So for the past week walking around Kongwan University and Chuncheon I’ve been hobbling like an old man. I thought it was because I had a scratch on the bottom of my foot, but it turns out that this entire time I’ve had a SHARD OF GLASS sticking up through my cheap rubber flip flops. MAN.

OK, I’ve been at orientation in Chuncheon for exactly a week now and I am completely, completely exhausted. We have four hours of Korean language lessons five days a week, and these teachers take no prisoners. We are WHIZZING through the Korean language....a lot of class time is devoted to Korean-style, listen and reapeat rote learning of vocabulary words like “school,” “knife,” (apparently a classroom item in the style of pencils and rulers) and, of course, “karaoke.” Anyway, I am now capable of explaining in Korean my name, hobbies, country of origin, etc. I could also ask Koreans about theirs, but chances are high that I wouldn’t understand the answer (unless their hobby is shopping, pronounced “shop-eeng”). On the other hand, I LOVE Korean grammar. There are basically no pronouns--if you say “I” to much, as in “I am from the United States,” you’re considered stupid—no person or group specific verb conjugations, no distinction between questions and answers...everything comes from context. Ans as if that weren’t enough, the Korean alphabethas been rated by UNESCO as the #1 most scientifically built alphabet...so basically I expect to be fluent in a matter of weeks here.

In the afternoons, it’s cultural and teaching workshops. The teaching ones are pretty pointless (“keep them interested!”), but the cultural workshops are a lot of fun—proper bowing technique and so forth. I’m allowed to spit on the floor indoors, but I also have to take my shoes off at the door (a dangerous and slightly gross combination in my opinion).

Also, I’m taking Tae Kwon Doe, which is ridiculous. Not only do I wear white pantaloons (prob. improper terminology there), a white tunic and a white belt (hopefully yellow by the time I leave Chuncheon), but we are being taught by a legitimate Grand Master. I mean, that’s what we call him, as in “Grand Master, can you show us again how to kill someone with your pinky finger?” Anyway, these outfits we wear are mostly polyester, and the dojang is incredibly hot, and we do a lot of running and jumping and kickin, and I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life (sorry if that’s gross).

Hm, I had tentacles for lunch this afternoon—whose? I don’t know. Also, rice and pickles for breakfast. Lunch is made better, though, by the automatic hand sanitizer they have next to the door, which when you wave your hand under it releases a little puff of antibacterial steam. So clever!

So far one of my favority things about Korea is their stationery (VERY important here—among the place names we learned were bank, school, hospital and stationery store). They just put so much more thought and effort into it. For instance, according to the small print, the inside page of my Lovely Binnie workbook is made of “antibacterial neutralixed paper to resist harmful germs. It’s restful color scheme with a luminosity of 8 and a saturation of 2 helps to prevent tired eyes.” They also have lots of poems, like the one on the front of my Korean notebook:
Missing You
The autumn breeze brings back memories
Why did you leave me?
...I am repeating this vain question
Again and again


I really wish I could post pictures, but I think I fried my battery charger on the forst night because I didn’t use a converter, so my camera is effectively out of commission until I learn to say “battery charger” in Korean.

I also wish I could find out more about Korea itself, but they keep us really busy and I’m baiscally always surrounded by 63 other Americans (being around so many other ppl is probably the most exhusting aspect of orientation so far...). I met a few Kongwan University students through the English club here, who I really like. One girl is a chemistry and physics major (my god), and wants to go into the field of perfume development because, she says, “I LOVE perfume.” They all speak incredibly good English, which I am more and more impressed with, as it took me at least a day to learn the word for bathroom (I think I startled quite a few Koreans by proclaiming loudly to myself “hwah JONG sheel” every time I walked into a public restroom).

In general I feel pretty optomistic about the coming year. The Korean students I’ve met are in general pretty reserved at first, but once you spend an evening with them become VERY open and friendly. The orientation leaders had us read an article called “In and Out” which basically claimed that there is a real difference in the mind of Korean people between people they know and have some obligation to and people to whom they haven’t been introduced. In other words the same person might bowl you over on the street without saying excuse me, but will be icredibly caring and helpful to their friends. I’m a little hesitant to completely accept every blanket generalization thrown at us about “Koreans,” but I have recognized some of what this article discussed in the people I’ve met. PLUS, the food outside of the cafeteria is AWESOME. Really spicy, sometimes bizarre and unrecognizable (in an I’m-glad-I-don’t-know-what-this-is sort of way), but really fun to eat (usually directly out of a communal grill in the middle of the table).

OK, I’m a completely incomeptent blogger, I can’t figure out my computer, but I hope this post posts. Let's see...