Is that spaghetti on your pizza?

I decided to take a moment and answer a question that I know has been weighing on you heavily regarding my time so far in Korea. And the answer is, yes, I have been eating spaghetti on my pizza. Along with corn, potatoes, and something that is either cream cheese or something else so similar that the distinction doesn’t deserve to be made. Koreans apparently come from the no holds barred school of pizza theory. If it’s digestible, you can find it on a pizza here. Though I haven’t seen any pepperoni yet. But the spaghetti-cream cheese-corn-ham combo was not actually deserving of the grimace I’m sure you’re making right now. In fact, I had an extra piece the next day for breakfast.

As for the rest of the food I’ve eaten in Korea, I have to say I’ve been pretty pleased. Some things are, of course, pretty spicy, but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had so far. Even the tiny octopus. I’m sure it’s lucky that I’m not very picky. I figure if it’ll keep me from starving to death, I probably ought to eat it and enjoy it.

I am also learning the art of tea drinking. (I know certain ones among you will be very proud of me for this. C1 and C2, I’m talking to you.) Actually, to be more accurate, I’m learning the art of consuming whatever is put in front of me. That just usually happens to be tea of some sort. I have to say it’s growing on me. Who knew leaf water could be so pleasant? And I’ve even had a couple of small cups of coffee. Weak coffee, but still. It’s more than I could say before.

And as of today, I’m happy to say, my food consumption has also included two kinds of cake and even some chocolate covered strawberries. Understandably, I’m very excited about this. And I chose the cakes and fruit in question, so I knew I’d like them. You can say whatever you want about Korean pizza, but cakes here are gorgeous.

This cake and chocolatey fruit situation is not an everyday happening around here, but among us foreigners there are two who are having birthdays within the next few days. And if that’s not a good enough reason for a party with cake and chocolate, then you’ll never find one. So I took it upon myself to ensure that joy and gladness would be spread to all and sundry as a result of these happy days. Translation: I wanted cake and found a perfectly legitimate excuse to have some. Some of you may find it ironic that the second newest professor at KNU who has been in country only two and a half weeks is the one doing the party planning, but I think most of you also know what lengths I will go to for chocolate and cake, so maybe it’s not all that surprising.

The bottom line I suppose is that my palate is expanding to include an appreciation for all sorts of ridiculous things that I never would have come up with on my own, but I still know of four bakeries that are within a ten minute walk of my apartment and, if pressed, I’m pretty sure I could recite the entire contents of the candy aisle at the grocery store.