The way of the Korean

Well I am having a blast so far. The view is amazing,

The people are compassionate,


And the food is delicious. The city has a distinct funk to it, but other than that and the way people drive no complaints yet. But in all honesty I have been told the legal driving age in South Korea is 19 and it is illegal to talk or use the phone while driving; thus, their motor vehicle collision rates are much lower than ours. Our first class was just on the Korean language, most of which we learned before we left for Korea, so it was mostly a refresher. Tomorrow we take a bioethics class taught by our own professor Kim and then a cinema class, and I have no clue what movie we will be watching.

Today we also climbed a mountain to a famous Buddhist temple, one that is also a school for women monks. I will get back to you with all the names later! At the bottom of the mountain we ate at a local restaurant and although I could not find dog I ate a fried silk worm, which tasted a lot like a roasted peanut covered in dirt.

Obviously, there are quite a few differences between Korea and the Oklahoma, U.S.A. For one you cannot wear shoes inside rooms, restaurants or houses- there is a step up into the house where you put on house shoes, then there are special shoes for the bathroom which you step down into. This is because back in the day they used to sleep on the floor and the house was heated through warm vents that circulated under the house beneath the floor. So, in order to keep their "beds" clean and their feet warm they took off their shoes. A lot of the restaurants also do not have chairs and this is again because people sat on the warm floor.

Koreans cannot gamble in their own county, gambling is only for foreigners, a very smart idea if you ask me. Guns are not owned by private citizens, a very big difference. Teachers have special bamboo sticks that they use to whack their students with (on a regular basis from what I hear). They also have saunas and public baths here, which are extremely relaxing if not somewhat awkward.

I have met many new people and gained many new friends. This has been so fun and exciting that I really hope I get an opportunity to do this again, although maybe I should wait at least a full week before I make any final decisions. In the future and I hear that Hannam will be sending two students to RSU next year, so I am very exited for them as well as future RSU students who take this trip in the future. Until next time- Josh