Sensory Overload

Hello Everyone!
Annyeong-hasaeyo!

Did you know that Korea is Dynamic!? That feeling has been going through my head for a few days now. Korea is an ever-changing country. Change is sometimes centered around the flavor of the month. New, trendy businesses sprout up quickly and old, out of style business close just as quick. This sentiment is very prevalent in the school system. None of the teachers here at EPIK know exactly what class they will teach and where, but the same goes for many licensed teachers. I am looking forward to when I find out my school district and class level, and also when I find that I am my students' flavor of the month!

Korea is Dynamic, and so is my opinion of it. I finally got to go into downtown Jeonju. Jeonju city is larger than I thought. There, I was bombarded by the lights and sounds of real Korea for the first time (and I took some pictures, which I will post soon). I had some time tonight to go downtown because tomorrow I will be going on a mandatory field trip to see Jeonju's traditional village. I am looking forward to seeing that, but I am already experiencing culture shock. Culture shock may not be the best phrase for it though; I would call it sensory overload.

I am picking up a lot of Korean phrases that I will soon need. However, I sometimes still have trouble ordering food and talking to taxi drivers. I will continue to polish my Korean until I can speak it fluently. When I have time to that is, because my schedule is probably as busy as it will ever be. I just finished my first full day of classes. I woke up at 7:00am and got out of classes at 8:00pm, with lunch and dinner breaks taking up a few hours.

I love many things here in Korea. Here, almost everything (non-luxury items) is about half the price that it would be in the United States. I have been here for four full days now and I spent more on a bottle of cologne in JFK airport than I have in Jeonju. I also am enjoying the food, although my stomach has had its reservations. I have eaten lots of different things such as Bibimbap (a mixed vegetable dish), Bulgogi (a grilled/fried pork dish I believe), and of course Kimchi (spicy, pickled, fermented cabbage). Not to mention all of the other foods I have seen and just had to try. Korean bakeries are my favorite though. Their breads are mostly very fresh and crunchy, or very soft and sweet.

One quick point that I noticed about Korean food: when its spicy, its SPICY. The same goes for sweet, sour, and savory. While in Western countries, foods are lauded if they are a good mixture of spicy and sweet, or savory and spicy, Korean foods many times go to the extreme. You should watch out when the person making you food asks you if you "want it spicy?" as you may be in for more than you can handle! It's all good though, as in Korea, and especially for teachers, you have to roll with the punches. Not doing so could cost you more than a stomach ache... it could cost you your job.

Working with EPIK has been a blast so far. However, I am a born skeptic. For everything that EPIK says is the way things are, I hear from others that it is different. For every "kimcheerleader" (a popular online phrase for those who tout the laurels of all that is Korea) there is a Debbie Downer. I look forward to finding out what teaching is Korea will be like for me, but I am learning all I can while I still can.

Sorry my entry has been a little dry and drawn out, but I am running on a large coffee and not much else. Anyway, goodbye from here in Dynamic Korea! Annyeonghi-keseyo!