Things have been picking up around here recently, what with Korean classes, teaching classes, and tutoring on top of my regular work, so the blog has been a bit on the sidelines lately. To tie you over, I wanted to share two funny stories. Well, funny to you, embarrassing to me.
1. Korean names almost always have three syllables: a last name of one, and a first name of two. In Korea, you say your last name first (for example, Kim Mi Jin is my coteacher's name). But for those Koreans who spend a lot of time in the Western world, sometimes they adopt the Western style of last name after first name (for example, Yuna Kim, the figure skater).
This brings us to 반기문 (BanKiMoon), the Secretary General of the United Nations. My students idolize this man, and I try to promote that feeling as much as possible. When the alternative role models are plastic, overly made-up pop idols, diplomats are quite high on my list. Because Moon is a common last name in Korea (it also means door), and because his job is involved heavily with the rest of the world, I assumed that his last name was Moon, and his first name BanKi. So I used him as an entry in my Guess Who boards (which are labeled and laminated to play on).
This is not his name. Do you know what BanKi means in Korean?
FART.
I called the Secretary General of the UN a door fart. Immortalized in laminate. Forever.
Sigh. Moving on.
2. I am not a great cook. I can make cereal, sandwiches, and a mean White Russian, but that's about it. Baking is easier than other types of cooking, mainly because it's mixing set ingredients and sticking it in the oven, not to be touched for an hour. That I can manage.
Pierogies, however, are a different beast entirely. For a friend's Eurovision party (which was amazing, if you haven't been to one, do it), we were assigned countries to represent with food and drink. Because I was committed to not half-assing it, I figured Polish pierogies were a good start. As you can imagine, that was a mistake.
I have never made dough before. I've watched my mom make it several times, even my roommate in college managed it, but I have never attempted it on my own. Luckily this time I wasn't on my own. My friend Sheila was over, but only in a supervisory role. She was determined not to interfere, but it was my pitiful whining that forced her to relent. That and the fear of me setting my own house on fire. It's powerful motivation.
Anyway, I've made the dough, and am preparing to roll it out. But my wood rolling pin is dirty! So of course I have to wash it first. I dry it with my paper towel and then proceed to start rolling my dough.
Spoiler alert: wood doesn't dry from a once over with a paper towel. Now my dough is sticky again, and is wrapped completely around the rolling pin. At this point, it's Sheila to the rescue! Once she composed herself from her laughing fit, she helped me detach the pin and clean it again. Then used the brilliant idea of a hair dryer! The water from the pin dried within minutes and it was good as new. The pierogies went off (mostly) without a hitch, and were enjoyed by all.
And that, my friends, is how I used a blow dryer to make dinner.
안녕!
