Korean culture 101

Some do's and don'ts I've learned over the past week from a Korean friend, a Korean waitress and program organizers:

1. Generally, instead of a handshake, give out a business card - using two hands, thumbs on top and fingers together underneath, with elbows bent. Receive cards the same way.
2. When handing someone a cup of tea, however, use one hand and touch the other hand to the inside of your elbow. (Things other than business cards or teacups are still a little murky.)
3. When entering a room with a group of people, walk in most senior to least senior (rank or age), and walk out in reverse. Never turn your back when leaving a room; instead, back out.
4. The most senior person eats first, decides when phone conversations are over and shakes hands first (if there are handshakes).
5. When dining with seniors, turn away from the table to drink (any drink), and cover your mouth as you sip.
6. Women should always cover their mouths when they laugh.
7. Bow in greeting; the more senior the person in rank (and possibly age), the deeper the bow.
8. Never curl a finger to call a person to you; instead, turn your hand palm down and sweep at the air.

And that's definitely only the beginning of the culture list.

Now, few of these things are expected of tourists, but as someone living in the the country and working in a prestigious position (yes, teaching - can you imagine?) with Koreans, these are mannerisms I will need to adopt. I'll keep you posted on how that goes ... but you can imagine that it won't be smoothly. :)

Also had a full Korean meal for the first time in my life this week - much to the amusement of my friend who dined with me, the waitress and the other patrons in the place (all Koreans). My tentative "thank you" in Korean - the only phrase I eventually mastered that evening - brought huge guffaws ... not quite sure what I said - and it's probably better that way. As far as the food, I guess I'd envisioned something more similar to the other Asian styles I've tried ... but it was totally unlike any other genre and quite tasty. Plenty more about that in the months to come, I'd imagine.

under construction

UCCS just posted a bunch of photos of construction at the Daegu English Village site - click here for more. I think they were taken during a trip this winter, but it's still exciting to see something a little more concrete than architects' drawings with a mysteriously transparent clock tower ...

The enormity of being part of the founding of such a program freaks me out no little bit sometimes, but the opportunities should be equal to the challenges. 20 American teachers have been hired now, they tell us, and I think most of the village staff is also in place. Although it still doesn't feel quite real, it's becoming more apparent every day that it's actually going to happen.

Meanwhile, construction continues on this blog, as well - I've added a whole bunch of stuff on the sidebar at right. Let me know if you're having more trouble loading this site than others or if things are displaying correctly ... still working out the kinks.

And a packing question: Does anyone have suggestions of American trinkets to take for thank-you gifts or rewards for students?

Colorado hail, Korean heat

Dime-sized hail today in Colorado - it's bouncing like popcorn on the green grass behind my house and slipping down the chimney to sizzle on the fire. Almost got caught out in it with nothing but my iPod (and my clothes, thank you very much!) - ouch. I started wondering about precipitation in Korea (I'd heard about temperatures - hot, swampy summers, in Daegu at least, and anyone who's ever watched M*A*S*H knows about the bitter winters), did a little looking and stumbled across some a couple interesting pages about Daegu. Thought I'd share for any of y'all thinking about visiting, or who are just curious:

• www.sri2006.org/useful/daegu.php
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daegu (Generic Wikipedia disclaimer: This is a publicly edited page, so take any facts found here with some degree of skepticism)
• www.dalseo.daegu.kr/eng/html/sub01_04.html

explain fully

I love bureaucracy ... when I don't hate it. It's just endless fodder for amusement.

Exhibit A) American Family Insurance has just informed me that I will have to pay a deductible if a volcano or earthquake levels my Colorado condo. They sent me a whole letter just to tell me that.

Exhibit B) Korean visa application Question No. 19.

This picture is tiny, I know, but hopefully you can just make out Question No. 19, right above the penny - the one with the box stretching to the bottom right of the frame: "[Hangul script] Purpose of entry (explain fully)." And then not even a thimbleful of white space. Heck, they took up most the explanation possibilities just by telling you to do it.

Of course I won't explain fully, I'll just squish "teach English" in my neatest, 3-point handwriting and be done with it, but it still cracks me up.