observations about south korea, volume one.

1. there are no traffic rules. seriously, driving here has to be one of the most terrifying things ever. cars pull u-turns in the middle of the street whenever they feel like it. red lights don't mean stop. motorbikes and scooters claim use of the sidewalks. the lanes are narrow, everyone changes lanes recklessly, and bus rides are nauseating. thank goodness for the subway.

2. everyone is SO nice. my korean is very, very limited. and by limited i mean i know like... three words. and most of the time, the person i'm trying to communicate with knows barely more than that in english. but i've gotten some of the best help and customer service ever. one day during training, a few of us got a little turned around getting back to the subway. we asked a couple high school aged girls and they tried to help, but ultimately the language barrier was too much. a couple minutes later, they came up behind us on a street corner to show us a map of the subway on one of their phones. they were so concerned that we would be lost and went out of their way to be helpful. it was really sweet.

3. heated floors are pretty much the best invention of all time. so much better than vented heating. for. real. nothing like getting out of bed on a chilly morning and stepping onto a nice warm floor.

4. the food is amazing. everyone, get yourselves to a korean restaurant asap. even if it may not be 100% authentic because you aren't IN korea, it will probably still be delicious. i want to eat all of it all the time. and it's so cheap!!

5. korean children are so cute i might die. seriously. kids are adorable anywhere. but there's something about the little korean kids toddling around in their giant puffy winter coats that just makes me melt every. single. time.