Well I went to the temple today to make Kimchi, it was an interesting experience. I arrived late after not finding the shuttle bus at the station. I was told to catch the shuttle bus at the bus station and didn't for some reason make a beeline for the small green van that was in fact the shuttle bus. i would have taken the time to explain what a 'bus' is but it was my day off so no english teaching.
The temple grounds looked nice enough, although I didn't really get a chance to explore too much. There wasn't that big of a group there and only one other westerner, a guy called Joey who is a high school exchange student from Wisconsin. There was also a television crew filming a segment for the news. And they angle they seemed to be going for was to focus on the two westerners making kimchi. We pretty much had the cameras following us around the entire afternoon. I don't mind being the center of attention so it was kinda neat I guess, and the other dozen attendees seemed happy to et us have the limelight. They even had us stage our entrance to the temple, coming in together down the long path and looking around in awe at everything.
I spoke a little korean for the cameras just basic phrases like: "Korean Kimchi is delicious! (as if I was aware there were even other types of kimchi) which they were all far too impressed with. But for the most part i just answered their questions in english, which means I'm now curious to watch the segment when it airs to find out what they are going to put for subtitles. We went out to the fields and dug up some cabbage and then did the cooking show version of making kimchi. Which basically means that we would soak the cabbage in saltwater,but not for the twelve recommended hours. We then chopped up some pears, radishes and leeks and rubbed down some pre-fermented cabbage with them and voila: kimchi!. Okay there were a few more steps but thats the basics. Sometimes Joey and I were at a bit of a loss as to how to answer some of the reporter's questions. Alot of questions like why we were in shortsleeves when everyone else was wearing winterjackets (a combination of it not being that cold at first and not wanting to get kimchi on my jacket) and how did it feel to throw foil wrapped yams into a firepit (liberating?). Most of it went like this:
reporter: Was it tough to get the cabbage out of the ground?
My kneejerk response: Nope. They gave me a real sharp knife to do it with.
My Actual Response: I wanted to be very sure to do it right and not damage the plant. It was a very new experience for me.
Likely subtitles: U S A! U S A!
They were all really friendly at the temple and invited me back for traditional japanese kite making next month. It was a bit of a cultural experience, just maybe not the one I expected. I'm not going to find a pristine old temple with monks and people carting rickshaws. The truth is the television culture and the warm response they have to north americans is more about what Korean culture is like now. If I want something a bit more esoteric I should hit up a museum (which I of course plan to do). This is probably the equivalent of going ot a maple syrup festival in Quebec. And they sent me home with an ass load of kimchi (one batch of which I mostly made myself), which will make an interesting addition to my breakfast.
Oh and this new wallpaper rips when you use velcro tape or glue on it. Things you learn. I'm going to have to make a few minor repairs. If only somebody had warned me not to try to put stuff up on the walls.
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