Sabbatical Day 77 (7.24.16) - Attempting to stay a vegetarian

It's almost been a month in Korea and I feel like it's been a very challenging month eating-wise. Prior to coming to Seoul, I mentally prepared myself to integrate meat fully back into my diet. I would take bites of meat here and there and tell myself that I'd continue to eat more upon my arrival in Seoul.

What happened was just the opposite. I've been trying really hard. The fact is, I don't prefer the flavor of meat in most dishes and I definitely can't handle the smell. There are Korean dishes that I remembered loving (Kalbi Tang, Solung Tang, Spicy Pork) that I can't bring myself to eat. I have to try particularly hard around James' family and tried to eat Solung Tang when they took us to a restaurant that specialized in it. I ended up eating just the rice and soup and giving the meat to James. I did try to eat a piece or two but felt terrible that I just couldn't finish the meat. 

Most good restaurants here specialize in a dish and have a very limited menu. There was one time that we were looking for a place to eat a late lunch and James found a tonkatsu place. Unfortunately when we got there, they only served tonkatsu and we had to leave because there was nothing for me to eat. 

We've also walked in and out of a bunch of restaurants that only serve dishes with meat. Poor James reads the menu to me and always asks the waiter/waitress if they have dishes without meat. We've received one of two responses "What about chicken?" or "You can't eat Korean food without meat". We've considered ordering dishes and asking them to take out the meat but quickly realized that it doesn't work that way and makes us frustrated of this mentality people here have. I've summed it up to that they think the way they currently do it is the best and believe that's how a dish it should be served. So why would you want to change that? I'm applying this mentality to food but I think it can be applied in other ways as well.

Some people may say "Well Steph, why don't you just eat meat and stop being difficult?" I'm not trying to be. But I need to defend myself. I love food and really look forward to my meals. Why eat something and waste calories on something I won't enjoy and will make me feel bad? It's great that other people enjoy it. But it doesn't work with my body. I get my nutrients and know I don't need to eat meat for the protein my body needs. 

My saving grace is that I eat seafood but I've been considering eliminating that as well. I do eat a lot of bi bim bap and buy vegetable side dishes from the market to eat with rice. I know I had it very easy in SF because there were so many veggie friendly places and just more options in general. It's just been a hard adjustment coming from there to here.