1. Eating PORK STOMACH out of an ASHTRAY.... The ashtray was sitting on the table like a plate (which in Korea, you usually don't get your own personal plate, so that should have been a clue!) and I used as such. WHOOPS!
2. Knowing that our ONLY friends in Geoje (Ko-Jay) are my director, his wife and their seven year old daughter..... We REALLY need local friends!
3. Finding a cockroach in our apartment and attempting to make a joke out of the awkward situation, only to find out, you don't joke about cockroaches.
4. Telling everyone "hello" instead of "thank you" for the first two days..... I need to pick up more Korea, FAST!
5. Beginning stages of the Outsider Complex are setting in. I am constantly being starred at, honked at or admired. Even had a co-teacher tell me that I am "hot" and his wife, well, is not. Weird!
6. That awkward moment when someone expects you to know Korea to answer their question and you just give them that blank stare.... followed by, "English?"
7. Eating things with eyes..... I don't want to, but I do.
8. Shooting a piece of meat at my director's wife while trying to maneuver my chopsticks..... They really aren't kidding, I have not seen a fork!
9. Giggling has become second nature if I don't understand..... Then the realization that the giggling reaction is universal. People are "laughing" all the time when I speak over here!
10. Lastly, finding coins in our doorway and believing that it was some kind of "Korean superstition", and leaving them there....... Only to find out that someone just left us some old, fake money.
Laughing at myself through this all has made it a lot easier to assimilate myself into their culture. I may not know it all right now. or even a year from now, but at least I am giving it everything I have to make this the best it can be!
Hope you were able to laugh as well,
-C
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