Blogs from Taejon, South Korea, Asia - page 6

Today was one of those days that just puts a smile on your face. Before my day even began, I was proud of myself for having made a commitment and sticking to it. On Friday, I told one of the new Korean teachers, Michel, that I would attend her church this Sunday. Despite the distance from my apartment, I choose to attend Michelle’s church because I have been wanting to attend a service, this one has an English session and she and I have started to form a friendship that I believe may be an important part of my year in Korea. However, Friday night after work, I still went out for the third time in four days, and in true Korean style, did not get back to my apartment until 4 in the morning on ... read more

Traffic intersections. Here, even on the major streets, the traffic lights are on a four-way stop system. So at a four-way intersection, only one side of traffic gets to go at a time. As a walking pedestrian, this is very annoying, because it takes quite a while until you are allowed to cross the intersection. Cars. Unlike in the U.S., where it is socially unacceptable to be seen driving any American made vehicles, almost all personal Korean transportation is manufactured in the country. Everywhere you go, you may come close to getting run over by either a Hyundai or a Kia. Facebook may just be worth its 4+ billion dollar value...all of the Korean teachers that I am becoming friends with immediately ask me if I use facebook and add me as a friend. The Canadians ... read more

Politics. It's so true and unfortunate that you can never escape the politics and bureaucracy in any faucet of life. They are inherently associated with any occupation. I left the States in part because I needed a break from the corporate world. However, even a week into teaching, the political and business sides of things are showing through crystal clear. The owners are essentially running a business, not a school. Since it's a private institution created solely for teaching English and there are thousands of other hakwons that the kids can attend (competition in this industry is high), part of our jobs as teachers is really focused on ensuring the parents are happy - as they are the paying customer. With this in mind, every day at 3:00 pm, myself, two teachers who are part of ... read more

Here are more of my observations from the past week: Korean men are much more metrosexual than American men. They will hold arms while walking down the street, many of them get their hair permed, and the are very conscious of their attire. It is also typical that they will carry their girlfriends' purses while out in public. Koreans in general are very stylish. It is interesting to see the unique and almost European fashion sense of the Koreans. Although designer clothes are more expensive here, there are a lot of very good knock-offs and most clothing in general is very trendy - minus the labels. Skinny jeans are common and loose fitting chaffon blouses that fall just above the knee compliment the look. Koreans are also very good at layering their outfits. I do think ... read more

I met a lot of new people this week - all teachers. Many are from the United States, some are from Canada, and there were a couple of people from the UK and New Zealand. Due to illness from all of the traveling and changes in eating habits, as well as taking care of getting settled in fully (things like my medical exam and buying stuff for the apt.), I didn't go out and experience the night life until last night. The initial excitement of being here, has already worn off a little bit as I get into my routine. In terms of daily living - it is difficult. More difficult than I anticipated before leaving and during the first two days of my arrival. More and more I am noticing the reactions that I get ... read more