Celebrating Burns Day in Korea

My Burns dinner date for the evening!

Okay, the fact that I used to live in Scotland means a few things.
1. I have acquired a taste for Irn Bru and no longer think it tastes like bubblegum.
2. I probably enjoy Haggis more than the average person
3. I have come to celebrate Burns day as the day I have an excuse to drink whisky ridiculously early.

For lack of a Scottish counterpart and the fact thats she is crazy fun, I brought my friend Tomi with me to a Burns night dinner here in Korea. The dinner was hosted by the Bull & Barrel who described  the celebration of Mr. Burns life:

"Regarded as the national poet of Scotland, Burns was self-educated. He became a pioneer of the Romantic Movement of the late 18th Century. From his meager beginnings, Burns was a failed farmer but by his 20s had become famous for his forthright poetry any lyrics. Well known for his many love affairs and love of the grog, Burns lived hard, fathered many children and finally died at the tender age of 37. Today Burns Night is a tradition celebrating the poet that is put on by Scots worldwide."

 So we celebrated with a dinner in Itaewon.  For 25,000 won the menu included:

1.Haggis with Neeps and Tatties in a whisky cream sauce ( also veggie option)

2. Scottish Shortbread

3. Whisky or a Whisky coffee

My meal

or

Tomi's Meal:
Bacon wrapped chicken stuffed with haggis and tatties on the side

They prepared each meal individually but they were well worth the wait. Both were completely delicious and I was shocked at the authenticity, particularly because Haggis is actually still illegal in America. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Haggis, is a savoury type of pudding that contains sheep heart, liver, lungs, onion, suet, oatmeal, spices and stock all mixed to together, encased in animal stomach and simmered to perfection! It really is much tastier than it sounds!

Haggis was originally banned for it's use of sheep lungs

I never need an excuse to drink Scotch, but this is excellent!

The atmosphere itself was pretty cozy and reminded me of a lot of the pubs I used to go to in the U.K. It actually just opened this November, but seems to be doing quite well for itself. The meal was delicious and tasted authentic, the drinks were very reasonably priced and when it got a bit drafty they brought us these awesome Carlsberg blankets.

The had a great whisky selection and I will definitely be returning. Oh the things you can find in Korea, especially a city as international as Seoul. Well played,Seoul, well played!

Before I Leave the Motherland

I mailed off all of my visa stuff today (more than mildly stressful). I checked and double checked to make sure everything was in the envelope. I hate sending my passport off, I always worry it will mysteriously disappear or be taken by the God of Important Paperwork. Just to be safe I used the USPS delivery confirmation service.

In light of all my angsty, stressing I decided to book myself a little trip with my friend Felicia....to Brighton, England! I'm excited to finally make it there, as I have been saying I would forever. Awesome beach, cute rugby players, fried boardwalk food and a bar/club in our hostel. Can't argue with that.

To Do/Intinerary

• Sometime next week: hand in my notice at work and try not to dance out of the building, smack papers out of anyone's hand or say "mail your own damn package, fools"

• End of July- Get myself some new teaching clothes and stop looking like a gutter slore

• Next week: pre-box my winter clothes so my mom can mail them over before it gets cold

• August 1st: Contact my credit card companies and let them know I'm outtie

• August: Set up an online account for my student loans

• August 7th- Fly to Edinburgh to meet up with Felicia

• August 10th- Off to Brighton

• August 12th-Back to Edinburgh for some general shenans and f**kery at the globe

*somewhere in here I will work on getting back into teacher mode :)

• August 19th- Head to Seoul for orientation and try to fight the horrendous jetlag!

My year in Korea is quickly approaching and I cannot wait for my teaching adventures to begin.