Alright.. three weeks since my last post. Seems like a hiatus based on previous post frequency, but I’m anticipating some serious ramp-up here throughout the month of May. No excuses, I just haven’t felt like writing and have been spending more times with hobbies and other activities. I’m sure the frequency of my posts will fluctuate depending on whether or not I have anything interesting to write about!
So what’s in five days? For a little over half a year, Meghann and I have been planning a trip to South Korea, and we finally leave Saturday! It will be my first time travelling internationally, and I’m really excited about it. I’m hoping to take photos and upload them here, along with stories and experiences. I’m not sure what sort of free time I’ll have to do this or what my energy levels will be like, but I’d like to write as often as I can. Ideally, I’d like for it to be every day, but let’s just say I’ll do my best. For future trips, I’ll remember… planning a trip over the course of 7-8 months is exhausting.. going forward I’m going to set specific times to do planning and then not worry about it the rest of the time (aka, all the time for half a year).
Leading up to leaving, Meg and I have an extremely busy week this week. Tomorrow, we have Dash’s final advanced dog training course, in which he’ll (hopefully) graduate. This time around, we did exercises to build his confidence (which he passed hilariously easy), “back” (take steps backwards from a heel), and more focus on the “stay” command with distractions. We’re pretty confident he’ll pass… he’s a great dog, but still an 18-month-old puppy with lots of energy! Certain things are more difficult with that. Thursday Meg and I fly to Texas for a work event. I won a top 3% performer award for 2011, and we we have an award ceremony and celebration event to attend Thursday evening. Friday morning, we fly back, pack for Korea, and leave for an early flight Saturday morning! Phew… busy week. Fortunately, Meg’s mom Nancy is coming into town to watch the dogs and house sit while we’re in Korea! THANKS NANCY!!
So wow! First time traveling internationally. I really have no idea how I’ll react. I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading about Korean culture, and I’m generally pretty open and accepting of new cultures and experiences, so I’m hoping it will be mostly positive. Here are some interesting observations I’ve made so far in my learnings…
- To say “Hello” in Korean, it sounds like “On-yong ha-say-yo”. Not sure why greeting has so many syllables (could you imagine trying to say that quickly in passing?!), but it’s the extent of my Korean language so far and I’m looking forward to utilizing it
- Gift giving is a major part of the Korean culture. Meghann and I have an entire suitcase filled with gifts of all types, for orphanage children, trip attendees, friends, and others we may meet along the way. I personally find this piece fascinating, as I think I would be annoyed by something like this. I usually really like to keep my possessions to what I exactly need and no more, as I’m bothered by clutter.. if gifts are given so frequently, I would expect to have a lot of extra things I wouldn’t know what to do with. I’m hoping to have some conversations with Koreans about this to get more understanding on this piece of their culture while I’m over there.
- The dining culture seems very specific. Elders always begin eating first at the table. Second helpings of the first course (I think???) you will always be offered, in which you are expected to decline. If an elder gives you a drink, you are expected to drink it, but any drinks should be taken facing away from them. So I’ll do my best to adhere and will probably learn a lot in the process.
- Meg and I have been watching quite a few videos from an online blog called “Eat your Kimchi“, which is made by two English speaking Canadians that moved to Korea. They’ve documented a lot of their experiences which have been very helpful. I’d recommend checking it out if you’d like to learn more.. everything from restaurants to their trip to Korean Costco. My old college roommate June (from Korea) sent it to me as something to read to learn more before traveling out there.
So… uh… I sure like lists, huh? Yep. Sure do. Recurring theme here.
More to come… If there is anything specific you’d like me to look for or write about with my international travel, post about it in the comments! Specific topics or questions will make my posts more interesting, I’m sure.. Thanks for reading!