I have not written much lately as many of you may have noticed, my apologies. The last few months were rough and I have not really been in much of a writing mood. Fortunately the tides have turned and I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and feel much better. As far as work, things are still crazy, but I think that is just the Korean way, just another one of the many things in this country that I will never understand.
Speaking of things I don't understand, here is another example. This week is the Lunar New Year so we have a 5 day weekend and our boss bought us gifts. During the holidays in Korea they have all kinds of gift packs. You can buy a toiletries gift pack with shampoo and toothpaste, a wine gift pack, a dried fish gift pack, or perhaps a spam gift pack.... take your pick For the last holiday we all got a toiletry pack, and this time around we were lucky enough to find the spam gift set on our desks after class. "The Spam Gift Set: It is a tasteful gift with full gratitude. It is for you and your loved ones". Not only do you receive more spam than I have consumed in all my 26 years, but also two large bottles of canola oil. Who wants some fried spam for breakfast? This is considered a very generous gift here, and so ofcourse I am grateful, but I can't get past the stigma that spam is disgusting and usually eaten with Raman (another delicacy here) by college students who would rather spend their money on beer than food. Here on the other hand it comes in expensive gift packs... kind of like Goidava Chocolates, except it's processed meat in a can and not decadent chocolates. Luckily I do understand the American ideal that "it's the thought that counts" and can appreciate that I received a gift.
So if anyone has any killer recipes that include spam, send them my way, because frankly I don't really know what to do with the stuff. Maybe the next time one of my students whines about how hungry they are (since they spend dinner time at English school) I will hand them a can of spam. I hate to see food, even processed meat go to waste.