After a 2 hour train ride, 1.5 hour flight, 13 hour flight, and 2.5 hour bus ride, I finally arrived in 대전 (Daejeon). With all the layovers and in-betweens, it ended up being about 30 hours of travel.
We pulled up to 한남대학교 (Hannam University), where I will be living and taking Korean language courses with my fellow roommates. Let me just begin by saying that Hannam University is absolutely beautiful. Our home sits right on the corner of campus, easy walking distance from tons of restaurants, stores, and all of the academic buildings.
In fact, so far I have been completely overwhelmed by how beautiful South Korea is in general. About 2/3 of South Korea is uninhabitable because of the tall mountain ranges, which means that about 50 million people fit into the other 1/3 of the country. To put it in perspective, South Korea is around the size of Virginia, which currently holds about 8 million people. Just let that sink in.
These beautiful mountain ranges completely surround Daejeon. The photo above was taken out of the window of the President of Hannam University’s office (who invited us over to meet him). It looks onto the open garden sitting in the center of the university.
We drove through the mountains this weekend to meet a kind couple from the church I will be attending. They are professional potters who own a home, studio, and gallery, all set in the mountains of 공주 (Gongju). Upon arrival, they served us tea and fruit, and then allowed us to create bowls and teacups to take home.
If this sounds overwhelmingly hospitable to you, then you are feeling similarly to how I have been feeling this entire week. That is one of the main aspects of Korean culture that has been continually surprising and wonderful. Every place that I have visited I have been greeted with tea, coffee, desserts, and fruit. One of my site coordinators mentioned offhand that Koreans typically don’t like having meetings without the company of food and drink.
Meeting people and chatting over food and drink has been the general trend of my time here so far. I feel like I am constantly eating and drinking loads of delicious things I have never tried before. I am still unaware of what half of the things I have been putting in my mouth are, but have become pretty fearless in trying the dishes, because they have consistently been enjoyable. Rice, Kimchi, vegetables, squid, beef, noodles, and tons of spices take over every meal.
As a guest in their country, they splurge on feeding me. And as a guest in their country, I eat what is given to me. So one thing is for sure, I certainly wont go hungry here! But what all this food symbolizes to me is a welcoming and hospitable culture, and for that I am eternally grateful. All this food means new relationships and conversation. I am excited for all of the meals to come!