I'm glad this collection of stereotypes kept you mildly amused. I think next, I'll try and tackle Korean "holidays" (Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day...). XD
Oh maaan...I cannot hold back the giant smirk as I read this and chuckles well up from deep within. Bwuahaha. Korea! How I miss it so =] I taught in Seoul for almost 2 years and the stories that I've accumulated are no less epic. Seems to be an every day thing, no? When I try to explain to family and friends back home, they just can't understand. Maybe I need to start blogging too? Glad that I stumbled on this little internet oasis for expats in Korea =] Enjoy your stay!
I won't lie, sometimes ever I lightly whack a kid upside the head. It's usually if they're sleeping/being generally obnoxious/etc. :) And you're totally right about the virtual lawlessness of the roads here! I have never seen a police car pull anyone over. Ever. And that stick-shifting-GPS-less cabby sounds epic. :) Whereabouts in Korea are you exactly?
True, true. You've hit the nail on the head on a lot of things. Koreans are definitely on the taller side in the realm of Asian populations. I'm 5'11" and there are kids at my middle school nearly as tall as I am. That said, on the first day, I could see over the heads of every kid except for one in the auditorium.
The kids, the kids.... I even joked around with people back at home that Korean students would behave because their parents beat them. I don't think either part of that statement is true. While teachers will sometimes whack a kid on the head, it's pretty gentle and the kids still misbehave.
The technology thing here is certainly interesting. My internet is still 6 times faster than it is at home, and is consistently fast (again, suck it Comcast for having flaky internet). Koreans are definitely ahead, but I think they're also a good demonstration on how far you can *practically* take certain technologies. The most badass taxi driver I had was one recently where he had a stick-shift, and no GPS!
Driving here is interesting, and it's given me some perspective as to why Asian drivers get such a bad rap at home. Here, the roads are nearly lawless in comparison to the roads in the states. There's no such thing as right-of-way and pretty much anything goes. Take that attitude over to the US and you could imagine exactly why they *appear* to be bad drivers - they're just following a different set of rules.
Work life - "dynamic Korea" at its finest. :)
I don't know if they turn red-- the super drunk Korean I see are usually girls... who are too busy stumbling in their boyfriends arms with SUPER high heels and their hair in their faces ;)
a lot of what you said goes for France too...especially the part about being a foreigner working with French people. I feel like 80% of the time I have no clue what's going on...and they let me know important details (like English classes for the WHOLE WEEK have been cancelled) after I've walked a kilometer and a half and taken a forty minute bus ride.
oh, but we have no technology here. at all. you can't find a printer to save your life (or print your super-important-must-be-printed train tickets). I made an appointment with a doctor, and the receptionist flipped through a notebook and marked my name and important details down in pencil...no computer in sight. weeeeird.
There are so many WTF moments in this entry, I can't even choose one to comment on. Julie IMed me the night before and asked me what kind of food you liked. I told her meat and cupcakes.
Jeal! Oh.
My kids just call me Shawty and tell me I'm a Paris Hilton-wannabe with baby doll shoes. Exact quotation.
Or I get, "MS. Z. YOU LOOK LIKE YOU BEEN CRYING. ARE YOU CRYING? MAN, YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING HERE."
Why aren't you thinking about education, again?
Sweet? Hmm. I'm not sure about that. It probably depends on what kind of food your friends prefer eating. A lot of "spicy" food is pretty sweet-- like Ddukboki, but you can get plenty of soups, meals, and street food that isn't. In fact, if you like things like Korean BBQ, you can throw whatever you want on the grill and leave the sweeter sauce to the side. I guess it's what you make of it.
As far as "good" coffee-- if you like strong, bold coffee, it's definitely harder to come by, but if you're persistent, you will find it. In general, standard tea and coffee here seems to actually have a rice-like after-taste (in my opinion, some people have compared it to some other flavors, but in the end, it all tastes like rice to me), but if you like Coffee Bean, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts, it all tastes pretty much the same. The only thing I can really comment on is the whipped cream is better, the milk is always whole, and the coffee isn't served as hot here.
But if you can find a small shop (which you'd have to try really hard not to find a small cafe or coffee shop, regardless of where you are, it seems to be), a good chunk of them make delicious coffee. My friend lives in the Sinnonhyeon neighborhood of Seoul and frequents a cute place called "Coffee Fly" which has some of the most bitchin' coffee. And at the place I refer to in this entry, "Bonita Coffee" in Daegu, I know for a fact they roast it themselves. :)
So if you're a coffee lover, like me, you'll be able to locate a decent cup o' Joe for sure. Order it "Americano" anywhere, including McDonalds, and you'll have a semi-decent cup of coffee [sure as hell beats 7-11 back home]. And if you're super lazy and just need a little taste of coffee, the hot cans of Maxwell House are in like every subway station. It's not good, but it's coffee. It just takes a little effort to find the really good stuff.
Sweet? Some of my friends in Korea say that everything is really sweet there compared to the states. I'm not sure if it's sweet compared to Starbucks, but could you provide some more insight on that? I heard that you kind of have to search for *good* coffee, which doesn't seem to be what you're saying, though I guess it depends on the locale.
Looking forward to probably having a coffee shop within a few blocks of my house. I sort of have it that way now (Berkeley, CA), but it's a tough walk since it's down a hill and around a few streets.
Very good!! I'm moving in February to go teach for EPIK, the public school version of what you're doing (as I'm sure you're aware!).
This kind of thing, photos included, is a great preview of what is to come, even if the structure is different. I'm used to teaching ~college-age students, so teaching children is going to be quite a bit different (and probably more fun in the end). Again, thank you for posting! I'm at http://trekkerdrew.blogspot.com/ if you want to tag along for my blog (other travel stuffs in there as well).
This has nothing to do with Korean coffee, but I'll tell you anways, haha. When Will and I were driving back to Ford City last week, there was a detour on the normal route. We were redirected through some lovely parts of East Liberty, Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood, and Highland Park. On the way, we passed that coffee shop that we saw on the Rick Sebak special. Tazza d'Oro, or something like that???? We never made it there. :(
I'm a 2009 Pitt grad who lived in Daegu, South Korea and taught English with ChungDahm April at the BeoMeo Campus. My students were between the Korean ages of 6/7 and 12/13 , and I was responsible for the reading and speaking portions of class.
Follow the adventures of my year-long stay in South Korea. I hope that my pre-departure and arrival entries help out anyone else who is considering taking a teaching position abroad! I hope that my in-Korea entries might help answer any questions those of you arriving may have. OR perhaps if you're already in Korea or planning to ... full info
HeartandSeoul
Katie Lang
I'm glad this collection of stereotypes kept you mildly amused. I think next, I'll try and tackle Korean "holidays" (Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day...). XD