Culture Shock: A great thing about South Korea is that when I tried to think of ways to describe my culture shock is was mostly positive.
1. Their money system is simple. Every price marked is the price you pay at the register. The tax must be included in the marked price but it is usually a whole number (example W20000 or W4500). It makes using your change easy and I have stayed relatively unconfused when purchasing items for most of the stay so far. It also makes splitting the dinner check very easy!
2. There is no tipping! And the service is wonderful. In restaurants they come to your table when you call their attention or if you are doing something wrong with your food...otherwise they really don't bother you.
3. They are very, very nice. Not only the Koreans who are involved in this program but almost everyone we meet is helpful, humorous, and kind. We have experienced people coming up to us on the street when it looks like we are lost or confused asking, "Is there something I can help you with?" It is certainly the friendliest city I have ever been to.
4. The city, while it has its smellier areas, is generally very clean. The subway is clean, the streets are clean, etc. The people of Seoul must be very proud of their city judging the way in which they take care not to trash it.
5. They know how to handle crowds. Anywhere we have been that has had crowds, and that has been a lot of places, there is no standing in line. You take a number and then sit down in a seat. In stores, there are many, many people who work there who will help you and direct you. There are many check out lines and the check out clerks work fast but friendly. This is a crowded city and it is nice to see how the people of Seoul have worked out solutions to overcome long lines. This is probably one of the reasons Koreans are so nice here...there are aggravation avoidance policies.
6. Now, the only things I have gripes about so far...one, the HEAT. I sweat from the time I leave our dorm until the time I come home to take my second shower of the day. It is supposed to be autumn here now! Everyone who lives here says that this sort of heat is not typical during this time of year. Thankfully, this gripe will clear itself up soon, I hope! The second thing is there is really no "stay to the right" frame of mind when on the sidewalks, subways, etc. It is kind of a free for all, a give and take, and someone has to concede to the other person. A little irritating for me who likes those sort of rules, but eh, I can get over it. The last gripe is the dorm itself. The room has very poor ventilation and the air conditioner works in Celsius degrees. It took a while to get the temperature correct but it is still very humid. The bathroom lacks the most ventilation and there is mold growing...probably not very healthy. But it's only three months so we should be fine.
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| Changdeok Palace: the Throne Hall |
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| Buddhist Ceremony in the Kaewoon-Sa Temple |
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| Namsangol Traditional Korean Village |
This week was packed with "hurry up and wait" events. We had to do a lot of beurocratic annoyances like set up a bank account and go to Immigration to get an Alien Immigration Card (at which point they took our passports and we do not get them back until October 5th...yikes!...we did not know that). But we have seen a few of the amazing sites here as well. Two palaces, the Changgyeong & the Changdeok, a working temple near our dorm called Kaewoon-Sa which had a Buddhist "service" in progress, a traditional Korean village called Namsangol and a trip around the downtown area during the city bus tour. The food has been amazing...I would have a hard time deciding which food was the best. We have eaten a lot of traditional Korean food, shambu (mix of Japanese and Korean style), a pizza they served with honey which was to die for, a few sandwiches, street food consisting of waffles with honey, some cafe style food and yesterday we found a couple of Western style salads. We are certainly trying to get a lot in this week and the coming week as we think once school starts, we will be very busy.
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Bibimbap meal...popular with Western tourists.
Usually made of rice, veggies, maybe meat, and egg in a hot bowl. |
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| A Cobb salad sounded so good! I couldn't resist when I saw it. |
On the same day we went to our school we met with our assigned Korean buddies. There are between 5-10 Korea University undergraduates who have been assigned to each one of us. We met them in a slightly awkward way since none of us knew exactly what was going on. When Dr. Lee (our Korean coordinator) mentioned that we would be assigned a buddy we assumed she meant one, maybe two. Three of us Americans walked into a crowded auditorium style classroom and we told which group we were assigned to and then asked to introduce ourselves to the class. Afterwards we met up with our buddies who introduced themselves to us and immediately invited us to dinner or lunch. I told my new buddies I was a little confused and asked what was going on and one said, "We are here to support you while you are here." Aww. They were very sweet but it was a little overwhelming.
Afterwards, Bonnie and I went to the Seoul Global High School, an English speaking high school of excellent standards. Another completely overwhelming experience. Bonnie and I have the entire Social Studies department looking out for us during our stay and we met everyone. I was assigned to a teacher of economics and international economics and am concerned, still, that I will have to teach this subject because it is my weakest of the social studies subjects. But, Dr. Lee has assured me that it will be alright and, after a couple of weeks of observations, I can suggest what I would like to teach. After meeting the department we were rushed to a faculty meeting where we were greeted by the entire faculty and asked to come to the podium to introduce ourselves. They also gave us a flower as a gift. Very sweet. I believe the biggest challenge at the school will be how advanced the students are and how much harder I will have to work to find new and exciting ways in which to teach the students.
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| Our gift from the principal. |
We are off next week due to Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, so hopefully Bonnie and I can travel out of Seoul a bit. Dr. Lee has also invited us over to her apartment on Thursday to experience a traditional Korean Thanksgiving dinner with her. Again and again we are amazed at the kindness shown to us.
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| A traditional table setting for Chuseok I found on Wikipedia. |
