Koreans are stylish dressers for the most part. Young women wear skimpy skirts and shorts, but seem to raise the bar at the midriff. Not even a hint of a belly here.
Young couples often dress like twins - same outfits. It's cute, I suppose.
There is nary a single white hair anywhere here. Well among the women. I've seem some gray haired men, but not a lot. My friend Jin Young has commented on my locks a number of times. What color your hair? Oh, you must cut your hair!
Rapid industrialization has catapulted this country into first world status in the last 40 years, and the effects on Korean physique are marked. Young people here are pretty tall, and even big boned. Some of that change could be the effect of US military bases here for 60 years, but improved nutrition certainly plays a significant role.
Daegu is a city of 2.5 million crowded with high rise apartments, wide avenues, numerous chic shopping districts, health centers, and all the other amenities one would wish for, but at the same time tiny grandmothers sell produce on street corners, and there are open air and pavilion-type markets everywhere, full of micro-businesses and food stalls one sees in developing countries everywhere.
There are a lot of missionaries here in Daegu. I've been approached so many times. Hi, are you Christian? And their English is so good. Today I met one at the health club who had lived in Chicago for 6 years while her husband studied the ministry. She was quite pleasant and didn't seem shocked by my brief lecture on the rapid growth of atheists like me in the US.
You can get good fresh vegetables and fruit everywhere which makes me so happy that I have a kitchen.
Restaurants tend to specialize in particular kinds of dishes, so it sometimes takes a long time to find the kind of food you feel like eating. I've walked for more than an hour with my ex-pat colleagues trying to find a place to eat.
Costco is here in Korea and so is the YMCA. Too bad I left my cards at home.
The subway is clean and modern and easy to navigate and it only costs $1 to go anywhere on the line.
2 comments:
Keep it coming dada. Your posts are great. I'm really jealous. What sort of activities have you completed that are part of their training ? I'm curious to hear about their exercises for use in TZ. Kaka.
P.S. What is the term for brother and sister in Korean?
Hey, Kaka,
My course has focused on classroom language, incorporating culture in language teaching, and mainly communicative, interactive activities to use with students to promote fluency. We've also done games and music lessons as well. I'll send you an outline of what we've all done when I get home. Perhaps you'll already be in TZ by that time!
Actually, my Korean is pretty pitiful. I only know the basics...thank you, please, excuse me, and Hi.!
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