So, I have been here in South Korea for five days. When I departed from Detroit, I had the good fortune of sitting next to two young ladies from Daegu, South Korea. Dajeong and Soojeung are 21 and 19 respectively, and they are international students at Eastern Michigan University. They helped me to learn some survival Korean phrases and told me some invaluable details about the city in which I will teach English. After landing in Incheon, I completed the final smattering of bookkeeping (registry for EPIK, currency exchange, application for ARC, setup Korean bank account). I road a bus with other teachers like myself to Jeonju University in the northern part of Jeolla province. I have been here since working with about 200 teachers of similar age from all over the English speaking world (primarily UK, U.S., Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia) to prepare for teaching English in a foreign nation. Each day I take classes around the campus, eat meals in the cafeteria, and sleep in a dormitory. My roommate, William, is from Ottowa Canada. He has done the EPIK program before, and has been a tremendous help getting acquainted with the new surroundings. So far, the experience is reminiscent of the first week of university. Its wonderful making new friends and navigating unfamiliar territory together with them. Each day brings new challenges and new experiences, some of which include (but are not limited to): my first lesson in taekwondo (from the premier instruction team in the entire nation), tasting korean food and drink (Kimchi, Bee-bim bop, Soju, Gogi Gui, Kim Bop, etc.), and a visit to a Confucian Buddhist temple that is thought to be the birthplace of Circle Buddhism (Wonbulgyo). The cultural faux pas' abound, and I will not attempt to list them all immediately. But I will include this one for a fun anecdote. In Korea, a woman is known as "ajuma" once she has passed her middle age. Some people even consider an ajuma to be a third gender (a somewhat androgynous gender). While this term can be endearing, it often has negative connotations. An ajuma is somewhat who has carte blanche to do whatever she chooses in public (this includes using her umbrella to swat foreigners). When you meet an ajuma, politesse serves only to aggravate her already delicate nerves. When you take a sip from your water bottle, it is essential that you face perpendicular to her line of sight. That is all for now. The photo's, I hope, are self explanatory. More to come next week from Daegu.
Warm regards, -David- aka 데이비드(Day-bee-duh)
