11.11

Pepero is a cookie stick, dipped in chocolate.

It's modeled after Japanese Pocky.

It's delicious, and sometimes it's covered in crushed almonds.

November 11th is Korea's Pepero Day, reportedly because 11.11 looks like four sticks of Pepero, and was apparently created by a bunch of middle school girls (literally) in the '90s. I'm currently eating my way through an entire box in an evening, which is probably not a great idea, health wise, but dang, some darkish chocolate covering a somewhat salty breadstick-like cookie to compliment a glass of red wine? How exactly could I be expected to stop myself? Not to mention they'll just go stale if I don't eat them all, anyway. 11.11 is like Korea's Valentine's Day - people give Pepero and various little gifts and cards to their loved ones, and (lucky me) sometimes to their teachers.

Yum.



Oh, yeah, I just remembered. The box of Pepero I'm currently munching my way through was given to me not by a student, not by my employer, but by one of the guys at the pizza place I go to in my neighborhood. He totally soothed my jangled nerves after a middle-aged Korean guy tried to get me to eat dinner at his house while I was sitting waiting for a pizza on the stoop of the restaurant. Thanks, Pizza Guy!