Things that new to me were.

I decided to reflect on my time here. What was new to me? What are some things that I really enjoy about Korea? What were some "firsts"? Here's the list so far...

• the bus... I use the bus constantly. How did I survive without it in the States?
  
• the taxi... I had never used a taxi before... now I use them regularly.
  
• the subway... once again, I don't know how I survived without this.
  
• kimchi... a staple food that I love.
  
• chopsticks... I prefer to use these, more than a fork and knife. Eating salad and pasta is so much easier.
  
• sharing food... the communal food. It's fun when everyone eats out of all the bowls on the table (I recently ate a "small" meal and there were about 10 various dishes that we all ate from). It reminds me of our round robin meals in the "bone", when everyone got something different and then we would switch plates every 30 seconds.
  
• street food... so good, so cheap, so awesome. Chicken sticks and Isaac's toast forever!
  
• slurping your soup... it's ok to slurp your soup, in fact, it's polite. And it just makes sense.
  
• shoes off... take your shoes off when you eat and enter houses or certain restaurants, or when you're relaxing on the subway, or just about anywhere you are sitting or standing still.
  
• 10th floor apartment... I have never before lived so high off the ground.
  
• Seoul population: 14 million... I thought Portland was big (pop. 500,000).
  
• assigned seat theaters... No waiting in long lines. Instead you book your movie seat ahead of time.
  
• bowing... when you greet or thank someone, give them a bow.
  
• bottled water... don't drink the tap water, they say it's bad. I've never bought so much bottled water in my life.
  
• gifts when you visit... it's polite to bring a gift when you visit a person's home.
  
• no shower curtain... there's no curtain and when you need to clean the bathroom you simply hose everything down.
  
• kids go to school non-stop... many children get home from school around midnight.
  
• kids run around alone... kids are always running around wild late at night, it amazes me.
  
• Speaking with the verb at the end... "Ryan my name is."
  
• Languages... I now have bits and pieces of four languages in my head (English 80%, TokPisin 10%, Korean 8%, Spanish 2%)
  
• I bought a big umbrella... in Oregon it rains a lot, but you are safe in your car. In Korea, you walk everywhere.
  
• I had a passenger sit on the back of my bicycle korean style.
  
• I haggled over the price of technological gadgets.
  
• I wore a pink tie.
  

I'm sure I will think of more.