Scoping it out

Day 2: May 18

Today was my first official day in Cheonan City.  I woke up this morning and unpacked and tried to get settled.  I decided to be adventurous and check out the city by myself!  Well, it took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to get off campus!  I saw a lot of Korea Nazarene University (KNU) though.  It’s a nice campus with lots of new buildings.  They build up here though, so there are lots of buildings with multiple levels in them.  I went into ‘Family Mart,’ which is just like a convenient store to get my lunch.  I wasn’t brave enough to try a restaurant by myself b/c I had no idea about the food.  So, for lunch I had a bag of chips (they looked like Doritos, but they were not Doritos!) and a coke… real healthy I know!  It’s very interesting walking around b/c all you hear is Korean and you have no idea what is going on!  I am definitely the minority here! 

Tonight, I did some more exploring and it was quite fun!  One of the other teachers here took me to a mart (a store) to get some basic things I needed.  The beds here are pretty hard, so I had to get a mattress pad… hopefully that will help me sleep well tonight!  Going there was quite an experience.  It was comparable to a Wal-Mart in the states. 

I had my first real Korean meal/experience tonight!  (My camera needed batteries so that’s why I haven’t taken any pictures yet, but don’t worry… I will!)  When we entered we had to remove our shoes.  I was wearing flip-flops so I ate barefoot… it was different walking into a restaurant with no shoes on.  The chairs were on the floor, kind of like stadium seats, only on the ground, not on bleachers.  We had Bolgogi… which is sweet beef.  It is one of my favorite Korean dishes I’ve ever had.  They served it with probable 12 different sides of vegetables.  It was pretty good.  I tried Kim-Chi… definitely not a fan.  It’s a little spicy for my taste.  I’ll try some soon again though.  My first meal was a success.  I found out where some great other places to eat are as well, so that is an adventure all on it’s own. 

I’m learning a lot about the culture.   It’s definitely different, but it’s good!  Tomorrow I think I am going to school with one of the Elementary teachers so I can get a feel for what it’s like.  I’m really looking to seeing what I will doing soon! 

My first day in a new country… not too bad!