Eat Now, Diet Later

Uncharacteristically up and mobile reasonably early on a Sunday, I took myself to E-Mart to pick up a few things. E-Mart is a hypermarket chain which stocks all manner of things, including some western supplies that us stinking barbarians crave from time to time. All occidentals can be locked in reverie by the merest mention of decent bacon and proper cheese, when we can resist no longer the shelves of Emart, Home Plus and Costco take a very specific battering.

After spending a lot of time in Asia one thing that always strikes me right away is just how much...bigger everyone seems back at home. People are generally taller and broader of course, but I am sadly mostly talking about weight. Without wishing to point fingers or stigmatise tahose who tip the scales a little more than is healthy it's very noticeable that so many more people here in Korea fit the smaller size jeans. There are fat people here too, and perhaps more than there used to be, but rarely do you meet someone who would be better off buying two seats on an airplane. What makes this more striking though is the fact that the majority of people don't keep the weight off by starving themselves. I have never met a single Korean who doesn't enjoy food, and there is plenty of temptation all around. This photo is an example of one of the food court areas in the nearby E-mart, but you'll see this sort of thing in every single hypermarket and department store. And they are glorious. There is a word in German, futterneid, which defines the feeling where you and a friend order different dishes at a restaurant but the one your friend orders looks so much better than yours. Go to any Korean restaurant or food court, and I defy you to not be in a near-constant state of this with regards to your fellow diners. If I ever wanted to eat myself to death, I would do it here in a heartbeat.

J came back into town after a visit to her hometown area for surfing lessons, so we met up later to get some delicious 족발 (Jokbal, or pig trotter boiled or roasted and sliced) and 막걸리(Makgeoli, Korean traditional rice wine). Perfect night, and great to see her again after a few days away. It's funny how I really haven't been missing Seoul as much as I thought after not having set foot in there for just under a month. I am content with my lot at present :-)