Culture Shock?

Just before putting out an Amber alert for my missing spunk, thanks to my B.S. in Psychology (and of course my friend Jack) I was able to figure out why my spunk decided to take a vaca - CULTURE SHOCK. Why didn't I think of this first?!? Honestly, for some reason I assumed me, a biracial female from Iowa would be immune to standing out in a crowd. Boy was I wrong. It's completely different. Yes I do obviously stand out in S. Korea, but in reality it has nothing to do with ones skin color. Everything is different from home. They don't have sidewalks, the toilet paper is not as soft, they don't have real chocolate, foods I'm actually familiar with taste different, etc. etc. All of these things are pretty miniscule, but definitely still has an affect on my adjustment to Korea. Just the mere fact that I've only been able to communicate with 7 other people since I've been here has had a large affect; probably the greatest. Although, I absolutely love being in a new place and not understanding what people are saying around me is intriguing, at the same time it does get a little lonely.

In reality, I'm pretty damn lucky to have other English speaking foreigners at my school. Some teachers come to Korea and they are the only foreigner in their school. I don't think I could do this. Everything I've learned so far has been from my fellow co-workers. To how to take a taxi, where the grocery store is, how to get to school, what items I should buy, etc. Not to mention they are instant friends! So this is a shout out to you: Thank-you so much for helping me out and befriending me. We have some great times ahead of us!

I finally unpacked and am completely settled. Actually unpacking and moving in really helped with feeling like I live here now. I can only live out of my suitcase for so long. My apartment actually feels like my home and I am starting to like my apartment more and more. You're right Allison, it's cute. Besides the above, there's nothing too exciting going on. Winter break is coming up soon, so I will actually only work this week and then next week I'm off. I'm pretty excited for the festivities we have planned: Christmas brunch, cocktail party, exploring GwangJu, New Years Eve party, and mimosas!! Can't wait!

I have class around noon today, but will be heading in early to try and figure out what I'm doing. Task for the day: go with the flow and don't sweat when I don't understand what I'm suppose to do for work.