Where did all of our Handlers go??

Sorry for not writing much lately. I have been with out a computer at work, so I haven't had as much time as I normally have to sit and write!

So last night, Ed and I went out for dinner. We went to a tiny place near our house that is always busy. It was a usual sam gyup sal style place. That means that they bring you a plate of meat and you cook it yourself on the grill in front of you. Its a pretty novel, and uniquely Korean thing to do. And while Ed and I enjoy the food immensely, it always is a hassle for us. Here's why:

1. We never really know what we are doing.
2. Usually someone, the owner, comes over and cooks the meat for us. This is kind of funny because any small Korean child could cook the meat with ease, but not us! We end up burning the meat, making tons of smoke and ruining their grills.
3. We are at the mercy of our 'Handlers', other wise known as Koreans who take pity on us waygookins and do everything for us. The Handlers are sometimes a bit much to handle, but overall a joy to have around. I usually think when approached by a Restaurant Handler "You want to cook that for me? Sure, go ahead, I didn't want to try to do it myself anyways. You would do a much better job than I could conceive of doing, because after all, I'm a foreigner and have no clue."

Okay, so anyways Ed and are eating at this restaurant, barbecue style. At this point in our eating experiences, we have not been left to fend for our selves. A Handler usually comes over and takes over the cooking process. They tell us how to eat the stuff, smile a lot, and speak a lot of Korean to us. We smile back, and like small children do as we are told. So with this in mind, we order some shrimp. Now here in Korea, they don't let silly things like the head, legs, or shell go to waste. They eat the whole thing. Ed tried to eat everything, as he is more culturally willing than I am when it comes to food. But he couldn't do it. I didn't even attempt. I sat there in all my foreigner glory, picked the head off, de-shelled, and tried to de-vein (not easy with only chopsticks), and enjoyed some really good shrimp. Needless to say we made a mess.

Now usually the Handlers come over and tell us that we are eating it wrong. But at this place, they left us alone! It was unnerving because even though I was determined not to eat the shrimp like a Korean, I still felt that I needed a Korean to tell me what to do. We were burning the shit out of their grill, and they didn't come running. We were eating food wrong, and they didn't come running. Ed and I remarked several times how odd it was that they left us alone, especially when we clearly had no clue how to do things Korean style. It was like we were missing our left arm.

We were like kids driving for the first time with out an adult. We knew what to do, we just have never done it before with out adult (handler) supervision. It was overall, an empowering experience. We now know of one place in Korea where they don't care that we burn the food, the table, the grill, and make a mess. I think that we will most definitely go back there, willing that they let us in through the door again!