Q: What is the relationship between shabu shabu and Genghis Khan?

So. On the menu for lunch today…SHABU SHABU! You may be experiencing the same confusion I was afflicted with when the decree was made. However, my mother trying to clarify things by saying, “You know, Genghis Khan?” didn’t help much either. (What the hell…? We’re going to eat Genghis Kahn??? Is this some sort of Asian ritual that I’m not aware of as well as one I wouldn’t want to participate in?!?) *trying to decide if I want free food or not* I somehow figured out it was some type of meat fondue so I decided to try it. Especially since I was reassured that the selection of flesh would be limited to cow. Woohoo!

On the way, I proceeded to confound my relations by bursting into hysterical giggles. (It’s a problem I’ve been dealing with since I got here. But if you could see the things that I have seen, I think you would be laughing too.) My current source of amusement, a massage parlor. Now I couldn’t tell you what kind of massage parlor it was but I think you could guess where my train of thought was taking me due to its name: B&J Massage. Yeah…I couldn't see the '&' either.

Lunch was good! It was a whole bunch of yummy side dishes, a large copper bowl of broth, a huge plate of delicious veggies and another platter stacked with paper thin slices of meat. We dumped in the veggies until they were cooked then progressed to tossing in the meat as well. Everything was scooped out via chopstick, dipped in sauce and promptly deposited into awaiting oral cavities. After that course was finished, the waitress brought out a plate of noodles to cook as well. Once everyone had finished slurping up each and every last noodle, that magical bowl of rice appeared. And the remainder of the broth soon became rice stew. The finishing touch was a refreshing cup of pomegranate juice to aid digestion…or something like that.

Yun Sook and I had arranged to meet at Myong Dong to go shopping. I’m not a huge fan of shopping but what else is there to do? *shrug* I hadn’t seen that girl in such a long time. I was so excited! We cruised around Myong Dong for hours. We looked at shoes, bags, underwear and bras, makeup and more. I did finally buy a bra and underwear set while I was there. It was so cute! Other than the fact that they had to measure my butt to see if what size I was. I barely fit their largest size!! *cries* I knew there was a reason I didn’t like shopping in Korea. Damn them for having cute things that I can’t fit into!

After such a blow to my pride, I needed sustenance. And what better place to go than to Myong Hwa Dang? Jeannie and I used to go there nearly every day after school. It’s one of my favorite places ever! Although I don’t know if it’s because of the food or the memories. Anyway, Yun Sook said it was ok with her and so we munched. That’s when I noticed her nail polish. It was…I don’t know what to call it, gradation? Basically, three nail polish colors that blend into one another. She had done it herself. She said she would show me how to do it next week when we met up. SCORE! (Not that I wear nail polish on a regular basis but whatever. That’s not the point! *glares*)

We wandered around some more. I ended up buying a pair of glasses. They were super cute!! *excited* I have a thing about glasses. I really like them but I have an issue with the lack of peripheral vision. Well, I guess lack is not the right word since I still have it but it’s BLURRY. That’s why I prefer to wear contacts. But sometimes it would be nice to be able to switch it up and have something else to wear. So I got fake glasses. Puhahahaha. I amuse myself. *easily amused* Next stop was Migliore. And… *drum roll, please!* I got my belly button pierced!

Why would I do a crazy thing like that? Because I am a loser and a follower of trends. *cries* No. Yun Sook made me do it. I swear. She held a gun to my head. Wait. This is Korea. She couldn’t have had a gun. Um…she threatened to knife me! Ok, so she didn’t do that either. I was trying to wuss out and she verbally bitch slapped me. Thank you. Thank you. Because I’m glad I went through with it. Truly. And I only blamed you because you asked me not to. *laughs* I love being contrary.

Anyway, once again sustenance was needed to perk me up. Especially since I had just gotten a hole placed in my abdomen by some (once again!) gloveless man in a tiny kiosk with people walking by and staring at me. YEAH! I needed ice cream… Yun Sook said that Heather really liked to go a place called Red Mango and so we set out thinking we knew where it was. We didn’t. After wandering around while vaguely feeling like idiots but pretending we didn’t, we did eventually find the place. Ice cream was good! We sat around for an hour or two and gabbed. Then we figured we probably should go home.

(Aww...my belly button looks sad.)