At orientation, we had a class about culture shock, and they talked about the honeymoon stage, where everything in Korea is new and exciting and great. Most of my TaLK scholar friends left that stage last week. I'm still in that stage.
However, I'm wondering when I will be leaving it. It seems hard to imagine at this point of my stay that I will ever hate Korea or think that America is better. Sure, there are things I think are better in America, but Korea has a ton of great things! I really am in love with this city, and I could see myself living here for awhile.
I wish I could explain that more eloquently, but I'm not really sure how to organize my thoughts. And it's not like the way I'm feeling and the things that make me happy here would make much sense. I really like the public transportation in this city. I love that the children are so excited to
see me, even though they don't know me. I love that when I go to the grocery store by my apartment, the baker always smiles at me because he knows that I like his bread, especially the 잘깨빵 (jal-kae-bahng). Honestly, maybe what I love most about being here is that I'm so active. Back home, after classes were over, I went home and I stayed home. Occasionally I would hang out with friends. Here in Gongju, I'm always doing something, or on my way to do something. Sure, I spent my fair amount of time in my room, on the internet, but I'm spending way more time out and about than I did back home.Basically, I have a positive outlook on life, and it is helping me to succeed at having a great time in Korea and loving where I am.
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