Cultural Experiences

Okay, this is a long post, so if you're just interested in seeing pictures of what I've been up to scroll down....

Since I last posted, I've encountered a number of cultural experiences that have helped me start to grasp the customs and understand the people here a bit more. The first took place on Friday after orientation. The group took a trip to Costco (yep, they have them here!) to stock up on household goods. I wasn't able to photograph the excursion but I'll liken the scene to one you may have experienced before. Many years ago I was dumb enough to agree to go shopping on black Friday with my mom. Our first stop was Fred Meyer at 6am for their 50% off sock sale. The store was packed and somehow I got stuck pushing the shopping cart through all of the pandemonium. No matter which way I tried to go I ran into something or someone. My experience at Costo was EXACTLY like this. Thankfully, the trip to HomePlus the day before had been a sort of preparation for this. What can I say, the Koreans LOVE Costco! Among my cartful of items, I was able to score stringcheese, a block of Tillamook colby jack, frozen veggies, and many other goodies. We packed a school van full of purchases and squeezed three of us in the front for the trip back to the school. After unloading, our gracious driver (another staff member) asked Kristen and I to park the van back in the bus garage. No problem, right? Yeah, right. Technically we aren't allowed to drive in Korea yet but not wanting to ask for more of his time we agreed. I wish I had a video of our attempt at parking (Kristen driving and me standing outside trying to make sure she didn't hit the post on one side and the van on the other). A few tense minutes later, the van was in the spot...just barely.

Later that evening, a group of us decided to walk through Yonhi Dong to look for dishes and grab dinner. We ended up filling three tables at a little Korean restaurant and everyone ordered a variety of dishes like gimbop,bibimbap, and others that I couldn't tell you the name of. After our meal we stopped at a 7-11 type store for ice creams and wandered back to the school. It was fun getting out to explore the neighborhood at night!

When Saturday came, Kristen and I decided we would try to trek back to HomePlus for round two. As soon as we got down the hill to catch a cab, the sky opened up and dumped rain on us for what seemed like a very long time. Change of plans! Instead we went to the china shop and had a blast stocking up on dishes, cookware, and a few decorative items. This shopping excursion taught us a lot about how Koreans view customer service. For a majority of our time, we browsed on our own but as we went downstairs two employees rushed us and grabbed our baskets. They were very upset that we had not been helped up to this point. They then proceeded to clean, package, bag, and ring up our purchases. As we were ready to leave they took our bags outside, hailed a cab for us, and saw us off back to the school! It was incredible! Our friendly cabbie got us safely back to the school and then took us back down the hill to the grocery store. I picked up a bunch of ingredients to make some tasty dumplings this week!

Last night we went out on a school sponsored cultural experience. After a long walk through Shinchon, and severely blistered feet, we arrived at On The Border to have Mexican food before heading off to the theater. Here we are, playing around with our cameras as we waited for our food...

Jo, Vincent, Claire, Maddie, and Brad

Joy, Marlene, Allison, and Me

Misty, Kristen, and Nicole

After dinner we took the subway to the theater. The underground was super clean, cheap, efficient, and air conditioned (yay!). We arrived at the theater about an hour for the show and found a number of ways to amuse ourselves.

That's "V" for Victory!! Just like the Japanese tourists we saw!

This is what happens when you give a camera to three girls!

A much needed stop for band-aids and water!

I love art:)

For just $5 at the theater you can dress up in traditional Korean clothes and make a fool out of yourself too!

It's more fun when friends join you!

Even Barry B. (our awesome HR guy) decided to get a piece of the action!

Allison saw how cool we were and dressed up too!

In case you're wondering, they put the costume on over your street clothes. Seeing that it was already 85 degrees or so, it was pretty toasty inside those dresses (thank you Hye-Sin for reminding us how many people have sweated in these before us). Only four of us ladies were brave enough to dress up, but a few of the kids saw us and decided they wanted to dress up too! Before I leave, I hope to buy a traditional dress to bring home--they are so beautiful! As we were snapping photos, we noticed a couple of Japanese tourists taking pictures of us as well. It was hilarious! The theater was absolutely INCREDIBLE. The show was filled with traditional dancing, drumming, and other artistry! If you come visit, rest assured that I'll take you! Some time in the middle of the performance, two audience members were chosen to go up on stage. Tim, a new SFS teacher, was selected and we had a great time cheering him on as the performers taught him tricks with a spinning plate. He's pictured below with some of the performers.

Overall, it was a great night out in the city and it ended with a successful cab ride back to the school. There is so much to learn, see, and do here--the culture surrounding me is amazing. With school starting soon I hope I have time to take it all in!