This is where Fish come to Die

I am resisting the urge to post all my pictures of the Sokcho fish market on the Eastern side of Korea (That's the Sea of Japan/Korea Sea, for all y'all who are counting) But you guys! it was really cool. Misty rainy, and right on the water! baskets and aquariums and buckets all spilled over with water, one bucket to the next, and they were ALL filled with Fish!

You would literally look your meal in the eye, they'd pull it out of its container, throw it on the pavement, wack it on the head with a bat or a dull knife, throw it on a bucket, then fry it up all right in front of you!
Left to Right: William, Natasha, Me, Jessika (btw, all these girls are Seattlites, go figure!) We're eating a giant muscle is sweet gochuchung w/ onions. the meat was the perfect texture, not chewy or sandy like oysters or clams. not tough, either. MASHHIKETA!and you thought the Kyoto steak house was cool, where the chef fries up the meal in front of you. That's got nothin' on the fish market. the fish is as fresh as you can get it, Jinsu Park came up to me with a plate full of raw fish and offered me some. I asked, what is it..."I don't know english name...black fish..." at least here he can actually POINT at what i'm eating. eerie.

I love being in Korea on days like this. As a foreigner, I am distant from my familiar place--although I have to say, Korea is far more familiar these days, the longer I am here--but still, you know that you have an expiration date. In a country the size on Indiana, I have traveled to more "famous" historical sites, covered more distance spent more time seeing stuff, than I ever did in Washington, Portland, California, Idaho, and Montana combined! I mean, really? I push myself to get out, see things, do stuff while I still can, I want my cultural experiences! This year in Korea, I have seen and done things I never imagined I would do, eaten food, tried new things, and felt more free to want to do things than I ever did back home. I ate a giant muscle, for goodness sakes! I've sung "Under the Sea" in front of many large groups of people, and I (on a daily basis) make a fool of myself for the sake of the children. (okay, that last one's not so different from how I always was, but still) I have no regrets. what's done is done, and I've done it. and I don't regret a second. how can I? it's part of my history now.

Now is lunchtime. I hope all is well at home, family and friends. be well and go out, get a cultural experiential experience at home, you have plenty of time, but there's so much to see! go out and DO IT! quickly, as often as you can! you never know when life'll get to busy for what you want.

someone had made a great catch! giant Ocuopi right at the harbor. their heads were heaving in and out of the shallow water. they looked like brains, or the indside of the Dalek casing, from Doctor WHO! the largest one was all cut up, his legs in different buckets. all around. this is not the largest one. The monk fish is the scariest fish I've ever seen up close. Do you remember that part in Finding Nemo, where Dorey & Nemo's Father are in the darkest part of the sea? and a fish comes up to try to eat them, the one with the light on its head? this was scarier. I was taking its picture and I swear it moved its head in that scary jerky motion that some ghosts do in Asian ghost films.