I meant to do this on the 10th, which would have been a month exactly but of course that didn't happen.
How I felt before I got here?:
Obviously I felt unsure of just about everything. I had heard from others that were here or had knew someone who was here but that all meant nothing in my eyes because I'm my own person and what one person might hate, I might love. That's why I don't understand why people won't see a movie based on a bad review by someone else.
How I feel now?:
Great! If I had to rate my first month on a scale from 1-10, I think it would be a 10. I expected to maybe like somethings here, and feel uneasy about other things. But there hasn't been much, if anything at all that has made me feel like I made a bad decision by coming here.
I've heard of Korean "racism" stories where a foreigner, or more particularly a black person would feel uncomfortable from getting stared at. My philosophy on that is that regardless of where you're at, do you not get stared at? Every black person I walk by, or drives in the states stares at me, so does that mean they're racist? Is it not in a human's nature to stare? Besides, what's in a stare? Could they be admiring you? Maybe, you never know. And if I feel a longer than usual stare from a Korean I just stare them right back down and they're quick to look away.
What have I done?:
-Went through a gruesome week long training program that honestly didn't prepare me much for live teaching.
-Went to a baseball game, and it was the most exciting baseball game I've ever been to.
-Went to a water amusement park, that was also quite amazing.
-Sang karaoke with a live band playing and a drunk 40 something Korean guy as my hype man.
-Strolled out of my apartment at 2a.m. many nights just to walk around for a while.
-Went to this pool that was on the rooftop of a hotel in Itaewon.
-Stayed out til 5/6 in the morning, because the clubs/bars stay open that late, and the subway shuts down around midnight, and doesn't start back up until 5:30a.m.
-Studied the Korean language, I started before I came, and I keep at it now, also take a few classes.
-Walked up to(wait, checks phone) 7 random Korean girls and got their phone numbers(but believe me it's less promising than it sounds).
-Went rollerblading
-Ate various dishes in which I had no idea what it was until after I already swallowed it, some I still have not a clue what they were.
-Got lost about an hour away from where I live, not fun at all, but saw some Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, and Maserati's along the way.
-Had a 9 day paid vacation 1 week after I started due to the almighty swine flu!
-And of course, taught Korean kids the oh so confusing English language.
