Learning As I Go...

What I have learned 2 months in:

1. There are no trash cans..... ANYWHERE. You made the mess, you dispose of it in your own way. Thus Korea has trash everywhere. 

2. No forks. Using a fork is looked at as "childish". -- You should see my sick skills at chopsticks though!

3. The hospital's used needle container... Wide open, no lid, waiting for your toddler to just stick their hand right on in there. 

4. People are drunk and on the streets 7 days a week and they will pass out where ever they feel it it. 
For proof check out: http://blackoutkorea.blogspot.kr/

5. The crazy drivers!! Stop signs/lights/blinkers are just advisory, you really don't have to abide by them. Already, I have not driven for over two months and I can't say that I am missing after seeing all the accidents over here! 

6. Korean showers have no doors separating the shower from the sink/stool. The whole bathroom is essentially the shower, FINALLY I am able to pee in the shower!! ... Just kidding.... Get it? ; )

7. We play charades EVERY DAY, 10 TIMES A DAY! When someone doesn't understand Scott and I will try to act it out. We look like idiots 100% of the time, but I would say it has a success rate of about 70%

8. Two words: Metric. System. UGH! 

9. One word: Celsius. DOUBLE UGH!!

10. Woman urinals. No joke. A urinal built into the floor (which you are not allowed to flush your toilet paper down). 

11. Soap on a stick. They don't use liquid soap in bathrooms, just bar soap on a metal rod.I feel dirtier after using it. 

12. Taxi cabs are super cheap! And they don't charge by distance, they charge by electricity used because they are hybrids. = ) 

13. HomePlus = Korean Walmart. Everyone loves HomePlus... Including Scott and I. 

14. All the women wear high heels all the time! And they wear them like champs! We went hiking the other day and I would say 1/10 women we wearing high heels. = |

15. I about pooped the first time I had one of my students whip out an X-Acto knife in class to sharpen there pencil. NEVER in the US public school system would that happen! 

16. The Korean language does not have the sound or letter 'V', 'F', or 'L'. The odd replacement letter that they give to these letters. Fishing = "pishing", Office = "oppice", Over = "Ober" Fall = "Parrr". We're working on it! 

17. I LOVE the word "service". When someone says, "service" it means you are getting something for "free". At a restaurant you may get a Pepsi for "service" or better yet.... SOJU!

18. SOJU! It is similar to vodka but it doesn't make you want to die while drinking, however, it does still make you want to die the day after drinking it. 

19. More strip clubs than Vegas over here! Scott and I almost took our Co-Teacher to a bar called "Banana Bar" thinking it was just a fun bar, but she informed us it was a strip club.... WHOOPS! 

20. Advertisement, Korean style. Certain big chain electronic shops will hire girls, dressed up like school girls, to dance in front of their store as a promotion. It grosses me out. 

21. It is bad to write people's names in red. I wrote one of my student's names in red marker on the board and he informed me that he does not like to have his name written in red. When I asked him, "Why?" he explained that before computers, the registry office would write your date of birth in black and your death in red. It is bad luck to write Korean's name in red. My bad.

22. I get stared at, A LOT. The odd thing is, it is mainly by babies and small children. I remember in sociology we were taught that children aren't born with the idea of race rather that society instills it in them.... but I am pretty sure that is NOT true. 

23. So women wear high heels all the time, but they also are also dressed up like they live in Manhattan. I feel like a slob over here. Korean women dress impeccably. BUT Korean people also feel less remorse on spending large sums of money on impulse buys. In the US, only 20% of people say they DO NOT feel bad after spending on large ticket items, while in Korea nearly 80% of people DO NOT feel bad after spending on large ticket items. BIG difference! 

24. Street food. Scott has found his home, literally! Corn dogs, Bimbimbop, potato on a stick, meat on a stick, spicy chicken are all available from street vendors and are super cheap. (I eat spicy chicken and it is only 2,000 Won = 1.70USD!! Scott usually eats corn dogs. A double breaded corn dog is usually 2,000 Won as well, he is in heaven!) 

25. I finally figured out the WON system of money.There are four bills: 1,000; 5,000; 10,000 and 50,000. And before I would hand people 10,000 instead of 1,000 or a 5,000 instead of a 50,000 until I found out that their money goes in increasing size for increased amount. = ) Finally, I don't feel like a silly American girl when giving them my hard earned Korean Won! 

I would like to say that in my two months I haven't experienced culture shock, but in some ways I have. It is difficult, by any standards, to be plopped in the middle of a country that speaks a language all of it's own that you are not privy to. But, in all honesty, I think I am doing pretty well for only being over here two month. = ) 


Much love to all!

-C