Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate!!

This friday we spent a night out with our friend, Paul, in the downtown area of Sin Jeju. It was his 30th birthday and his girlfriend threw him a surprise party (after dinner) at "The Bar", a foreigner bar downtown. One of his friend's own the bar so it consistents of mostly all westerners. It was a fun night and keith and I were happy to finally be able to sleep in very late on Saturday.

After getting lots of rest, we woke up and took a little adventure to the Chocolate Museum on Jeju Island. It's on the far southern west side of the island. We found it a challenge to get to since it is pretty seclusive. There was a bus that we took, but the bus driver dropped us off and tried to help explain how to catch a different bus closer to the museum but it just didn't work out...the next bus driver told us it wasn't the right bus to take. So we tried our hardest to look for a cab in the area. We weren't having any luck and it was pretty chilly and windy out, so I was very appreciative when these sweet Korean men who were watching us from a business down the street came to our rescue. They gave us some hot delicious coffee and called a cab for us. We cabbed it to the choco museum and were then on our way to deliciousness.

The museum had this funny shape and look to the building. It looked like a secretive factory made of chocolate brick. They served us coffee when we bought our tickets and then we went inside to explore. There were many display cases and posters set up introducing the process of making chocolate, showing us real cocoa beans, the tools and machines that have been used, the many different kinds of chocolate, various molds, etc. We also learned about myths and the truths of the nutrition of chocolate. Chocolate, as long as it is pure cocoa, or regular chocolate, actually has many benefits. It doesn't have much sugar so it does not give you cavities (like rock hard candy can), it is not high in caffeine, and actually is high in stearic acid...a unique saturated fat found in milk chocolate that doesn't raise cholesterol levels the same way that other types do, but has been shown to increase HDL (the good cholesterol levels). Chocolate is also a good source of magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, and also has polyphenols...an antioxidant also found in tea and red wine, which can help lower the risk of coronary disease. Dark chocolate, as you probably know, is also very high in antioxidants and probably the most healthy chocolate you can eat. It can help lower blood pressure and improve insulin resistance. I also learned that chocolate does not cause acne or headaches, or even cause weight gain. THIS IS A MYTH! As long as you take care of your health by eating a well-balanced diet and continue to exercise, chocolate can be great for you!! (just don't be a piggy and eat too much like we did when we were there!) :) After learning about chocolate, we went and saw many Koreans working hard in the chocolate factory. They were making all types of chocolate and it reminded me of the chocolate factory and Willy Wonka. :) They made our mouths water and it was conveniently right next to the gift shop where all the chocolate was sold...how ironic?? Keith and I were able to try a free sample of real cocoa chocolate fudge. It didn't have any sugar in it but was still soo rich and delicious.

After admiring the many boxes of assorted (and very expensive) home-made real chocolate, we chose two to share. We bought the fudge that we had sampled and also a box of white chocolate mixed with the popular jeju cactus that we love so much here on the island. We snacked on both types of chocolate and relaxed on some benches then continued throughout the museum. They had a poster that showed the amount of chocolate production in each country, as well as the amount sold each year in each country. The US actually sold the most by far, with some European countries, like Belgium and Germany, and also Argentina and Brazil following. Asia was fairly low, but produced the most of all the countries, along with some islands that grow the cocoa bean. It was funny because as we were looking at this information and concentrating on reading, Koreans kept walking by us and jumping and laughing because we startled them. They kept thinking we were mannequins because we were standing far back against this wall! hehehe :) There was also a chocolate theater that had a movie playing with the history and other interesting things about chocolate.

Then everything else in the museum was very random. There were all these cases with miniature toys, animals, Disney characters, stuffed animals, etc. There was also a Christmas room with a Christmas tree, a piano, a fireplace, and a place to sit and probably drink hot chocolate (but didn't seem like the bar in there was open). Keith and I sat down and played heart and soul for the Koreans that were passing by. :) This was the end of the tour, which was in good timing, since it was almost 5 and would be closing soon. We then headed out and tried to find a bus or cab. However, we could not so the manager of the chocolate museum (literally this is what he told us his name was since in korea this is their title and appropriate to say since we do not know eachother)drove us in his fancy car down the street where he dropped us off and told us to point our hand down and out towards the street when the bus passes by in a few minutes. Well, lucky enough for us, this worked and the bus came in only about 5 minutes and took us all the way back to Sin Jeju's bus terminal.

After getting back we went to the movie theatre (first time! ya!), ate some sandwiches and talked before seeing the movie 2012...great movie by the way!! Loved it! (It's about the prediction of the world coming to an end because of the planets lining up with the earth during this year, causing destruction and shifting of Earth). While we were waiting Keith saw a student he has at school (this seems to happen all the time!) who came up excitedly to say hi, which led to a long conversation between Keith and his student' mother. It's always nice to meet the parents of your students. However, my students are older and usually don't tell me until class that they saw me out. I think they are more shy and usually not with their parents either.

This Sunday we went to a Christian church for the first time. Keith's co-teacher, who played cello in the orchestra there, invited us. It was a great experience...we were given a gift as we walked in (some type of grape oil that was wrapped up in a bag for us), the minister had us stand, along with the other newcomers, to welcome us, and the service and music were great and similar to back at home. They even gave us headphones for a korean to translate everything for us in English! It was so thoughtful of them. After the service, Keith's co-teacher, along with another person in charge at the church, who was very funny and kind, showed us all around and sat and ate a free lunch and coffee with us. There is a cute little coffee house (which keith and I plan on having coffee and chatting each week now after church), and also a small museum room in the church. The museum room displays all these room decorations (lamps, tables, tea set, jewelry boxes, paintings, photography, etc.) that are all made out of the popular jeju paper they have here. It was a great time! The rest of the weekend consisted of grocery shopping and last minute preparing for the week/ relaxing at the apartment.