again in bullet point fashion. my apologies…

- this place has an obsession with the english language, american things and western culture. anything american, really. almost everything mimics something american (clothing, food, commercials, music, etc – though not so much tv, i’ve noticed). for instance, there are stores that look like carbon copies of abercrombie, banana republic and other such american brand-name stores, although they do have the legit american imports as well.. all the ads and a lot of store signs are written in english (but nearly half the time in some absurd, broken english). tons of commercials feature american stars (one who’s really popular here right now is the dude from ‘prison break’ – ‘prison break?’ who watches that in the states? um, not me). EVERY child, student, and adult is in some way studying english – whether at school, on their own, or at after school tutoring centers. yet, at the same time, it’s not like people here are actually good at speaking it. i find all of this a bit troubling.

- i’ve started speaking back in english whenever i go into a store and don’t feel like dealing with the sales reps. it kinda works great.

- there’s an obsession with coffee here as well, but not real coffee – more like fake coffee, like mochas and lattes. but being a black coffee drinker, this is a rather large inconvenience to me, as cafe americanos are generally very weak and watery.

- in fact, most western food products (again, ubiquitous) are a little lighter and less fatty in general, which is both a blessing and a curse. (i’ve probably already lost 2 or 3 lbs here.) the yogurt is lighter which isn’t necessarily unpalatable, but some days, i yearn for the thickness of greek yogurt. however, i do feel that the pastries and baked goods are tastier here. yum.

- there are a lot more white men than white women. and most of them are often seen with korean women, which i find somewhat disturbing and weird. asian fetish much?

- there are (faux) hipsters in seoul! faux because i don’t think they’re totally genuine, only in dress. (but then again… hipsters by definition are faux everything, aren’t they?)

things i hate already:
- the rampant materialism and materialistic culture (for instance, my uncle’s had 6 cars in the last 12 years.. only one of the many examples i can think of.)

- the fact that i almost always feel poorly dressed now compared to these fashionable women

- the obsession with appearance (cosmetic surgery isn’t uncommon – it’s pretty cheap actually.)

- the HOMOGENEITY!!! everyone looks the same! (even as they are all pretty and well-dressed in their own way.) i dislike being surrounded by one race so often! i actually miss being different and having a sort of an identity. not only do i feel invisible here, but i sometimes feel lost as i look like everyone else, and yet, can’t communicate like everyone else! it’s quite frustrating. my heart jumps a little every time i see a foreigner now. and i seek every opportunity to speak english whenever i can.

- cost of living is extremely high, higher than nyc.

things i like:
- the food, snacks and little stores with curios and fun novelty items. and on that same level, the ubiquity of cute little things.

- the clothing, shoes, and other such superficial items if i could afford to spend money on them.

i need to work on lengthening this side of my list

many double-edged swords…

as far as the teaching job goes, i’ll elaborate on it later.. but MAN, it’s suffice to say that the kids here can be motherfuckin cruel. they will eat you alive and tear you to pieces.. and my co-workers are so-so..

stay tuned for more.