Experiences Abroad: List

I have been here a little over two weeks now. Since being here I have come across a few things that I need to do in order to make it easier on myself. What follows is that list along with explanations which will give a little insight into Korea:

1. Buy an umbrella

Since I am from the desert of Arizona I never did own an umbrella. Sure there is a monsoon season but it seems like most umbrellas in Arizona are used for protection against the sun. Here in South Korea there is a different story. My first week and a half it seemed to rain every other day. Plus when it rains here it is more than just a little bit of precipitation but instead can rain hard and for the entire day. One of the students did give me his umbrella one day when it was raining but come to find out he gave it to me because it was a little broken (any wind and it would turn inside out). Luckily starting this past weekend the weather has been nice with no rain, but of course the rainy season isn't supposed to start for a little while longer.

2. Find out where to buy a trash bag

Okay that doesn't seem that complicated, correct. Well in my city of Boryeong there are special bags that need to be used. I was told by some of my co-workers that I can find these bags near the checkout line at a grocery store. I obviously have been in a couple of grocery stores in order to get food and other items but have yet to find the bags. If my Korean was better (see next item on list) then it would be pretty easy to track down a garbage bag but that isn't the case. So I am still in search of finding a garbage bag.

3. Keep learning Korean

This does seem simple enough since I am living in Korea. It is true that each day I do pick up different words without really studying. In my city though it is small enough where English isn't known and for any conversation or for that matter anything to happen, Korean needs to be spoken. (So it is a good thing “sign language” and body gestures for the most part can be understood) This is what I did want when looking at where to live but now I need to start studying. Last week I was trying to sign up for this free thing online where it is language courses and language exchange with just about any language, but the sign up wasn't accepting me. I did figure out how to do it and so now I need to start working on learning Korean.

4. Learn how to use chopsticks

So in order to eat at any restaurant or anywhere for that matter a person needs to know how to use chopsticks. Before coming to Korea I had never really used chopsticks so now I need to learn. The nutrition teacher (lunch lady) here at school gave me a fork as a gift the first week I was here. I kind of laughed because I said I am going to learn how to use chopsticks. Then my head boss saw me one day and told me to come to his office after eating (thought I was in trouble already). Instead he gave me a gift of some learner chopsticks. They are pretty useful and I am starting to get the hang of it. Last night for dinner I ended up using chopstick and eventually fork when I was eating slower than everyone else.

5. Take pictures

Last thing on this list is to take pictures. Okay why would I add this to a list? I will be here for a year so I do have plenty of time to take a lot of pictures, which is true; however, the scenery here changes rapidly and it won’t be another year to see it like that again. What I mean by this is one day there is flowers on the trees and then the next day there is less and less. Most of my life thus far has been in Arizona where scenery doesn't change that rapidly and someone would have time to take many pictures. Well here where there is going to be four distinct seasons and so some things go away a lot quicker. It still is spring here but as an example the cherry blossoms are pretty much gone. When I did get here there were some but it was the end of cherry blossom season and it won’t be till next March or April until they bloom again. Pretty crazy how it happens that quickly. Below are some pictures of some of the scenery and my town.

So that is a list that I should keep working at in order to make life easier in Korea. The reason I came to Korea is to teach English at a High School. I have been doing that since the first day I have arrived in Korea, and so I eventually will talk about school and various things. Right now though I am still getting used to it and actually right now it is midterms so this whole week I am not teaching. So technically I have only taught two lessons to the students. Since it is midterms it is half days for students, and so yesterday on Monday, the faculty, we went on a field trip. I will describe this field trip where we hiked a mountain in the next post. It was a fun and interesting trip, but for now this will be it. Here is some pictures like I mentioned earlier and I will keep taking more.