Super long first entry! Read at your own risk!

Well, after many promises to family and friends back home I am FINALLY writing a blog.

I decided back in Canada not to get a computer because I was worried I'd spend too much time in my apartment if I had one. So right now I am sitting in a pc bang (bang=room) drinking sunkist 'muskat' that has real grapes in the can!

I've been in South Korea for a week and a half now and it's completely impossible to summerize my time here so far. When EVERYTHING in your life is totally different it's hard to write it all down in one entry!


The weirdest things for me in South Korea so far are:

-Being sort of a semi-celebrity. I've HEARD about this, but it's hard to imagine when we don't have an equivalent in Canada. In South Korea, if you are not Korean you can NEVER be anonymous. I suppose this makes sense as Korea has the highest concentration of one race in one country. Little kids will stare, tug at their parents hands to get them to look at you, run after you yelling 'big feet! big feet!' (well this has happened to me...I'm not sure about anyone else though:) say 'hello' in English OVER and OVER again, and (most annoyingly, or adorably depending on the kid) try to speak English (this usually consists of them making lalaalalaellel sounds at you). Men our age will come up to you and tell you you're beautiful/handsome depending on your gender. It's not meant as a come on, it's just something they do. One of my friends had a Korean male serenade her with 'You are so Beautiful...to me'.

-The driving!!! Again this is something I'd HEARD about, but thought it MUST be an exaggeration. Nope. I was very. very. wrong. Korea has the second highest mortality rate due to traffic accidents in the world. I am surprised they are not first, and while I don't know which country is, I hope I never go there! For example, during my training week in Gwangju we took a cab that BARRELED down the left side of the street (they drive on the right here) pull up in FRONT of cars stopped at a red light, and proceed through the red light. Red lights are considered optional by many many drivers, yet they will NOT turn left on a GREEN light unless they have the protective arrow, no matter what! And if you're a pedestrian?? Just understand that crosswalks are meaningless, and even the sidewalk is unsafe as people driving scooters often ride on the sidewalk.



* I seriously recommend anyone who wants to teach in the province of jeollanamdo consider going through Canadian Connection. It's the only place I've heard of that offers an orientation, which is very helpful for meeting people (foreigners mostly) througout the province