Currency
I learned this week that Korea's largest bill -- 10,000 WON -- is equivalent to the CDN/US $10 bill! Can you believe it, if I need to pay someone $500 in cash (for those who don't take credit) then I have to count out 50 bills in $10 increments. This makes me feel absolutely rich walking around with pockets full of money but what a pain at the cash register.
In fact, I was talking with a couple from TCIS who worked in Korea about 10 years ago when their salary was paid in cash. Apparently not everyone had bank accounts back then so this couple stored their cash in suitcases in the closet. After awhile they had so much cash stored away they didn’t know how much they had and when one of them needed money to go shopping they took, oh, about 1-2 inches with them =)
Food
A lot of people are asking whether I like the Korean food and I can honestly say that the food is really good here! I'm even getting use to kimchee (fermented cabbage with spices) that is served at every meal including breakfast! I don't crave Korean food for every meal but I must say they certainly know how to fill a table... typically with one main plate per person and a slew of small side dishes with sauces, soup and (of course) various types of kimchee.
The quantity of food they serve at any given meal is usually more than I can handle but the price is definitely easy to swallow. I can sit down for dinner and the total bill is typically around $3.50-4.00! Since they don't tax or expect a tip, it is more economical to eat out than buy food at grocery stores. Got to love Korea =)
Expense
So far I’ve found most Koreans to be very hard working no-nonsense people, both on campus and off. For instance, I went into a little tailor shop right across the street from my apartment to get new pants hemmed. Amazing that I can walk into a place where I don't know Korean and the owner doesn't know English, and still walk out of there 5 minutes later with pants hemmed perfectly... all for $2 cash! I simply gave the lady my pants (that I carried in with me... just to make the story clear =), pointed to the hem line, she measured, then snip snip and they were done. So who needs a lot of explanation and work orders to get a job done?
Street Life
There are a number of things I still have to get used to like walking the narrow streets of Daejeon as cars pass by within inches. It is such a different way of life here... enough room on the streets for one vehicle to drive as cars and pedestrians share the same space. But don't only look out for traffic because people also use the street as an extension of their home or business. Just yesterday I walked by a restaurant that had a blanket laid out on the street with about 20 dozen red hot peppers drying in the sun. You need to keep your eyes open when walking the streets of Daejeon!
There are plenty of cultural differences but I’ll save some for later posts. Needless to say, life is never boring around here!
