Getting to know S. Korea

We made it! 15 hours flying, 3 days orienting in Seul, 4 hours bus riding, and 2 hectic days of teaching led up to last weekend when we finally settled in to our new apartment and started our new lives in Busan, South Korea. Last Friday was Korea's foundation day, so we had a three day weekend to explore our new town. These are some of our first impressions:



1. Korean people are incredibly friendly.

They've helped us use the hot springs foot bath,
,

Girl Fight, an arcade test of strength, and the circulation stimulating foot torture path.





2. Food is unbelievably cheap and delicious. Paejeon = delicious

About $12 worth of sushi.







David, Duck, Brian, and I eat dinner with makulli (unfiltered rice wine, my favorite adult beverage so far) for about 19 USD. 3. Squat toilets look gross but can be fun, but you must squat facing the splash guard - this is confusing at first because some are oriented horizontally in a stall. Our apartments have western style toilets, but in our schools and older public restrooms, you squat.





4. Our students are so excited we're here that they really might explode. Hopefully we can get a video of this because I really don't think words can describe the level of love they feel for us. My kids want to know why my eyes are blue and my hair's "that color" and why we're zero when we're born in the US (here you are instantly 1 year old when you are born). They want to know what my hobbies are and whether Brian's good at sports and what's my blood type (Korean's believe blood types are kind of like horoscopes - they give clues as to your personality).



5. Everyone hands things to you and receives things from you with two hands or one hand on the chest. This is because traditional Korean clothing had sleeves that hung 3 feet past the hands and it was a sign of respect to hold back your sleeves. It's hard to remember to do this, but we're getting better.



6. Korean chopsticks are metal and flat and heavy. I'm getting better, but people keep asking me if I want a fork so I think I still have a ways to go. Brian's a pro already.



7. You MUST NOT leave your spoon or chopsticks in your food bowl. This is done only when food is offered to ancestors, so to do this in front of another diner is to imply that they are dead - very rude.



8. Drinking etiquette is complicated, but the basics are that you never fill your own glass and you never leave someone else's glass empty. You pour with two hands and they receive with two hands. Also, Koreans don't drink water, juice, or anything with meals unless it's alcohol with dinner. They don't seem to sweat, but we're all getting dehydrated.



9. Pusan is extremely clean considering how crowded and populated it is. Everyone recycles everything because recycling is free but you must pay for the volume of food trash and misc. trash that you produce.