Firsts in Korea

Song of the Moment: "Forever My Friend" - Ray LaMontagne

I've decided that I will dedicate part of each post to something Koreans do that is unusual and unheard of in America.

#1 The first is that couples dress alike. When I say alike I don't just mean they wear the same color or style. I mean they dress identical from head to toe. There are entire stores that are dedicated to this unusual trend. This would never happen in America.

My first day in Korea was definately an experience I won't soon forget. One of my supervisors took me to the corner mart where all I wanted was water. Their water comes in 2 liter form. Solid. In America that 2 liter bottle of water would cost $3 or more. In Pohang it cost less than $1. I can live with that. After the mart experience she took me back to my apartment where she made me my first Korean meal. Kimchi. I didn't hate it...but i sure didn't love it. It's rice, cabbage, a sort of red paste and tons of spice. Apparantly that is one of the staples in my school's lunch menu. Looks like i'm going to have to make my peace with Kimchi. mmmm Kimchi.

After she left I had every intent of crawling under the covers and going back to sleep. My new friend Frances from my school had other ideas. We met up with 6 of her friends and took a bus to Gyeongju to go off roading on ATVs. Yup. I drove an ATV around. Who would have thought?! We had a blast and it is something I will definately do again soon! I am so glad that I have met other foreigners here already and am building connections. Before I came here I was worried that I wouldn't meet anyone or experience anything..but here in Pohang the teaching community is very tight knit and hang out throughout the week and every weekend. They say that Pohang has the big city look but the small town feel. So far it's true and i'm loving every second of it.