Random Observations

Many people here, particularly older people, go hiking or walking. It is not unusual to see women on a warm day wear white gloves, long sleeves, pants, a very long visor and even masks covering their faces while they walk. Umbrellas were often common as shade from the sun.

Younger women, in contrast, often wear very short skirts. This is a real contrast to the Philippines where long skirts below the calf and jeans are what practically all women wear.

Older men often wear very conservative clothing. A white shirt, dark pants, and dress shoes. Very few younger men had tattoos or body piercing.

There seems to be much more recycling both inside homes and on the street.

Lots of classical music is heard on the street here. Phillip and I noticed a lot of western music in the form of rap or country western, and it was only after listening carefully for a while that we realized it was in Korean!

There are many small streets that seem almost like alleys here with people walking on them moving to the side on occasion when a car comes through. I have not seen any parking lots, and the cheapest gas I calculated as being about $6 a gallon. (They, of course, use liters here).

There are professional teams for companies, but pro sports seems to be nowhere near the level that we find in America. There are no Cubs, Sox, Bears, or Bulls that I could see although everyone knows who Michael Jordan is.

Everyone seems to know about Hillary and Barack. How many of you know who the candidates were in the last Korean election?

Everyone, of course, places their shoes at the entrance of the door, and most eating is done at small tables where one sits cross legged on the floor. For Phillip, Jocelyn, and me this is pretty difficult, but I am convinced it is good for stretching muscles. There are sooooooooooooo many more vegetables in the diet here. Pop comes in tiny thin cans.

From my tiny sample I noticed that the younger kids seemed more outgoing, and the older kids seemed much more shy. Children's days are very busy often going from one academy to another after school.

Heating is through the floors rather than forced air or radiators. There is air conditioning, but I never used it.

People talk about pollution from dust storms coming from China.

Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl are really fun to use when teaching kids English. I could repeat the stories over and over, and students would not get bored. I also found that juggling with students and giving them directions in English was amazingly effective. "Toss the ball to my from your right hand", "Balance the ball on you the back of your hand,""Bounce the ball and hand it to the person in front of you," were a sample of phrases that built up vocabulary for the kids who didn't know much English.

In spite of the fact that Korea is a very different country from America, it seems easy to adjust to. People seem more serious, kids seem more driven to succeed, and there seems to be much less emphasis on fast food and malls, but I have a sense that the difference between the U.S. and Korea will pale next to the differences between India and the U.S. Stay tuned while I adjust my turban.