Cordon Bleu Christianity and Seoul by river

Earlier in the day on Monday, I met a Korean lady who works upstairs as a chef and French interpreter in the Cordon Bleu Academy which occupies the sixth and seventh floors of our building. Her French was heavily accented but a damn sight better than the usual mangled French I hear in Korea. It turns out she's also the owner of a cafe/restaurant I pass every day on my way to Smoo campus: Les Flots d'Amour (Streams of Love).

The lady's a diehard Christian, and her cafe doubles as a prayer meeting hall once a month, when a mini-service in French takes place there. "Are you a Christian?" she asked me. I said I was. "Then you should come. A lot of French teachers from various universities show up there." I politely thanked her, but readers of this blog know there's very little likelihood I'll be wandering over for a prayer meeting. Just ain't my style.

I met the folks in the evening and we did the Han River Cruise, a W9,000-per-person, one-hour excursion on the Han. The night was cool and a bit windy; I spent part of the time inside the boat. We did the unthinkable and took a black taxi from Chamshil to Itaewon. A short ride cost us about $13. Wallet rape. Unbelievable. Dinner was at a Korean restaurant in Itaewon, and then I escorted my family back to the base.

Ah, yes-- how could I forget: earlier in the day, my students expressed severe disappointment that my brother David never showed up to class. Quite a few of them had wanted to meet the "cute brother" I'd been talking about. Perhaps next year, ladies: David's on his way back to the States as of Wednesday morning, Korea time.


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