Hey everyone, I still haven't gotten my hands on a proper camera, but that's my first order of business after I get my first paycheck (September 25th, woot!). I've now officially been in Daegu for a week, and am happy to report that I'm loving it here! The only negative things about living in Korea are really just little annoyances, and things are definitely looking good.
I just happened to start work during festival week at school, when the girls were all preparing singing and dancing performances, and planning an after-school carnival with booths and such. This made for some long days at work, but it has been good being able to see the students in a non-academic environment, since they spend soooooo much of their time at school.
On that note, let me explain school here. School is, well, sort of
life for these students. They come to school around 8am, have class till 4:30pm, have after-school activities till maybe 6:30, and then go to hagwon (private academy/school) until as late as 10 or 11pm. Then they do their homework at home, sleep for a bit, and hit the replay button to repeat the same thing the next day. They're
such hard workers, so when someone is falling asleep in your class, you sort of feel bad because she's not being lazy...she's just exhausted! They even eat all their meals -- except breakfast -- at school. That said, the Korean education system trains students to have strong minds and an even stronger work ethic, even if that's at the expense of having much of a personal life.
Some random cool things about Korea (or Daegu, at least):
- People don't steal things. I left my umbrella at a restaurant one night while having dinner with my coworkers, and went back the following night to see if it was still there. It was still sitting right there by the door, even though it's MONSOON SEASON and anyone could easily have taken it!
- The subway is SO nice! If there are any other Atlantans here, you'll understand...MARTA is terrible. But the subway is really, really nice here. There are only two lines and it's very logical and easy to use, AND the announcer even says everything in English. #baow
- People are generally nice for no reason. My apartment owner, for instance, let me move into a larger apartment than my original one, just because the bigger one was empty. And it didn't cost anything.
- Everyone has a preferred customer card. The coffee shops, the bars, the grocery store...everyone wants to give you stuff for free. AND if you buy two of things in Korea, half the time you can get another one for free. Just because.
For you visual learners, here are some pictures of various Daegu experiences :-)
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| In the physics lab making cotton candy in that pink machine |
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Hard at work making sure Willie-Teacher's cotton candy was just the right consistency :-)
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| Yep, they can draw, too! |
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| I live off this street. It's remarkably picturesque at night! |
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| This was in Jeonju, not Daegu, but anyway...Korea doesn't hide that fact that you're always being watched. Maybe that's why no one steals anything! |
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| These are the sound reflector things in the auditorium. Is it not sketch that they look like little coffins? |
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| Window tint this dark would be illegal in the U.S. But nope, everyone in Korea has drug dealer windows! Haha |
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| I mean, it's called Bougie Hair. Need I say more?? |
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GANGNAM STYLE poster! If you don't know what that is, youtube it. Seriously.
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