Caffe Bene.

The new schedule allows more time at night to go out to eat or hang out with friends for a bit. This is something we didn't have the chance to do before because we didn't leave work until 10pm. By then, many places were closed down, so we were very limited in what we could do. Last night, Amanda and I took advantage of our time at night, and we decided to go out to eat.

We got off work at 7:30pm, and took a taxi to Suwon Station. We went to a restaurant to have a late dinner. It was a restaurant that Amanda introduced me to about a month ago. You seat yourself, and then they cook the food in front of you. All the food options are stir-frys, but you choose the ingredients and the level of spice. Because I was there, Amanda and I chose a less-spicy option. :) They brought out chicken, rice, and veggies, and cooked it in front of us. It's one of the few dishes in Korea that you eat with a spoon. It was just as delicious as the first time I had it! When we finished dinner, we decided to go for coffee. It snowed again yesterday, so we were completely frozen. Coffee sounded perfect.

We left the restaurant and walked to the corner coffee shop. It was called "Caffe Bene." It's a coffee chain here in Korea, and it's by far the best coffee!! It's inexpensive compared to other places here, and it's always very fresh. I would definitely consider myself a coffee snob, and this coffee is fantastic. We both ordered coffees and sat in the coffee shop and talked. It was a really nice evening and very relaxing. After a long first day of Intensives, this is exactly the wind-down that I needed. We de-briefed about our day, talked about our new classes, and both agreed that we were happy for a 3-day week.

When we finished up, Amanda headed home, and I went to Johnny's for a bit to hang out. This new schedule is really hard to get used to, but it's nice having evenings open. Tonight, Amanda and I are going to meet up with our new friends we met about a month ago. They are two girls, Sarah and Melea (Muh-lee-uh), who came over here from Canada to teach together. Their academy is across the street from ours, and we met them in a restaurant one day. When the four of us are together, I'm completely outnumbered because Amanda is Canadian as well. :) The girls are really sweet, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them more.