Mingling with Korean friends

Whereas some of my classmates from an ELS school have no kids and got plenty of their own free time, many others are a mom of either preschooler or elementary school children and having a hectic day. They usually go back home straight after the class, pick their kids up and stay with them all in the afternoon. Besides, play dates and home works make their day more strenuous.

Nevertheless, they enjoy, once in a while, their limited time between the ESL class and a pickup time only with their adult friends and try to make the most of it.
One of my Korean classmates, who is also a mom of two, invited me over the other day. It was a lunch gathering of her Korean friends, so all five ladies excluding me were Korean.

With a great amount of Korean style side dishes, she prepared "Shabu-shabu" which was a Japanese style hot pot with thinly sliced beef and vegetables. It surprised me a lot. They eat a typical Japanese hot pot just like we do without any taste of spicy "hot".
Even though I was aware the Shabu-shabu was popular in Korea, I did not expect they cook it. Moreover, she offered me two kinds of dipping sauces, "Goma-dare(Sesame sauce)" and "Ponzu". Nothing was different from our style. Good grief!

As soon as we ate it up and enjoyed a dessert from COSTCO, they were dispersed to puck up their children.
I, on the other hand, directed to a house of one of my Japanese friend who also invited me for a tea break. I'm also having a hectic day every now and then ;)