It wasn’t always easy living in Seoul for the last few months. I came here not knowing Korean, nor my professors, nor even how to use chopsticks. I spent the first few days too scared to leave my room and explore. I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed with all the new sights, sounds and smells. All I could see was how my new home was different. I was so worried that people would not understand me or that I wouldn’t get to eat unless I had someone order for me in Korean. Did you know that many restaurants in Korea don’t have forks available? You need to ask for a fork... if the waiter can understand you!
But it wasn’t all bad here in Korea. I finally faced my first fear and started learning Korean. While it was difficult to learn Hangul, the Korean alphabet, I quickly overcame this first hurdle. While I can’t hold a conversation in Korean, I know that I can at least understand a few words. And now that I can read hangul, it will be much easier in my studies if I want to keep learning Korean.
Learning chopsticks was the most embarrassing thing I had to learn. Almost everyone I knew already knew how to use them before coming here. Growing up, I never had the opportunity to learn; my family only learned how to use forks for eating.
