Korea...The First Month...and a bit

I'm a touch off with my timing as I have been in Korea for five weeks and a day now but having some spare time on my hands this evening has allowed me to reflect on what I have seen and done while I have been in Korea so far, as well as update you about what I have been up today.

I managed to master the art of using a Korean cash-point earlier, and not just to withdraw money either! I had an electricity and also a gas bill to pay and you have to head to the bank to do both. It's ok when you try and check your balance because it has an English setting but paying bills is a whole different matter! Somehow I managed to bumble my way through it however and I shouldn't be having to deal with that for another month!

Last night I also managed to successfully avoid having to seperate my month old rubbish into seperate bags as well! Don't worry this isn't another rant about not wanting to save the planet, and as it happens if I do what I did yesterday and wait till the cover of darkness to find some poor suspecting neighbours pile of rubbish to throw mine in I won't be complaining. Some people across the street had a massive pile of recycling out for the morning so as sneaky as a spy I headed over there and dumped a whole bag of pretty much everything in between all their well organised stuff! When I got up this morning I was expecting to see that it had been rejected but to my surprise the people appear to have taken it away! Which either means that they really arent as anal about their sorting process as first thought, or I just did a good job of disguising it as something which has actually been sorted!

Being a usual workday there hasn't been much time for exploring or anything but earlier I took a stroll up to the World Cup park near where I live and sat and read a book for a while and also played on my PSP. In the evening when it's starting to cool off nicely it's so peaceful to go and sit there or at the park around the lake nearby. I can imagine that in the summer it gets pretty busy as the humidity will probably mean no need for shorts or a hoodie.

Aside from being stared at by passing Korean people and feeling like I was an exibit in a museum it was a pretty relaxing experience, and one I'm sure I'll be repeating throughout the coming weeks and months. We decided to head into Suwon this evening and to eat at the usual Dak Galbi place. As ever we got the celebrity treatement and even had some new guy, presumably the owner of the restaurant trying to converse with us.
Again we had to go through the same routiene as always as they observe us and check that we have two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth just like them. But this guy was paticularily interested to notice that we even ate the same way as every other person in that restaurant! How strange he must have thought. It kinda felt like feeding time at the aquarium as he hoved over our table for a good while before giving Charlie from friendly banter about eating alot!

Although it's awkward and still annoying, I think I have adapted myself to the staring and now I take it as a compliment. You know, I'm a hansome guy, who wouldn't want to look at me! I'd prefer it if 20-something women wanted to look at me rather than old gadgies and ajuma's on the street but whatever you know, I guess it's their culture. Not being a very diverse people I can imagine how strange it would be to see a 'foreigner' walking down the same path as them. I perhaps wish they would be more subtle about their picture taking and pointing like we are circus freaks but I'm totally convinced that after a few months I won't even notice anymore!

Enough of my ramblings anyhow. Back to how much I have been enjoying my stay in Korea! It feels like I have been here both a short and a long time. I can still remember by emotions and feelings the day I arrived at Inchon Airport, but it also seems like the weeks are flying by. I feel I have learnt a lot about myself and about Korean culture while I am here and I still think this was a fantastic decision, one I'm glad I made (even if it was a few years after I should have!)

As a way of sumising my experience so far here's a short list of the things I have enjoyed so far...

The Food
Korean food should get a special mention for not being quite as stereotypical as you might imagine. Sure there's a lot of rice around and obviously seafood is popular, occasionally from time to time I see things that I wouldn't want to go near (yes, I'm refering to you silkworm and skeleton heads I've seen in a restaurant window) but by and large the food has been one of the most resounding hits with me while I've been here.
There's not only a wide range of nice foods, but the fact that the meals are not only cheap, but also fresh is wonderful. From galbi to pudong-ji-geh to sushi it's an experience finding new things to eat everyday and that is one of the things I enjoy about being here. Eating out is a great experience and it's ironic that the worst food I have had was a hamburger!

The People
Aside from my little rant about staring earlier on I have found that Korean people are as a nation some of the friendliest I have ever met. The story I mentioned yesterday about the guy offering Charlie his umbrella to walk across the street is a prime example of what I mean. Would that happen in England? Nah, you're more likely to get laughed at and some evil being is probably going to drench you while purposely driving through a puddle. I feel bad for not knowing the language and when people speak to me they try and use English which to me is a major thing because I am in their country and they are trying to cater to my needs.

Korean people have been very friendly to me from the outset and whether it's been cab drivers, restaurant owners of people just trying to help when we are looking lost it's all been very refreshing from the 'head down and get on with my own business' culture I am used to.

Making New Friends
Something which is obviously beneficial to the experience of being in Korea is having some good friends around me and although I am missing several key people from my life back home, I know that I have a good set of people around me who will always be there to support me when I need it. I couldn't ask for better friends than Kevin and Charlie and the fact that the three of us have spent so much time together has already made us pretty close friends. I've met some great people at Now Bar, playing with Inter Suwon and i'd also like to think some of the kids working at the school too. The people around me are helping to shape my experience and they are helping to make it what it is at the moment.

The Culture
Let's face it, every single country on this side or the other side of the world has it's own individual feel and no two countries are alike. Still I feel that Korea is in a league of it's own when it comes to the culture it has shown me so far. The culture and the surroundings are phenominal. I've seen some great building's and scenes in my short life so far but I don't think there are many places I have seen with such a great, interesting and individual view as Korea. Whether it's walking down a street lit by a million neons or looking into the distance to see mountains and trees as far as you can see it's all fantastic. Hwaseong Fortress, even though I haven't walked all the way round it, is a sight which I'm sure I will never forget and will never be able to take enough pictures of. The view from the temple at the top of the whole of Suwon is almost as good as the view you get from the top of the Eiffel Tower (and it was free!)

There's plenty more to look forward to for me in Korea and I'd like to think that the first month has just been a taster of things to come. I hope that at least a few people will be able to experience the wonders of the great country I am in at the moment and for the rest of you I will continue to do my best to paint a vivid pictures of my surroundings!

G'nite x