Soju, Hangeul, and Other Stuff

It's bright and early, only 6a here. I still haven't adjusted to the time difference, so I keep falling asleep at about 10p and waking up everyday at 6a. It's actually kind of nice to have extra time in the morning, I'm used to rolling out of bed 10min before class :).

But since I keep passing out so early, I've missed out on all the downtown fun. Almost every night we've been here, a lot of the ETAs (English Teaching Assistants, that's our official title) have gone into downtown Goesan to party. During our six weeks here, we're staying at the Jungwon University on a hill overlooking the city. Well, town. In Korea, anything less than 100,000 people is a rural town!! All the students at the university I've met keep saying how boring it is here because it's rural. I just laugh and tell them my hometown has 2,000 people. They are amazed! Korea has the highest population density in the entire world, with 487 people per square kilometer. A suburban city is a city that has between 100,000 and 500,000 people.

Entrance to the University

Anyway, back to the downtown shenanigans. So in Korea, drinking is huge. The staple alcohol of Korea is soju (a little like vodka) and drinking is definitely not viewed the same way here as it is in the States. Soju is a chance for a much-overworked people to spend time together having fun. In Korea, people work long hours and university students study way more than they do in the States. So to bond, unwind, and have fun, they get together and drink soju. The main difference, from what I understand, is that people don't get totally smashed and act like fools. They get drunk, but the culture here is so reserved that I can't imagine them, you know... getting naked or passing out in the street or jumping off of buildings (all of which I've seen in the States). Apparently, about 40 ETAs with a few Korean university students in tow descended upon town night before last and completely took over a bar.

I of course went to bed ^^. (<-- oh yea, everyone here uses this emoticon like... ALL THE TIME.)

View from my dorm window

Day before yesterday, we had a scavenger hunt in downtown Goesan, which was really fun. I'll post pics at the bottom of this entry. All the town signs were colorful, in cutesy fonts with little animal mascots and things. There were a few "no rae bangs," basically karaoke bars. In Korea, a "bang" (literally meaning "room" and pronounced bahng) is a place where you can go to do some type of activity with other people. So, like a bar, but with a specific purpose. They have computer game bangs, singing bangs, etc. In town, the people were fascinated with all the foreigners, as they are generally still a rare sight in Korea unless you are in a major city. The kids were especially adorable, shouting "hello!" We talked to a group of middle school girls; they were so shy! In Korea, women are often shy and modest. One sign of modesty that I keep seeing is that when they laugh, they cover their mouths.

A lot of shops have these little animal characters

All the streets are like this... and they call it rural??

Entrance to an outdoor market

Yesterday, we had our first language class. The class is four hours long, from 9a to 1p, really fast-paced, and really intense. Our teachers don't speak any English to us whatsoever, and they move fast. I forgot what sitting in classes for that long was like, it's been four years since high school, so today I'm going to take something caffeinated to drink! But my classmates are fun and the teachers are very nice (and so well-dressed!). We were drilled on "hangeul," the Korean alphabet, for the entire four hours. At the end, we learned how to properly introduce ourselves. One must bow, say "Annyeong haseyo. Chonun Meghan-imnida." Basically, "Hello, I am Meghan." The "imnida" doesn't really translate to anything, it's just a polite ending to a sentence.

Everything here is about politeness and manners. There are certain addresses for certain people, and it's a very hierarchical society based on age (aka I'm at the bottom of the totem pole...). It's also a collective society. So in many ways, I could say that Korea is the opposite of the US.

But, I'm having a great time so far!

View from my dorm window

My dorm room, bathroom on left

Before this step, one must remove their shoes

Desk/closet

Bed

Dresser/closet. On the right is the wall that divides the room. It has windows! It's cute