2002-11-30 - 2:04 a.m.

Nov. 28, 2002 "...a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat!"

Went to Gwangmyung to the first meeting of a new group. I was aided in my quest by a group of old friends wh had gone mountain-climbing earlier. One spoke a little English; he was the right age to have worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army during the war. They were very careful to make sure I got on the right train and knew the transfers.*

The only problem came when I got to Gwangmyung. Come to find out, that city has two stations, so, of course, I got off at the wrong one. But, eventually, with cellphone calls, I got there. And a very good meeting it was, too.

Afterwards, we all went out to a kalbi restaurant and had a fine meal. Kalbi translates as "the meat next to the bone," or "the tenderest meat." Usually this is stewed or broiled ribs, but we had tenderloin and the meat around the backbone, literally eating "high on the hog." It was stewed in a delicious mixture of sesame leaves, swiss chard and a little kimchi. The broth alone was pure heaven, and the meat was tender enough to melt in your mouth.

Then there were the side dishes! Too many to describe. I dug into the mild green peppers and the beanpaste dip to the point that the lady across from me ordered a refill.

She and I had a lot of fun. She had been to France years ago so we communicated in a fine mixture of English, French and Korean, with lots of body language and laughter. "Gina" was beside me and she has pretty good English, too. (I was the only foreigner in the crowd.) On my other side was a young fellow with no English, but he had such great storytelling ability that I could understand what he was talking about. (Yes, "total immersion" is the way to learn a language. I get so much out of hearing words in the context of conversation.)

Cho got me a ride home with a young man who had a smattering of English but knew the city very well. He landed me right next to my building. We must have driven 30 miles across Seoul, diagonally from south-west to north-east to go from Gwangmyung to Anam. It's a lot bigger than New York City. I was able to get that idea across to my driver-friend. He chuckled at the old saw about street lights: "Green means go. Yellow means go faster (ballie, ballie)."

I got home about 11 p.m., feeling very happy after an evening with lots of socialising and good food. And no tryptophan hangover!

* My son called, just before we went to supper, and when I told him about the hiking guys and their interpretation of my Korean language map to the meeting, he chuckled and called them "Austrians." They carry small backpacks and climbing sticks, and wear leg warmers up to their knees. It looks like they have on knickers. These guys look to be in their 70s, and they go climbing enough to have a weatherbeaten look to their faces. Apparently, it is quite a popular sport. My "Austrians" had been climbing DTongsan (East mountain).

Thanks for reading.

Happy Trails!

~ Sil in Corea

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