Some Topics I Should Have Discussed Earlier

Recently, I had lunch with a girl from my sorority, who studied abroad in China last semester. We shared stories, much that were the same. Then, I realized that there are some things about Korea that I probably should have mentioned:

For those of you who don't know, I attended Ewha Womans University. It is the top womans university in Korea and ranks 4th among all Korean universities. The girls usually come from wealthy families, but still complain that the tuition is too high. Any guesses on how much it costs for a semester? $4 000 is the tuition rate (per semester) for this prestigious school. I told those girls not to complain.

Traffic: The idea is to flow like a river. If there's space that you can fit, go there. Red lights are a polite suggestion. Motorcycles and scooters go to the front of traffic to wait at a stoplight. Motorcycles also have big hand mits. I personally find them quite hilarious. Taxi drivers are crazy and drive quickly so they can get more business. However, it is fairly reasonable to take a general taxi (as opposed to deluxe taxis that charge more for higher quality service). Flat fee is 1900 KWN or about $1.90 for the first 2km. Additionaly 10 cents for every 144 meters or 35 seconds if sitting in traffic. Bus drivers drive like they're in a nascar race. They also don't know how to shift properly and must be killing the transmission.

On the Streets: It is so easy to barter on the streets. The numerous clothing shops make it easier to shop, although I found it difficult to shop for pants. Many places didn't have places to try things on. Some shops wouldn't let me try on clothes or unfold shirts. That's when I got stressed out and bought ice cream instead. I couldn't complain much though. I bought two shirts for $10. I won't start on the fashion, because I don't understand it. Besides clothing, there also are cheap street food and fruit sold. There was even a guy with a "Cocktail Take-out" stand. He sold multitudes of cocktails for about $4. I never had the enthusiasm to buy one, but I thought it was interesting to sell it in front of a womans university.

American restaurants: Subway, Burger King, Quiznos, Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, Bennigans, Outback Steakhouse, McDonalds (they deliver in Seoul), Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts -Koreans really love donuts. I don't know why- Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, and probably more that I can't think of right now.