Each week my friend Jacob (not Jake...he lives in Seoul) and I try to meet up at least once and eat supper or just go do something fun. Last week after we ate we had wanted to go bowling but the lanes were full for like 3 hours and his son was with us (he is 4 years old) and we didn't arrive until around 8:30 PM. So...we planned to go again tonight and he said he would call and reserve a lane for us. We met at our usual time at 6:00 PM at E-Mart (Korea's equivalent to Wal-Mart) and went out to eat some samgyeopsal. It was really good and we were sitting there talking and a big group of people came in and sat down by us...it was obvious that it was someone's birthday, since they were singing and had a cake. They were really loud, but seemed to be having fun and playing some different games with food and drinks. They could tell we were watching them and so an older Korean guy looked at me and motioned me over to their table. He said they were about to eat hot peppers and wanted me to join in. I'm here to tell you...hot peppers in Korea are like 10 times hotter than anything I have ever eaten in the States. So I politely declined and they all laughed and said ok. Well...the birthday guy ate an ENTIRE pepper (my friend Jacob ate a tiny tiny bite and about cried) and looked like he was in pain! When we were leaving they all told me "Goodbye" and I said thanks again for inviting me...then the birthday guy stuck out his hand to shake mine and I said "Man, you are crazy!!" and the whole table erupted into laughter. I guess Koreans really think the word crazy is hiliarious! It was my turn to pay...that is one thing here...people rarely spilt a bill, one person pays and then I guess the other person pays next time. While we were eating our supper Jacob invited me to go to the planetarium tomorrow night with him and his son...I have never been so I am quite excited!
After we ate we walked over to the bowling alley and bowled a few games. It was really fun...we had a good time and I bowled ok...not the best I have ever done, but it was still fun.
I rode my bike for about three hours today and got a little sunburned, so he helped me get some burn ointment at E-Mart...I was really glad, because it feels a lot better tonight!
Oh yeah...I am also going to post a few pictures of Korean Won. For as brilliant as I think Koreans are, I can't for the life of me figure out why their largest bill (that I am aware of) is 10,000 Won (equal to about $10). The three main bills that I see are 1,000 Won ($1), 5,000 Won ($5) and then 10,000 Won. When I first got here I exchanged the $500 I brought and I swear I had a stack of bills that was so HUGE I literally couldn't fit them all in my wallet. Funny stuff.
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