the list goes on...

some more things that only happen in korea. :)

1. everything has some sort of health benefit or health detriment, according to Koreans. everything.

2. girls wear high heels all the time here.

3. ajuma's (old ladies) can be quite aggressive! I've been pushed and pulled by them..especially if i'm kind of in the way. Also, when people run into you here, its not followed by an "excuse me". Its not really considered rude here...

4. masks. People wear masks a lot here. Especially ajumas ( i love this word..) Some look like the masks people were wearing during the swine flu scare...others have more face coverage, and look more intense. Its funny to see people wearing them everday...

5. my students all wear cutesy, super colorful socks with strange images on them (even my middle school boys). From obama socks to hello kitty ones...theres a lot to chose from!

6. "Have you eaten" or "did you eat lunch" are frequently asked questions. It seemed strange to me at first...like, the answer was pretty much a given. Yeah..I did eat today :) My director told me that this stems from Korea's very recent emergence from poverty/being a developing country. Back when it was poorer, asking whether somebody had eaten expressed a lot of concern for how they were doing. Also, older people ask this more than younger people...which makes sense. There seems to be a pretty big generation gap here between this generation and the ones before, because life has changed so ridiculously fast here.

7. you can buy fried chicken and coke in a nifty all-in-one cup. The chicken is in a little bucket thingy that inserts into the cup and the coke is underneath. :) We were excited when we discovered this nifty snack.

8. patients from the hospitals roam around freely outside the hospital. Complete with hospital gowns and i.v.'s, they hang out and walk around, sit, smoke, and people watch in the area surrounding the hospital. Near my house there's a hospital along the main road, and it is still strange to see them all chilling on the side of the street

9. they make octopus bread here. I have yet to try it. Don't think I will. I have heard from friends though, that there are actual chunks of octopus in the bread. Yummm ;)

10. People give gifts all the time...especially food gifts. I get random things all the time from my coworkers, bosses, fruit vendors, and parents of my students. I've gotten are apples, tea bags, soap, toothpaste, coffee, rice cakes, pizza, grapes, sweet potato, chesnuts...to name a few. So nice.

11. man-purses. They're everywhere here.

12. great coffee shops in abundance here. Even though instant, sugary coffee is pretty much all you find at the stores (you can buy regular coffee but its quite pricey and the selection is really small!), there are great coffee shops all over the place. Oh, it is bliss. Lots of mom and pop places too...

13. couple-wear. Couples dress matching. A lot. They even sell matching underwear sets. And you see lots of couples who are dressed almost completely alike...I couldn't do it. :)

14. korean women usually cover their mouths when they laugh...

15. almost 50% of korean women have had plastic surgery and almost 90% want to have something done (don't quote me on the stats...but this is what i read somewhere). sad!

16. badmitton is a really popular here. I see kids playing it at parks and on sidewalks...

17. there's outdoor workout equipment in most of the parks here...no need to go to the gym! I've people do some really strange exercises...usually the ajumas.

13. a lot of high school kids stay in school till 9 or 10 at night...crazy. I walk by them on my way home from work as they are just getting out of all their extra after-school classes.

14. lots of people are out and about late. Its fun. People are always eating in restaurants until late. Lots of night owls here, it seems!

16. "Dong shim." Literally translated, this means "poop needle." This is when you poke someone in the butt with your pointer fingers. and YES, my students have tried to do this to me. Its so bizarre and slightly terrifying knowing that they might do this at any minute...they think its hilarious.

17. they don't eat much meat here, at all. The meat they do eat is AMAZING. But, the average person eats it like once a week. Less meat, more veggies. Us Americans eat far too much meat...I think it'd be better for all parties involved if we ate it more sparingly. And they have so many veggies and side dishes in every meal. I enjoy all the veggies lots.

So, just some more things that puzzle, confuse, amuse, betwix and even sometimes annoy. But, its things like these that make living here quite an adventure.

These last couple weeks I've been missing home more. Being sick had something to do with it, i think. I had a pretty gnarly cold. It just sucks being sick when your alone, and don't have your family or friends near. The routine of my day to day life, especially during the week, has started to seem more dry lately. And a bit lonely...work, home, work, home. Weekends are great- lots of fun. I see lots of people, travel, go to church, etc. so I always feel refreshed after weekends. Initially I really liked the alone time that living alone gave me. And I still do to an extent..but, I'm realizing that I can only have so much time without people around. I miss my roomies. I miss being able to debrief at the end of each day, and talk about our days...what happened. What made us happy. What challenged us. What amused us. What made us sad. Cooking together. Bedtime prayers. And wrestling. And munching. And just doing life- regular, day to day life with people that you love. Nami, Kate, Chels- roomies, I think of you often :) So...too much time alone and I start feeling antsy and a little out of wack. Which is kinda how I've been feeling recently. It's not that I don't have friends (I do, I dooo!), just that its hard to see people during the week. This next weekend we have a church retreat coming up, so I'm excited to get away and just be with others to fellowship and worship God. Should be grand. Anyways, that's all for now, I think. much love. xoxo