Cycle 4 - Item 145

30 (Thu) May 2013

TGV

1.5

at Seoninjae

(Ajou University School of Medicine Student Cafeteria)

-Woncheon, Yeongtong, Suwon, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

I'm floored by the realization, coming just now as I write this post, that tonight was the first time in over a year and a half that I've eaten dinner at my school's cafeteria.  As I was eating, I could recall distinctly that the prior occasion had been at the end of the year, but would've sworn on the souls of my grandchildren that the year had been 2012 (see 2.343 The Final Cafeteria Dinner of 2011).  A few days ago, experiencing exactly the same kind of thing at a neighborhood restaurant, I compared my growing desensitization to the passage of time to the sensationlessness of riding the TGV (see 4.140 The VIP Cut).  Scary.

Coincidentally, ironically, or maybe it's just the kitchen's limited repertoire, the meal was essentially the same as it was before, both in quality and composition: kimchi sundubu soup + steamed rice + soy-chili braised mackerel and radish + radish kimchi + broccoli & artificial crab salad + bean sprout namul.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)