Strange, but Beautiful (sometimes hehe)

10 interesting/crazy things about Korea:

1. You (at least I) go to 노래방 (karaoke room) ALL the time.  i love it so much haha.. but ive been losing my voice b/c of the past couple weekends!!

2. All phone chargers are the same!  You can get ur phone charged while u eat if u just ask ur waiter!! ; )

3. Beer and Soju... the preferred (and really only) drinks to have in Korea.  It's normal to drink a lot at dinner (w/ coworkers, ppl ur doing business with, etc...), go karaoke and drink a lot, then go to a late night restaurant, and drink some more.... I experienced this with all the teachers at my school.. very interesting night.  and one older teacher kept trying to hook me up with a single teacher... i think all three of us were embarrassed when we saw each other the next day haha..

4. When walking into a dept. store, sometimes its hard to tell if the clothing is meant for guys or girls.. guys dress a bit femenine.  haha.. while looking through clothes ive had to stop and ask a worker.. wait.. is this 남자 옷 (guys clothes)??

5. school system: beginning ~3rd grade, most kids go to 학원(academy) during vacation time!!  I was telling a teacher how I used to go to summer camp, and they were asking me so... what do u do there? play?? haha.. so weird.  and in high school, students generally stay in school until ~11pm, and sometimes go to학원 afterwards!! my korean volunteer friend told me everyone gains weight in hs because all they can do is study!!  ahhh~ i cant handle the thought!

6. I'm 23 in Korea!  You turn one when you're born, and then you don't gain a year on your birthday, but on the new year, along with everyone else.  so all us 1987ers are 23.

7. All kids in Korea begin learning English in 3rd grade (once or twice a week).  Theyre pretty serious about learning English here!!  And they LOVE foreigners.. although the kids are really shy to talk to me at first ^^.

8. It's really hard to find a job in Korea.  It really stinks because many fathers can't live with their families!  I know several people who only go to their family's home on the weekends because they have to work far away.  My one friend's dad works on a ship, so her dad is only home 2 months out of the year!  Ahh.. I don't think I could handle that either..  I know it's really tough for them...

9. In the US, if someone is giving you a ride, generally, u would sit in the front right?  Or they'll make a comment like "I feel like a chaffeur (sp??)".  But here, especially if its like an older person, or sort of a stranger, we are supposed to sit in the back for honor reasons maybe??  I don't know, at first it was strange, but now I just automatically sit in the back seat unless someone tells me otherwise.

10. Food is so CHEAP and so GOOD~!!  ahh, I can easily get a great meal for 3-5,000 원 which is like $2.50-4.50.  Ahh, I LOVE every meal!!  (Except when they cook the food in front of u and its still alive... still not used to that.  I'm talking about crazy clam thingys, octopus, etc..).  Oh and we often eat meals family style, which is great, since I still don't know what many things are.  And since I'm 우유부단(indecisive)!! haha.  I don't think I'll be able to pick out my meals when I come back to the states...