Cooking Class
Yesterday, instead of our usual grammar, new vocab, listening and reading class, the Korean Language Institute had a cooking session. A home-stay was previously scheduled and we were so excited to head out somewhere to have a large sleepover with our classmates, but we were sad upon hearing it's cancellation due to the recent and now subsiding case of MERS.
The ingredients were funded by us, bought from the nearest market “Deokpo Sijang”. The food there is cheaper when bought in bulk. I was told that the market was filled with everyone from the Language Institute the evening before our cooking day, the ahjummas and butchers must’ve been happy! Special thanks to our class president and his trusted companions for shopping and carrying the heavy loads back to the university.
That morning, we came to school with cooking utensils and boxes of ingredients from the market we shopped for the day before. Then we washed up and began cooking. The school's facilities aren't well suited for cooking as the school's bathroom was used to wash the ingredients and pots and pans. It would've taken longer if not for our "VIP" access to the Cafe I work at a few floors down. However, everything went smoothly and our class prepared a Chinese hot pot and also Vietnamese Spring Rolls! My fellow Malaysian classmates and I didn't prepare any local food because as a class we agreed those two dishes were sufficient.
Despite the slight uproars throughout regarding individuals cooking styles and insufficient ingredients or tools, we came together and cooked up a storm. The females in class were the first to get on their feet, and a few nagging sessions later the lads got involved too. Everyone took turns cooking and feeding each other, and we couldn't have been happier with the result. We filled our stomachs to the brim (Shoutout to Joy aka my mum for constantly feeding me all dat beef. She was also the photographer. This girl is the definition of multi-tasking.) Whenever we needed a break from chopping veggies, we headed next door to taste-test and, I must say, I have a new found love for Vietnamese food.
Towards the end, while the finishing dishes were being cooked up and we were too full to function, everyone sat down and enjoyed music videos on the television. In my opinion, throughout all the music videos watched, Kpop was the most entertaining. Everytime a Kpop music video played, everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen from beginning to end. The brightly colored make-up and hair, loud and crazy outfits, and well executed choreography makes it difficult for one to not feel either awed or confused, in a good way. It’s no wonder that Kpop is admired worldwide, their hard effort in their music is evident. Before arriving in Korea, I never never gave Kpop a chance, but after being surrounded by the music in every store i step into, or any event I’m at, it began to grow on me. Furthermore, now that I understand Korean, I can listen to the music and fully enjoy it.
To end this piece of writing I shall share a video of Big Bang’s fairly new song, Bang Bang Bang! And maybe you’ll understand my description of Kpop better.
https://youtu.be/2ips2mM7Zqw
The ingredients were funded by us, bought from the nearest market “Deokpo Sijang”. The food there is cheaper when bought in bulk. I was told that the market was filled with everyone from the Language Institute the evening before our cooking day, the ahjummas and butchers must’ve been happy! Special thanks to our class president and his trusted companions for shopping and carrying the heavy loads back to the university.
That morning, we came to school with cooking utensils and boxes of ingredients from the market we shopped for the day before. Then we washed up and began cooking. The school's facilities aren't well suited for cooking as the school's bathroom was used to wash the ingredients and pots and pans. It would've taken longer if not for our "VIP" access to the Cafe I work at a few floors down. However, everything went smoothly and our class prepared a Chinese hot pot and also Vietnamese Spring Rolls! My fellow Malaysian classmates and I didn't prepare any local food because as a class we agreed those two dishes were sufficient.
Despite the slight uproars throughout regarding individuals cooking styles and insufficient ingredients or tools, we came together and cooked up a storm. The females in class were the first to get on their feet, and a few nagging sessions later the lads got involved too. Everyone took turns cooking and feeding each other, and we couldn't have been happier with the result. We filled our stomachs to the brim (Shoutout to Joy aka my mum for constantly feeding me all dat beef. She was also the photographer. This girl is the definition of multi-tasking.) Whenever we needed a break from chopping veggies, we headed next door to taste-test and, I must say, I have a new found love for Vietnamese food.
Towards the end, while the finishing dishes were being cooked up and we were too full to function, everyone sat down and enjoyed music videos on the television. In my opinion, throughout all the music videos watched, Kpop was the most entertaining. Everytime a Kpop music video played, everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen from beginning to end. The brightly colored make-up and hair, loud and crazy outfits, and well executed choreography makes it difficult for one to not feel either awed or confused, in a good way. It’s no wonder that Kpop is admired worldwide, their hard effort in their music is evident. Before arriving in Korea, I never never gave Kpop a chance, but after being surrounded by the music in every store i step into, or any event I’m at, it began to grow on me. Furthermore, now that I understand Korean, I can listen to the music and fully enjoy it.
To end this piece of writing I shall share a video of Big Bang’s fairly new song, Bang Bang Bang! And maybe you’ll understand my description of Kpop better.
https://youtu.be/2ips2mM7Zqw
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