Hello friends and family! This is my first Korea Q&A video and I am excited to share it with all of you. Unfortunately there were so many great questions and such little time with which to answer! I'm also sad I couldn't answer every question--please don't feel rejected if I didn't answer yours!
1. What is one thing you didn't bring that you wish you had?
Ah, I knew the answer to this one right away--my tennis shoes! I have no idea what I was thinking but I totally didn't bring tennis shoes or hiking boots. I live at the base of a mountain with lots of trails and a temple but I haven't been yet because I don't have the proper shoes for that kind of exploring! Super lame.
2.What do you admire most about the culture
This is such a difficult question to answer and I did not answer sufficiently in the video. People here seem very sweet, kind, and loving. Friends are affectionate which, as someone who has always been known as not being very touchy, I find exceptionally endearing! Ladies at church will just grab my hand when they are talking to me. I see two guy friends or two girl friends walking around linking arms, holding hands, etc. My students do this too and no one thinks twice about it.
3. Have you seen any cool animals
Mostly I've seen stray cats. There's really not much wildlife where I live. Although I live at the base of a lovely mountain, I'm very close to "the city." I haven't even seen many birds. It's quite sad because I love seeing wildlife.
4. Can you speak fluently yet
Heh. No. Definitely not. Many Koreans have been very kind and encouraging when it comes to me learning phrases. Unfortunately, I don't have tons of spare time to dedicate to learning a language that is quite opposite to my native tongue. I can read okayish but I would love to understand what I am reading!
5. Have you seen or tried American fast food restaurants there
There are several that exist but I've only been to one: Burger King. I can't remember the last time I had Burger King but the burger I had here was much tastier than I ever remember Burger King being. Fries are just okay. The people I went with got traditional BK food but I went for the Korea specific menu item that is the bulgogi burger. Which was pretty delicious!
6. What's the funniest thing that's happened so far
I have a hard time thinking of a funny story that I can tell to people back home that they would actually think is funny. A lot of funny things that have happened stem from culture or language misunderstandings and aren't as funny if you weren't there.
However, my students really crack me up sometimes! I am so amazed and impressed by how clever they can be in their second language. One of my fourth grade boys, Jin Woo, is so monotone when speaking English and he says some goofy stuff like "Teacher, you give me a pizza." Or "Teacher, I will build a dream machine to play while you sleep and it will say 'Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Teacher' while you try and sleep." No joke, this is a real thing he said to me today. He's also for whatever reason obsessed with beggars. "Teacher, this pen look like beggar." "Richman take care of his beggars." "Teacher, you are beggar." What??
7. What is trendy or stylish there
So I will have to get some pictures of the everyday style here (without creepily taking pictures of strangers) because it's hard to describe. Overall, people just look nice. And anything cute is stylish. Girls dress very feminine. Oh and guys kind of do to haha. They just always look so nice! Girls wear skirts and blouses a lot. Their makeup and hair looks natural but well-done. Most girls seem to have long hair and bangs--no crazy colors. I see guys wearing nice pants and shirts. Not lots of jeans. But old people dress pretty tacky!
8. What do their eggs look like and what color are they
They taste good and they are brown.
9. What did you bring that you wish you hadn't
I brought a frisbee because it was something I thought wouldn't be common in Korea so it would be fun for getting together with other foreigners or playing with new Korean friends. However I haven't found a park or any open space yet! So I haven't had any use for it yet.
10. What do you miss about the States the most
THE AIR QUALITY. It's terrible here. I've never lived somewhere that you could so clearly see the pollution any given day. It's not nearly as sunny either, which is killing me!
11. What food would you like that you can't get there
I would love to have a Bonsai Burger at Red Robin. I intended to get one before leaving the US but didn't. Mmmm so good. As for things that I miss which people can mail to me *cough*subtle hint *cough* I really miss Flamin' Hot Fries or Flamin' Hot Munchies.
12. Do you miss any music
I have my iTunes! No Pandora in Korea though. They have a version here called Jango but it doesn't have much variety. I will be very behind on the music scene when I get home but I think I'll survive.
13. Do you miss hearing English on the streets
Yes, actually. I've found that I spend a lot of time just tuning out because I can't understand anyone around me which is sad but there's not much else to do. This especially happens at church. Trying to understand people all the time gets exhausting.
14. Do you miss American TV
Not yet but I know I will in a couple of months! We can get Netflix through the Hola extension. I haven't done this yet but my coworker has. I don't have a Netflix account anyway. But yes, only having youtube and Korean TV will get tiresome.
