Yesterday, I had a different host (a graduate of Florida State) who was very nice (just like the one who picked me up from the airport), but didn't speak English as well as my 1st host (so the conversations were not as good). We took a tour of the Korean National Museum; the facility was amazing and the country has a very unique history. I didn't know much about Korea, but the most interesting thing I found was the country had only been independent from Japan after World War II (in 1945). Korea was attacked by communist North Korea a few years later, starting the Korean War. After the museum, we went to a market area. I wasn't surprised to see McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, and KFC, but was to see Outback Steakhouse and Cold Stone Creamery. Every block had several clothing stores and I was approached by at least 5 people asking if I wanted a custom suit made. There were also several stores selling NFL jerseys (counterfeit ones I'm sure). There were some deals on some items, but I didn't buy anything. We then went to the Seoul Olympic Museum (in the same complex as my hotel), but it was closed. Hopefully, I will get to visit tomorrow. This is me in front with one of the Olympic mascots in front of the museum.
Some thoughts/observations on my trip so far:
- I am absolutely shocked I have not seen a wreck. Drivers here are very aggressive (an understatement) and the traffic laws are very different from the U.S. For example, on all major roads, there is a U-turn lane. Cars make U-turns just about anywhere, including roads that have 5 lanes going each way. You hear a lot of horns walking down the street. Also, cars seem to pull over to the side of the road quite often, including highways; I don't think I have seen a no parking sign. Of course, this often times causes a lane to close and backs up traffic.
- Speaking of driving, both of my hosts had the most incredible GPS devices I have ever seen. The screens were probably around 8-10 inches diagonally and the displays were very elaborate (they even showed traffic lights and one of them sounded a warning when the driver was over that speed limit in the current area; it adjusted itself based on the road). Most unique to me was the GPS could also display TV and movies. I was amazed that this was possible, and even the hosts admitted it was very dangerous.
- There are no drive-throughs in Seoul; there is just no room. However, the McDonalds close to my hotel delivers (I haven't ordered there yet)!
- Korean Sprite is so much better than what we have in the U.S. It is a whole lot sweeter and I have ordered it at every opportunity. My guess is they use a different type of sugar (or put more into the drink).
- I am a giant in Korea. On my plane and walking around in Seoul, I am probably a head taller than 90-95% of the people here (maybe that's why all of the tailors were asking me if I needed a custom suit). The one exception to this was a professional volleyball team is staying at my hotel. I saw a couple of Koreans that were about my height and one that was a few inches taller. Also, I don't think I have seen an overweight Korean; everyone is about the same size.
- I have a lot of channels on the TV, but most are in Korean (I even saw an episode of Spongebob Squarepants that was dubbed in Korean). There are a few channels in English (Korea is fairly close to Australia and there is an Australian channel), including the Disney Channel. All shows I have seen are in English, with Korean subtitles.
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