I've been in Korea for what - 11 months now? And I've certainly had my share of interesting moments, but none as almost indescribable as what happened to me today. :o) One of my students and I went to lunch at a fairly nice Korean restaurant. Now, Korean food is somewhat of a shock for the palate of most foreigners, but over time one can become accustomed to the spicy food, especially the red pepper paste that smothers most(if not all) dishes. However, being a latina, spicy food never bothered me much, so thankfully it was never a problem for me.

Anyway, we were busy yacking when our food finally arrived. Usually when I eat out with students, I like to try new things - especially so that I can learn the names of new dishes for when I decide to dine out again. Obviously for this to happen, I must allow them to order for me, but always with precise directions of things I do not consume - i.e. any seafood, pork, or any other strange things that foreigners tend not to eat.

Thinking I'd made it fairly clear of what I didn't want, I trusted that my food would be safe. When the food came, it looked really great - a bowl of soup, and bi bim bap(bowl of rice with various vegetables and red pepper paste for an extra kick). As I was enjoying my soup, I noticed something floating in the water so I played around with it using my spoon to poke it when all of the sudden, it swam across the bowl. YES, it SWAM from one side of the little bowl to the other side! My mind was reeling and I had no idea what was in my soup! With my spoon, I tried to pick it up and discovered it was a baby octopus and it was ALIVE! I screamed, dropped my spoon and pushed my chair back to catch my breath. My poor student couldn't figure out why I'd freaked out and looked at me bewildered.

Apparently she didn't know that the soup included the baby octupus and she appologized for the incident througout the day. She really didn't have to cause I know it was an accident and after the initial shock, I found it pretty amusing. :o) I can honestly say that was the most interesting meal I've ever had - or didn't have! Only in Asia, right?! :o)