Wow, it's already Day 5!
It's unfortunate that the blog is starting a little late, given that the first few days are always the most magical. In a way, it's nice to know technology hasn't interfered too much with my experiences thus far. Somehow, forcing oneself to write always dampens the authenticity of the experience.
Here are some things I have taken note of thus far:
There are four interns
And we're diverse as 씨발.
We've got the guy from Cambridge, the girl from Okinawa who somehow lives in North Dakota, the relatively plain white girl from South Dakota, and then the black girl from Detroit.
Speaking of diversity....
I never thought I'd have so much in common with a black girl from Detroit.
"My minors are in German and Linguistics" = OMG FRIEND.
But it's more than that.
though I wasn't the one to bring an entire checked bag of shoes to Korea...
We're teaching five classes per day
OMG. Why.
It wasn't supposed to be like that. We were supposed to teach three. And not have to cry ourselves to sleep. My introvert self is like, "OMG I HAVE TO SOCIALIZE AND INTERACT FOR SIX STRAIGHT HOURS NOOOO."
The following classes run from 9:30 to 3:30:
- Reading and Discussion
- Writing for Class Newspaper
- Presentation Class
- Project Class
- Culture Exploring Class
- History
- Business
- Heroes
- Culture
It's actually hard to live here without knowing Korean
All those people who say, "It's okay, like 95% of Koreans speak English. You'll be fine!" are LIARS. I think most Koreans are afraid to speak English. Afraid, yet eager. Still, I feel so rude every time I encounter a situation that needs Korean. Although I do think Korean is a fascinating language, I have little personal interest in learning it. I think the more I struggle in society, the more I'll attempt to pick up words and phrases besides what I know already, which is pretty much "thank you" and "do you want to die?"
There are cafes everywhere
For real. I think the cafes may outnumber the bars, which is saying something given the amount Koreans drink. Seriously though, there's a cafe on every block. There are cafes in alleys. Alleys.
Seoul is Big. And Busy.
Can I go home yet?
It's cleaner than Jakarta, and safer than Jakarta, and more advanced than Jakarta, so it's got that going for it.
I think I understand now why people miss food from their home country so much. I mean, food is something you have to encounter three times per day. Three times per day! And if you're American, you kind of just encounter it whenever you want between those three times as well. That means three times per day my stomach tells me it wants McDonald's. And I have to tell it, "I'm sorry stomach, but you can't have McDonald's. And you can't have food either, because I don't have a car and I can't be bothered to walk anywhere for food because in my country, I never have to walk anywhere for food. And then I have to encounter a language barrier to get food. So we must wait." THEN, because my stomach doesn't get what it wants, it starts asking me every moment of the day for french fries and buffalo sauce and burgers. Relentlessly. And then I say, "okay okay okay, here's some bibimbap." But the stomach is still unhappy. It's all-consuming.
And then Mom thinks I have time to think of her. Pfft.
