As I Suspected

The Bang Bang Club was fantastic. I was slightly romanced by the fact that I was watching it beside the ocean on a warm summer evening, against a back drop of city lights and silence, but the scenery didn't outshine the movie.

About 2,000 people attended, and since the venue seats 4,000, Stacy and I had our choice of great seats when we arrived just a few minutes before the film began. We were seated 10 rows behind the film's director, Steven Silver, who addressed the audience before the screening. He spoke candidly about how the film was a personally significant project, as he lived in South Africa for a portion of the Apartheid, and witnessed many of the horrors depicted in the film. Though the movie was a graphic at times (as it had to be) I definitely recommend seeing it.

PIFF was a nice break from my usual Wednesday routine; Wednesday is my toughest day of the week (I teach 10 classes straight, have weekly class plans due, and attend a teacher's meeting at night) so I usually go straight home to crash afterward. Luckily tonight's meeting was brief, giving Stacy and I time to grab some quick bibimbap en route to the theatre.

Bibimbap differs from gimbap (a.k.a. the Korean sushi-like roll I previously mentioned) as it's served in a burning hot stone bowl, with loads of veggies and meat layered atop a bed of cooked rice hiding at the bottom. It's accompanied by a side of kimchi, cool kimchi soup, pickled pumpkin, and cold barley tea, for a grand total of $4 - now that's a value meal!

The trick with bibimbap is to quickly stir your dish upon arrival to prevent the rice from burning to the bottom. Periodic stirring throughout your meal, to keep the food evenly heated, is a good idea too. Despite several warnings, tonight I ordered the spiciest dish on the menu - the BBQ chicken. My friends here must be wimps because I didn't find it overwhelming it all. It was delish! Definitely one of my new edible favourites.

Anyway, it's now past 1am here so I must sleep. Catchya on the flip side...