This morning when the alarm clock went off at 8:31, it said "8:31am, negative 66 degrees fahrenheight." After the hitting the snooze, it went off again 10 minutes later saying "8:41am, 111 degrees fahrenheight." It's funny to wake up to that.
Here's a few observations we've made since being here:
1. Couples dress alike. Many couples wear identical coats, shirts, jeans, shoes, and backpacks.
2. If you think your wardrobe is uncool in America, don't come here hoping to be a trend-setter. People here are very trendy. Even the elementary students that I teach dress cooler than I (Cordia) do.
3. Dog is an item on some resaurant menus, but it is not common. We haven't had it, but a Korean girl we work with told us she knows of a good place to get it. This girl has never had it because she loves dogs. I think that it's generally served as Dog Meat Soup. And I think that these dogs are raised on dog farms (much like a pig farm or chicken farm), so they're not just stray dogs.
4. They really don't have deodorant or tampons. We buy our groceries at a huge store called Home Plus (like a Super Walmart), and neither of those items can be found. They don't sell women's shaving gel either, which is only an issue for those of us with especially sensitive skin.
5. If you get caught putting out unsorted trash, you will be fined 500,000won (about $400). The trash must be sorted into recyclables, food, and garbage (non recyclable).
6. It smells normal here. Just like any other big city might smell.
7. People are very affectionate with one another (peers and family).
8. A favorite food here is Kimchi: pickled cabbage with red pepper paste. It's very delicious. We looked up a recipe to make it, but it requires an entire day and big bowls (like sweet pickles!).
9. There are not many whole wheat products in the grocery store. The bread section is a quarter of Sunray's Thriftway bread section, and there is only a small package that looks like wheat.
10. Rice is sold in dog-food sized bags.
I apologize if you were under the impression from the title that you were going to be reading about our experiences dining on canine.
-Mostly Cordia
2 comments:
Cordi!
Just for the record, a week or so ago when I asked you to learn how to make your favorite Korean dish and pass on the recipe (with ingredients we can actually buy in the states), I forgot to clarify definitively that that dish should not call for dog in any way. Yikes! If you prove to be that adventurous, I have dramatically underestimated you ;)
I love the mandate on sorting the trash. Smart people you're living around. We have been driving twenty minutes each week to drop off our recycling. Finally, our "township" delivered recycling bins to our homes unexpectedly, paid for by our tax dollars. Well, our neighbors decided that having two bins is just too much to deal with in their lives, so they complained. This resulted in a letter from the township saying that if the bin was too much of an inconvenience, to leave it on the curb on a specific date. You wouldn't believe all the people who gave it back.
Let me know if you need a care package and where to send it! I would be pretty grouchy without whole grain food. What's the deal? I thought we were the only country to process food so much?
Lots of love to y'all,
Jennifer
Cordi--
I sent you two cards. Be watching for them. They said it may take up to 10 days though. I agree with Jenn...let me know if you need anything sent over to ya.
Love,
Holly :)
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