Movies, Chicken and Rain

Another triumph for me yesterday, as I successfully purchased movie tickets without the assistance of any Korean-speaking friends. Saw "War of the Worlds," which wasn't any good but was in English, so I was happy. English-language movies aren't always easy to find, and beggars can't be choosers. I had movie theater popcorn, which was really exciting, although I was disappointed that they don't seem to put butter (or rather, butter-flavored topping) on the popcorn here. They do sell peanut-butter squid, whatever that is. It comes pre-packaged with a smiling squid on the front. I have yet to try it.

One thing I did have today was a dish called samgetang, or ginseng chicken. Ginseng is very popular here, and Korean ginseng is considered to be the highest quality ginseng in Asia (they grow a lot of it in Ganghwa island, where I went over the weekeng). Samgetang is a sort of soup--you get a bowl of broth with a small whole chicken in it, and the chicken is stuffed with rice, dates and ginseng. You pick pieces of meat off the chicken and dip it in salt before eating it. I wish I had known about it when I was sick. But it's also a good dish when it's raining out, which it is today. We're a little more than halfway through the rainy season, which apparently lasts a month or so. With the exception of the few hurricanes that hit the Northeastern US when I was growing up, I have never seen so much rain fall for such a long period of time. There are heavy rainstorms that last for almost 24 hours. But, from the school of "things I think Korea does really well that we should adopt," all the buildings have little stations at the front door with bags for your umbrella, so you can carry it inside without getting everything wet.