A Few Thoughts

Well, I've now been in Korea for two weeks. Two full weeks of classes down, many new people met, and one new city explored where I've been stared at by an estimated 10,000 people. So far I don't feel exhausted at all, really more energized. I really look forward to every day where I might get to see some new sights, meet new people, and eat strange food.

I was speaking with my boss Jay this week while at the hospital for my medical examination. We saw another American from Indiana in a waiting room, and he remarked later this individual "seems very untrustworthy and nervous." I asked him why, and he told me that it was primarily due to the fact that the guy, about the same age as me, had facial hair. Jay told me I look very kind and honest, unlike him. I then remembered my interview process with Jay, where he had asked me about two questions before he decided to hire me. I really did wonder at the time what kind of criteria this guy had for hiring me, knowing almost nothing about me, and now I know its my looks. At least they got me somewhere. Oh, below is the picture he saw on my resume:

One strange thing I realized while living here is that when I cross a congested street, I wait for an old lady. Nope, not to help her across. It's because I have some trouble picking a gap to cross and I know that the drivers would never hit an old lady. The streets aren't really dangerous, cars are good about yielding to pedestrians. I just have a little bit of trouble picking my spot. For the record I haven't been even close to getting hit by a car here in Korea, while I did have the experience of falling onto the hood of a car as it stopped which was driven by a girl on her cell phone. On her stupid cell phone.

The craziest thing I have seen here may just be the rain. There have been two days where it has rained to the point where I'm almost afraid of going outside. You know in 'Forest Gump' when he talks about sideways rain in Vietnam? They get that same sideways rain here in Korea. It's sideways because there is an immense amount of water falling coupled with intense, crippling winds. The wind will blow in any direction at any time, so there's no way to stay dry if you're under an umbrella.

A funny aspect of Korea is the music. It appears that there are only about three popular artists at this time, each with ridiculously overproduced swill that I'm far too snobby to admit I like. Like this song, "Lollipop" by a group called Big Bang. I catch students singing this song regularly, and it can be heard almost everywhere. Well, it is a little bit catchy.