There are menus...teachers will choose food they want.  I will send in. (I eventually figured out that we were voting between two main food options for lunch.)
Me: OK
SH: First is...do you know lkdsajlkfjd? 
Me: No.
SH: It is like frozen fish soup.
Me: Ah.
SH: Second is...do you know sadkjfhjh?
Me: No.
SH: It is like...(she googles it) hengohver soup.
Me: Hangover soup?
SH: Yes.
Me: (laughing) Do you know what a hangover is?
SH: Yes. (mimes drunken behavior and next day headache.  It's hard to mime a next day headache.)

I didn't need to think to make my choice.  A hangover soup sounded hearty and tasty.  Frozen fish soup sounded...not hearty and not tasty.

Me: I think I will want the hangover soup.
SH: (very surprised) Really?  Do you know what it is?
Me: No...
SH: (googles something).  It is...cloe-ted bludeh?
Me: Clotted blood? 
SH: (nods vigorously)
Me: OK, I vote for number 1, fish soup.
SH: Me too!

Later the votes were tallied and the hangover soup won.

Me: Uh. Is lunch only soup or other things?
SH: Only soup.
Me: No rice or kimchi?
SH: Yes, maybe kimchi.  Maybe rice.
Me: OK. 

**

In other news, I'm getting mixed signals from my school.  Apparently they want me to wear clothing to class, and yet they insist on limited AC use during these sweltering summer days.