I'm a Survivor....Week 1

As I write this, I have officially survived one week in Seoul. It has been an interesting week, and not nearly enough time to judge how my next 51 weeks here will be.

Seoul is very much like and very different from anywhere else I have been. We truly live in a global world…I realized this the other day, as I, an American girls was walking down the streets of Seoul, South Korea; listening to Spanish Reggaeton music. At this point, although I’m thousands of miles away I still feel very connected to family and friends-daily emails and chats help me feel close to those so far away.

I’ve seen so many things and had so many experiences it is hard to know where to start and what to say. This city and this culture is way to intricate to sum up in a weekly blog. My words may be lacking, but I hope that they’ll bring some justice to this beautiful city and culture in which I am immersing myself. So far, I’ve observed that Seoul is a big, crowded, and busy city. There are always people everywhere and there is always something going on. Many cities claim they “never sleep”-Seoul could be classified the “insomniac city”

My first few hours here, I was given the Royal treatment. Mr. Song (the businessman I had tutored in the states) and his wife were at the airport to surprise me. He sent the taxi driver my school had sent away, loaded my bags into his car, and drove me to Seoul. Although I hadn’t slept in nearly 24 hours; my eyes and mouth were agape, ingesting every site I could. There are rows after rows of skyscrapers, cars zipping buy, Hangul Characters advertising this and that, and the beautiful Han River that divides the Northern and Southern Parts of the city. I ate my first meal in Korea with the Song family, it consisted of: spicy tofu soup, sprouts, black beans, and Kim chi.

The next day I headed to the Hogwan I will be teaching at for the next year. I met my coworkers, had some brief training, and then the kids piled in….I’ve found that kids-are universal! They giggle, they argue, they play, they tattle on one another, they absorb knowledge, and they are oblivious to the world around them. I had a lot of fun with the new kiddos, but at the same time missed my Herbert Hoover Kids. I’ll primarily be teaching kids age 6-12, in low-level English. No Korean is allowed in the classroom, and these kids are pushed to the limit.

I feel like a Dunce the majority of the time, not knowing the language…this is going to become a huge priority for me. I think I would be completely fine not learning a word of Korean over the course of this next year, but that would be ignorant and wasteful. At this point, I can only utter phrases such as, “Hello”, “Thank you”, and “Beer Please”…still for making this simple effort-people in restaurants and shops regard me with complete silence-we have a mutual understanding and bow at each other with a smile. I’ve had many occasions, where Baristas in a café muttered a shy, “thank you” in an attempt to make me feel more comfortable.

As far as friends and fun go….I’ve had a few nights out and seen a few things. Bars are also universal-although in Korea, rather than Beer and peanuts on the table, there is Beer and shrimp chips on the table. I made friends with the bartender at a bar named “Woodstock” where you can request any music you want to here-he actually asked to see my ipod. In another night out-we went to a Norebong; which is basically a private Karaoke room, where you sing in front of only your friends…this was a great time!! I’ve even been hit on for the first time by a Korean guy…unfortunately the extent of his English was: “Beautiful” and “Phone Numba”.

Finally, today I moved into my small yet comfy apartment. As I put my clothes away, put the sheets on the bed, etc. things started to sink in a little bit-this is my life for the next 358 days…..and each day will be a new challenge. I hope in the coming weeks-I can show you Seoul through my words. I’ll talk about the food, the culture, the people, and myself as I change though this experience.

There have been many more experiences and there are many more to come; I hope your eyes will enjoy reading what my fingers enjoy typing.