a running list

before i left for korea i experienced many good-bye phone calls, as one usually does before they move to a far away place for a long time. one such phone call was with my dear dear friend ellery. she is a kenyon friend. i met her freshman year in sociology class where i eyed her bubble-gum necklace on the first day and thought 'that girl's got some style'. when i spoke with el she had just arrived back (returned) from several months in argentina and as we were talking i felt as if i was passing america on to her. we were saying our usual i will/do miss yous and have a great times and she bestowed some great wisdom on to me. the advice was as follows: make sure to take note of the things that seem weird/different/silly at first, because in the end you are used to them and you forget that they were ever weird/different/silly to you.

SO basically that was a long introduction to this:

there are some things about my life here that you should know about.

things that are different (about me and about korea)

-i sleep a solid 9 to 7 hours a night. every night. it is amazing.

-i can now do the yoga handstand.

-i belong to a gym called M&F (that's Muscle and Fitness to you) where i have been working on said yoga handstand. at this gym we wear uniforms. gray shirts with blue cuffs if you're a boy and orange cuffs if you are a girl. blue shorts for all. we pick them up as we walk in to the door and throw them into a huge laundry basket when we are finished working out.

-the picture taking culture here is pretty amazing. couples go on dates just to take pictures together. last weekend i saw a woman on one of these dates wearing thigh high leather boots on the beach just for the sake of said picture. also, they bring tripods everywhere to take these pictures.

-also in pictures young girls often cover their faces or point to their dimples or give peace signs that don't mean peace (it's just a gesture) (see my students below)



(aren't they adorable? those are their winter uniforms! just too cute)



-there is no drip coffee here unless you go to a fancy pants coffee shop (or to the dunkin donuts when you can find one). i love coffee, i mean LOVE coffee. kenyon college bookstore coffee pretty much made my world go round for 4 years. the thing is, in korea, they drink instant coffee. they drink sweet, creamy, instant coffee. and i like it. i like it. i used to like my drip coffee sweet, but now i drink this dessert tasting coffee several times a day. maxim gold it is called. it comes in handy one serving packets. boil the water, pour the magic mix in the mug, fill the mug about half way with water. there you have it. maxim goodness.

things that are the same (about me and about korea)

-i sneeze about the same amount. which is a lot.

-people are just people and love is just love and friends are just friends.