A Friend

Mmm! What is better than a couple of fat-filled pastries, a latte and a couple of hours of girl talk? Well, this morning I met one of my few Korean friends (explanation to follow) for coffee at Paris Croissant. We ordered some treats and settled into the over-sized, comfy chairs.
The reason I look a little pale here is that I wasn't feeling that well this morning! :( I can't say that I got better as the day went along, but my class was easy today and I was able to come home by 3. The rest of the day I spent laying in my bed and taking things easy.
This is my friend from work. We sat next to each other in the teacher's office and got to know each other throughout the semester. Making friends here is pretty difficult, actually. There is kind of a traditional separation between men and women--people have told me that Koreans don't believe that men and women can be "just friends." So, the chance to make guy friends is slim. The women in this culture have pretty tightly-knit groups already (and seem to stick to two general groups in my observation: married and unmarried). The other stumbling block is the language barrier. English is difficult to learn! Also, I have a little skepticism around this issue. I have often had people approach me and ask me for dinner or coffee or other things, but I feel that there is an underlying agenda: free English practice. It sounds pretty harsh, I know, but the reality of it all is that Koreans really, really, really want to learn English! Anyway, all that to say that my Korean friendship tally is at about 2 1/2 after five months! So nobody starts to feel sorry for me, I have to say that I have quite a few non-Korean friends here. I met a bunch of people at teacher orientation in August and have maintained contact with many of them. So, I'm not entirely lonely!

I have made a list of things that I have yet to do here in Korea--places to see, temples to visit and mountains to hike. I am excited to get going on this next seven months...just as soon as it warms up, darn it! It has been so cold here lately (I know it isn't as cold as MN, but cold is cold)! At least I figured out my Korean heating system (see past entries for details)! :)