It's a Magical World...Let's Go Exploring!

Since I've been in Korea I've learned a few things about my adaptability skills. I must've used up all my energy on the huge leap I made in coming here, because as of yet I've been hesitant to do more than dip a toe in the Gwangju pool.

As I mentioned in my first post, I've done some walking around my immediate neighborhood and familiarized myself with the area. I don't like to approach people unless I know exactly what I'm going to do or say, since I don't want to burden them with my language barrier issues. There are several grocery stores on my street, and usually I can go to one of them, find what I want on the shelves (though the selection is much more limited than in America) and pay for it without having to know any Korean. Of course, they can tell I'm a foreigner (the whole being Caucasian thing is a dead giveaway), since they often say "Thank you" instead of "Kan-sa-ham-ni-da" to me after I pay.

There was a chicken stand I wanted to try the food at a few days ago, but I ended up not getting anything because I wasn't sure what the menu items were and my Korean dictionary didn't seem to have translations for them. Too bad. The next day I stopped at a chicken shop that had a picture menu, and I got the cheapest thing there. My only gripe was that the portion they gave me was about half of what they showed in the picture. I don't know if they were ripping me off or what, but I was disappointed. If you give out only half a bag of chicken bite-thingies, then doggone it, don't show a full bag in the picture!

I found a place called Nantapizza that apparently markets itself as inexpensive. There's even a little cartoon on the bottom of the box. I can't understand it, but I'm pretty sure I can tell what's happening. There are two cats, one of whom is holding a 5,000 Won bill and lamenting the fact that he doesn't have enough money to buy anything good. The other cat tells him not to worry, because he can get a pizza for 5,000 Won at Nantapizza! They go to Nantapizza together and in the last panel they're both grinning from ear to ear at the huge pie that awaits them. Cute? Very. Once I have a camera I'll take a picture for you.

5,000 Won is actually only the price of their cheapest pizza, but since I don't want to spend too much my first month here, that was all I got. For those who don't know, pizza toppings in Korea are all kinds of weird stuff we Americans aren't used to, so I went with a plain cheese (known in Korea as "Chi-ja-pi-cha"), as it was cheapest and safest. They offer only two sizes: Large and XXXL, and obviously I went with the smaller of the two, "Large." I took the pizza home and it wasn't bad. It's no Malnati's, but hey, I'm not too picky when it comes to pizza these days.

I was curious how big the XXXL was, so last night I went back in the late evening (my work kept me at the school until 9:00) and decided I'd try the old Triple X-L. The woman behind the counter recognized me from last time, and I'm sure she was happy to have a loyal customer. There was a second woman in the store this time, and she held a small poodle in her arms. That's right, there was a dog in the store. Even funnier, she carried the dog with her behind the counter at one point. I'm guessing the health codes around these parts are a little more lax. The XXXL is definitely bigger, and I ended up only eating about half of it, as opposed to the Large, which I ate in one sitting.

Only once have I ventured off my street, and that was when I decided to walk up and down the big, busy street that runs near mine. I stopped at a fast food place called Lotteria, and I got some sort of shrimp burger thing. It was interesting. Some menu options were similar to what you'd see in America, but there were also some odd ones that I'd never even heard of. If I recall correctly there was a definite seafood leaning.

That same evening I decided to walk down a random side street after going further down the busy street. I came across a small grocery store and decided to check out the selection. The man behind the counter was very friendly and eager to help me find what I was looking for, and it was a memorable experience trying to talk with someone whose English was limited, but good enough for communicating in a barebones fashion. I probably spent a little more money there than I would've liked, but hey, I made a friend!

I could possibly talk a little about my teaching experiences, but right now I'm still learning the ropes, so it's hard to feel great about how I've done. I believe I can do this job well, but as of right now I know I still need to improve. I take confidence in knowing that I've become a valued employee at several jobs where I started out terribly. I know I'm capable of overcoming my weaknesses, because I've proven it to myself many times, but until I do I won't be able to rest easy. I don't think anyone has any idea how badly I want to succeed at this job.

It's now nighttime in the Land of the Morning Calm, which signals the end of my waking hours as well as this post. Hopefully next time I'll be able to end on a more upbeat note.