Potato pizza, pickles, and toilet paper!

I just got back home from the first social gathering we've all had since I arrived. One of the teachers leaving in a few weeks, Ben, invited our Korean teachers and the English teachers over for dinner and drinks. Ahh... note on Korean teachers -they care for our kids on the bus, during our breaks, and at lunch. I don't have a steady teacher yet... a new one was hired and will start on Tuesday. They've all been quite kind to me, though their English is not always the best (there is an English-only rule at school for students and staff).

It was very informal and laid-back. I tried Soju for the first time (something like Korean vodka). Wicked! From what I've been told, if you add anything to the drink (which is sacrilige for Koreans, but not for foreigners), you can't even taste the alcohol. We ordered pizza from Pizza Lao. I learned how to say "without cheese" - "cheese-e ob-shi." Unfortunately, it was an odd request for a veggie pizza without cheese, and the restaurant didn't know how to make it. They were too afraid that the veggies would burn... So, I didn't have pizza! Oh well... it smelled good!

Apparently pizza with potatoes (as a topping) is a common occurrence here... it's basically seasoned potato wedges on top of the slices. Everyone seemed to like it. As a side, there were containers that look like to-go marinara sauce at pizza joints back home... Well, they were pickles! Yes, pickles came as a side to the pizza! I was so afraid I was going to see someone put it on top of the pizza, but luckily that didn't happen. If you've been keeping up with the blog, you've read that paper towels are not used here. Well, neither are napkins (by the way). So, everyone uses toilet paper (tissue) in its place. You eat a piece of fruit, you rip toilet paper off the roll for the seeds. You spill something small, you grab the roll of toilet paper. So, you can imagine the scene of 7 people eating greasy pizza and passing around a roll of toilet paper! It's definitely a memory that will stay with me - potato pizza, pickles, and toilet paper!