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 Life with Jody--former Soldier (medically retired), writer (in training), and lots more |
This is being written for the very first round of "Personal Essay Contest"  (Personal Essay Contest) for June 2023. There is no prompt and the word count must be 500-750 words.I came to Korea in May 2023 for a 2-week study abroad (plus a week in Los Angeles for classwork) to study the rapidly aging population due to the low birth rateāthe lowest in the world, about .78 for every 2 people. If things donāt change, by 2067, Korea will have 48.5% of their population aged 65+. Anyway, never one to let a travel opportunity pass me by, Iāve decided to stay here an extra 2 weeks. Why waste the ticket? This entry will discuss some of the foods and drinks Iāve had since I arrived and some of the differences in what I saw when I lived here in 1996 vs. now. First, thereās a distinct lack of street vendors compared to when I was here in the ā90ās. Yes, you can find them, but mostly near the markets whereas before, they seemed to be practically everywhere. There were also certain street foods that were common then that are harder to find now. First, the little tiny snails they served in a little paper cup or paper cone, snails so small you pick them up with your 2 fingers and try to suck them out of their often less than fingernail-sized shellāIāve not seen them at all. Silk worm pupa were another thing you saw all over. They taste a bit like cardboard, in my opinionānot inedible, but not particularly delicious. I mostly ate one here and there to amuse others. Iāve only seen them for sale once in nearly 3 weeks and it was at a market. There were also fried crickets, but to be fair, they were more bar food and I havenāt been to a bar. I only had them before because a friend got some from her dad. One other thing I really miss is the ho dok or however you spell them. They are little pieces of pan-fried bread with cinnamon and sugar inside them like a pocket. I have seen them once in a market, but they used to be easy to find among the plentiful street vendors. What are some things Iāve eaten lately instead? I went to a market and had some boiled pig skin. To be honest, I hate skināchicken skin, dog skin (from my previous trip), and whatever other skin I might have tried. I enjoy living things having skin covering them, but thatās about as far as my appreciation for skin goes. However, like nearly everything in Korea, itās āgood for me.ā They say young women eat it for the collogen. Well, it wasnāt disgusting, so thereās that. Of all the skin Iāve eaten, while Iām sure the preparation plays a big part, this was the ābestā skin Iāve had. Sorry, Colonel Sanders. Your 11 herbs and spices just donāt fix the fact that Iām still eating epidermis. But also, I wonāt go out looking for this boiled pig skin again. If a handsome manās mother served it to me, Iād eat it with a smile on my face and compliment on my lips, but thatās the only case Iāll try it again. Chicken feetāApparently, they come bone in or out. I got the boneless ones without knowing it. Itās all she was offering at the market. Edible. But the same with the boiled pig skināonly when served by a handsome manās mother would I eat them again. Blood sausageā¦yeah, not even that mother could get me to eat that again. If she tried to force me, he and I would have to break up. Sorry, dude. No one is worth eating blood sausage for. Some drinks Iāve enjoyed here include aloe juice as well as aloe and watermelon juice. Yum! Iāve had avocado juice, which was really more a smoothie, but while they sold smoothies and juices, they listed this under āJuiceā for some reason. It contained avocado, water, milk, what was probably a sugar-water solution, and ice all blended together. Sounds like a smoothie to me, but it was good, whatever itās called. Iāve also had a pine drink. Now, Iāve had pine needle tea in the States and wasnāt impressed. Drinkable, but only for the high level of scurvy-preventing vitamin C. (Yes, Iād keep dating that handsome guy if I was served this by his mother and Iād smile when she poured me more.) But here, they seemed to mix it with lemon, I think. That makes it actually pretty good. Sorry, my word counter says thatās the end. Word Count: 750  And be sure to check out my challenge
and my contest
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