3-2-1, Kimchi!

Having 300 people, almost all in their 20's, in a place they know very little about and know almost no one is a great situation to be in. It forces everyone out of their comfort zone and pushes you to make friends with whoever and whenever you can. That being said, the nightlife here gets very entertaining very fast. Everyone here leaves the dormitory every night in little groups and inevitably joins forces with all the other little groups in pursuit of the best bar. The area around the university here has a few restaurants and bars, but after a couple nights out, most of the people here have exhausted all those choices. Hence, my first real Korean adventure.

Last night I left the dorms with a group of girls who are all going to Busan. Almost immediately we teamed up with a few guys (who are unfortunately teaching in a different city) via the "make fast friends" approach. The guys had made up their minds to go into the downtown area to find some new bars, and myself and three of the girls decided this was a good time to venture out...we made the right choice! We successfully hailed two cabs and the guys managed to communicate a certain bar to the drivers. After countless attempts to communicate with our cab driver, who I think was just saying that he likes the USA over and over again, we ended up in a really cool shopping district. Also as a side note, the cab ride was about 10-15 min longs and the total fare 5600 won--that's about $5, so split between all of us it was a little over a buck a piece! Anyways, we took walk around the shops and ended up stopping in a little bar where a couple of Korean guys were playing live music; they were really good and even added in some Jason Mraz, which they sang in English for us. But the best part of the night was still yet to come.




We left the first bar to see if we could find a place with a little more going on. On the way, the guys decided to pick up a couple beers from the convenience store for the walk around-- that's right folks, no open container laws in Korea...for real. It was shortly after this that we were walking down the street when a group of Korean college kids caught up with us. They wanted to say hi, practicing their English, and take a few pictures with us. What ensued was them taking us under their wing for the rest of the night. They took us to get chicken wings, more beer and soju (Korean Liquor). The taught us Korean slang and talked American sports. They wanted to know what Basketball players we liked and what we thought of baseball-- Korea actually has a national baseball league. So naturally, being from Pittsburgh, I asked if they new any football teams. Much to my delight they said they didn't watch American football but they know.... Hines Ward!! Not only was this great for the obvious reasons, but also, one of the guys we were out with, was from Baltimore and was making Pittsburgh digs all night! Best .Karma. Ever. After I finish yelling in excitement and laughing in Mr. Baltimore's face, I took quick video of my Korean friend supporting the 'Burgh (see my facebook wall for this quick clip!).

We eventually made out way back to the dorms with minutes to spare before the university locks it's doors for the night, and I crept back into my as not to wake roommate, thinking of all things I would tell her she missed out on when woke in the morning. More to come soon!!

The Beginning

After 2 plane rides (one which was 13 hours), a 17 hour layover in Detroit, and a 3 hour bus ride , I finally made it to Jeonju University where the EPIK orientation is taking place. For the rest of the week I, along with 300 other EPIK teachers, will be staying at Jeonju University where our orientation classes will be taking place. Yesterday, EPIK held an opening ceremony for us which included a few different performances. To the left is picture from the Tae-kwon-do performance, which was amazing (in the picture you can see that the guy in the air is doing a back flip about 7-10 ft off the ground while breaking two boards with his feet at the same time), and below are two pictures from traditional Korean music and dance.   These classes include a little bit of everything, from Korean speaking class, to creating lesson plans, to tae-kwon-do class-- yes, today I did partake in tae-kwon-do in which I totally kicked butt. So far I’ve met lots of people from all around the world including, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Last night a group of us went for drinks and within that group there where at least five different countries represented...awesome.

 










In the midst of meeting all these new people, I fell into conversation with a girl who also used to be a competitive swimmer. As soon as she realized that I was also a swimmer she asked me if I had any interest in training for a sprint triathlon with her. For all those who know me well, you know that when it comes to working out my self motivation to keep doing it is pretty low. So having the opportunity to work out with someone, both moving towards the same goal is going to be great! AND, here' s the best part...the triathlon will be in Bali! For all of you who are geographically challenged, Bali is in Indonesia. For finding someone with similar interests like this on my first full day in Korea, I feel pretty lucky.

Now for the food! Most of you know how much I love food, and for the most part I'm not too picky. However, I think eating here is going to be more difficult than I thought. Granted it's still early, but so far, maybe not so good. First off, the main dish of Korea, called Kimchi, is served cold and is pretty much a spicy, pickled cabbage that is kind of the color of pad thai. Kimchi is served with EVERY meal...that's right, even breakfast. A lot of the food is pan fried and also almost everything has a faint but distinct fishy smell. Now, when I say a fishy smell I mean the kind of smell that if we, in the US, were to open up some leftovers in the fridge and they smelled the way some dishes do here, we would throw them away immediately. Definitely something to get used to. I have high hopes for Korean BBQ.

So far the orientation has been helpful and provided a lot of valuable information, but I'm really anxious to get to Busan and get situated in my apartment. Many people here have been to Busan before and have great things to say about it! I'm looking forward to hopefully playing lots of beach volleyball, doing some open water swims in the ocean, and lots of traveling around the rest of county and Asia! As excited as I am for everything that's to come, I still miss everyone from home and wish you could all be here with me. For now, I'll you all with a little Korean, 많은 사랑을 보내!