well, the koreans are here! after a much anticipated and fairly awkward initial meeting, we have finally settled into our places. today has been a day of "settling", as it is the beginning of the program- seeing old friends, exploring a new city, meeting new people. i arrived in memphis a little early today, and was able to take a ride on the trolley with my mother and sister. it was bittersweet to be with them and know that i was about to leave them, yet for a truly wonderful opportunity (don't cry, mother). meeting my classmates at the hotel was like being reunited with my old friends, and we quickly were catching up on our summers. soon, the korean students had pulled up to our hotel and, before we knew it, we were exchaging names and finding roomates.
(continued tuesday) i must say that this has already been quite an experience with those of another culture. my roomate is yi soo, a very sweet girl who is 23 in korean years (22 in american). as soon as i woke up i put on shorts to head downstairs for breakfast; in my half asleep mode, it took me a while to recognize that this food was very foreign to them. yi soo ate cereal and, upon wanting more food, returned to the table with a plate of gravy. she winced as she tried it. i told her to get a biscuit to eat with it. she then laughed and confessed she thought it might have been soup. wow. to take for granted that we know what gravy is and how to eat it. this is just one instance of the differing cultures that are meshing here. however, they are very good speakers of english. conversation takes patience and concentration, but they probe and ponder the very things that we experience as daily habits. nothing can be assumed. i think this trip is going to show me alot about america, and i'm not just talking about new landmarks and places.
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