There are a lot of different things I want to say, so forgive me if this is piecemeal.
I tried Soju at the going away dinner for my 2 colleagues going to Vietnam, and it was a little strong for me. I guess it is made of sweet potato, but tastes like weak vodka, and you sip it. Kind of gross, but I didn’t want to say that as Koreans have a strong sense of national pride. I drank 2 small glasses while everyone else had at least 4 (and then went back to work!). I had Korean barbeque again tonight after work, but this time with other foreign interns. I also tried Cass, a Korean beer, which was pretty standard as far as beers go. 
Yesterday, at lunch, a man from the Process Innovation group, English name “Brett”, took me to Bongeunsa, a Buddhist temple in downtown Seoul. I did not have my camera, unfortunately, but it was very beautiful. I plan on returning with my camera in the near future. I also tried bibimbap, a traditional Korean food pictured in the post below. It was delicious. Brett is an older man with a daughter my age, and his English is decent, but there is still a lot of miscommunication. He talked about how, in his opinion, Koreans are getting fat because they are eating too much meat. He showed me pictures of his family on his cell phone, and talked about his Buddhist wife. He said all Korean wives are “princesses”. Today at lunch I was invited to eat with the Korean interns. They have all graduated from University and are halfway through a 6 month internship. Jae-hee was the one who invited me and she spent a year studying in Philadelphia. We ate in the POSCO cafeteria, which is only 3000 won for breakfast, lunch or dinner (less than $3 USD). I really enjoyed eating with young people because of how informal it was. Koreans have a hierarchy amongst themselves. Elders and bosses are the most respected (and your bosses will always be elders), then come fathers, mothers and teachers, and lastly children. If you are a foreigner, the wealth of your country dictates the amount of respect you will receive. After lunch, Jae-hee convinced one of the other interns, English name “Brian”, to buy us all ice cream. Mine was watermelon with chocolate pieces for seeds. It looked like this:
English name “Billy” was the goof of the group and he was quite comical despite his broken English. Most Koreans are better at written English than spoken, and a lot of them are afraid to speak it because they do not want to embarrass themselves. A big part of Korean culture is saving face, everything is done for outward appearances and harmonious atmospheres. This attitude contributes to Koreans impeccable sense of style. They are always well groomed and stylish. The shopping here is to die for and I cannot wait to get to Dongdaemun Market (pictured below). The women usually wear heels and the men usually carry murses. Even the construction workers are well dressed.
Yesterday, at lunch, a man from the Process Innovation group, English name “Brett”, took me to Bongeunsa, a Buddhist temple in downtown Seoul. I did not have my camera, unfortunately, but it was very beautiful. I plan on returning with my camera in the near future. I also tried bibimbap, a traditional Korean food pictured in the post below. It was delicious. Brett is an older man with a daughter my age, and his English is decent, but there is still a lot of miscommunication. He talked about how, in his opinion, Koreans are getting fat because they are eating too much meat. He showed me pictures of his family on his cell phone, and talked about his Buddhist wife. He said all Korean wives are “princesses”. Today at lunch I was invited to eat with the Korean interns. They have all graduated from University and are halfway through a 6 month internship. Jae-hee was the one who invited me and she spent a year studying in Philadelphia. We ate in the POSCO cafeteria, which is only 3000 won for breakfast, lunch or dinner (less than $3 USD). I really enjoyed eating with young people because of how informal it was. Koreans have a hierarchy amongst themselves. Elders and bosses are the most respected (and your bosses will always be elders), then come fathers, mothers and teachers, and lastly children. If you are a foreigner, the wealth of your country dictates the amount of respect you will receive. After lunch, Jae-hee convinced one of the other interns, English name “Brian”, to buy us all ice cream. Mine was watermelon with chocolate pieces for seeds. It looked like this:
English name “Billy” was the goof of the group and he was quite comical despite his broken English. Most Koreans are better at written English than spoken, and a lot of them are afraid to speak it because they do not want to embarrass themselves. A big part of Korean culture is saving face, everything is done for outward appearances and harmonious atmospheres. This attitude contributes to Koreans impeccable sense of style. They are always well groomed and stylish. The shopping here is to die for and I cannot wait to get to Dongdaemun Market (pictured below). The women usually wear heels and the men usually carry murses. Even the construction workers are well dressed.
Random Pictures:
My dormitory at Dongukk
Our hallway after it monsooned all day:
Sweet Korean vending machine in my dorm
My "happy and precious" jam I enjoy in the mornings
Night time in Seoul
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