Jumping Around...

    Just trying it out..want to see if I can actually get a video up here...if I do, that would be awesome! Then I can do vlogging as well! But it will all be from this site or I will give you a link. This video is a short self-introduction in my favorite and second-most proficient language, Korean. It's not just you, my voice DID suddenly get really nasal, it's how some Korean girls talk, and along with the nasality, I've also adopted a large part of the South Gyeongsang dialect, which I've heard described as "the Texas of Korea" because it's so distinct. When I went to other cities and spoke to bartenders and waitresses in Korean, they would all say "Oh my goodness! You speak just like a South Gyeongsang person!" It wasn't even something I really tried to do, it was just where I was living and using and hearing the language.

     I didn't go to school to learn Korean, I mainly got friends and joined social events and salsa clubs and got really close with my co-workers. Trust me, in Korea, you want your co-workers to be on your side. In America, you can leave the office and not have to worry about or hang out with your co-workers or depend on them for mostly anything (I'm generalizing here). However, in Korea as a Westerner who doesn't speak the language, your co-workers basically control your life. I mean, they teach with you in he classroom and they translate for you to the principal and other people...they are even in charge of getting you your first apartment/cell phone/immigration card/bank account! So a lot of people buy presents for their co-workers before they even meet them!

     I read that it might be because Koreans work so many hours and they are sometimes as work and see their coworkers more often than they do their own children or families! The line between friends and coworkers is also very blurred. I can't count how many times I was invited out to dinner with my "department" (the people who shared my block of cubicles) or all of the English staff or the whole school. I heard that Obama wants the US to be more like Korea...well, I haven't seen the clip or any of the reactions or explanations, but my opinion is he only knows half the story. Korean kids are absolute geniuses and they study harder than anyone I've ever seen...they are in school for 10-12 hours a day if not more! But Obama may have failed to mention that South Korea has like, suicide rate #2 in the world...and it's mostly the young kids who are jumping off buildings because they failed their college entrance exams...more on that fun stuff another time...I totally didn't plan to digress like this.

     Thank you for reading this post and watching a video of me after a very, very long day...

     Let me get one thing straight. I'm not making light of anything or offending anyone. Well, I'm not trying to offend anyone so if you feel that I am wrong, PLEASE tell me and that would be awesome, because I LIKE a difference of opinion. It makes for interesting conversation. I am simply stating my experience and my feelings about what I saw, heard and did in Asia. I'm not a politician or historian, I just want to record my memories while they're still fresh in my mind. Thanks!!! ^^*