25 days in Korea

So, I have almost officially been in Korea for a month! It's kind of crazy to think that because it has not felt that long. I have met so many amazing people and have learned so much in 25 days of living in Korea. I have adjusted pretty well to all of the differences between Korea and the US. Here's some news about life around campus.

I love all of the Korean food (except for the hot chili paste). Koreans love soups, Korean style BBQ, and rice dishes with meat (usually pork) and a variety of vegetables. I enjoy eating Korean food and I have not really missed Western food (though I do eat pizza sometimes). I have had Chinese food a few times with my Chinese friends, which is very different from American Chinese food. It is really good, but my friends told me it is not like real Chinese food. I'm very excited for my trip China in January so that I can eat real Chinese food! All of my Chinese friends are very excited that I will visit China and they have started planning things for us to do.

I have seen a variety of Korean TV shows. Many of them are written for mothers and homemakers. Because of this "target audience," the shows usually talk about cooking or solving home problems like: protecting your kids from knocking a knife on the edge of a counter on themselves, keeping your family safe from running into sliding glass doors, and making sure your baby doesn't pick up something dangerous off the floor (all of these were half hour specials). There are some Korean dramas and game shows, but they are very few compared to these homemaker shows.

I have also seen a few Korean movies. My favorite movie that I have seen is called "Windstruck." It is about a policewoman who is in love with a teacher. They meet when she mistakes him for a purse thief. He decides to go on the night watch with her on the streets of Seoul. After that, it is this adorable love story. What is interesting about Korean movies is that there is never any kissing, rarely there is hugging. Instead, these movies focus on the friendship that is in a relationship. In Windstruck, the couple surprise each other at work, fix the girl's apartment, and travel to the mountains of Korea. I didn't understand any of the dialogue and the movie had its cheesy moments, but it had more depth than most of the movies in America. You could see that they really cared about each other. It is so different from American movies where if the couple doesn't kiss in the first ten minutes, they won't stay together. American movies can be so shallow, missing the point of a relationship. I have found that I really like Korean movies, even though I can't understand them. Luckily, I have many translators who enjoy watching movies with me.

I have also started my exchanges with the Korean students. Basically, I meet with twelve different Korean students over the course of a week. I meet with two students for an hour. The point of these exchanges is to help them improve their English conversation skills while learning about each person's culture. As the international student, we have to plan the subject we want to talk about and help the student with any questions they have about English. I decided to get to know my exchange partners this week and ask them if there is anything they would like to talk about in future exchanges. I had two exchanges today. The first meeting was with one girl. She was very sweet and spoke English very well. She is graduating this semester and hopes to work in Japan. The second meeting was with two girls. They were both my age and very nervous. It took them about five minutes after spotting me to come over since I didn't have a picture of them and they had a picture of me. They were very shy to speak English but after a while they opened up. By the end of the exchange, they were asking me when I could come and meet their friends outside of the exchange! I was very surprised by how much they enjoyed their first exchange after being so nervous. Tomorrow, I have three different exchanges. I am very excited to meet with the students. I am so glad that we have these exchanges because I can bring questions I have about Korean language and culture to my partners. I think I will learn more about Korea from my partners than in my classes.

My classes are going well. My language teachers are moving at a good pace for me. My other classes are interesting and the drumming class is a blast! There is not too much homework in my classes, which is so refreshing after my insane semester last year.

Tonight was the Wednesday night service at church. I absolutely adore all of the ladies at church. They are so sweet and remind me of church back home. The pastor is wonderful. He always has a smile on his face and enjoys discussing Korean culture with me. He also gave me and the other students that come to church a Korean Bible and English/Korean New Testament. The love that the church lavishes on us international students is unbelievable.

Tomorrow, my floor is having our weekly floor party/get together. We decided as a suite that we wanted to have time every week to get to know each other more and have fun. I think the plan this week is to play a game and watch a movie. All of the girls on my floor are awesome and so funny. We always have lots of laughs at our parties.

On Friday, I will be traveling to Seoul for Cheosuk. We will then travel to Busan for the week. I am very excited to see Busan because many of my Korean friends say it is the most beautiful city in Korea.