The world

Yesterday Alexis and I were out shopping and we met a couple who had recently moved to Ulsan. They were asking us about fun places to go, things to see, good restaurants, stuff like that. A few minutes into the conversation they asked us where we were from. We said America, and they said Iran. And for a moment we were all very...aware...of the situation between our two countries.

And I think one of the wonderful things about living in Korea is that it didn't really matter. We invited them to dinner with us and they were happy to come. Everybody here has something in common because we are all foreigners together. We rely on each other for so much, and that becomes more important than any other difference that may exist. There are definitely times when that kind of stuff comes up, but it's not the focus of the relationship. I think people are more willing to agree to disagree or just avoid touchy subjects because we want to make friends more than we want to alienate someone who speaks the same language.

I've said it before, but I never imagined that I would come to Korea and end up with friends from 7 different countries. It's so eye opening and interesting to spend time with them and learn not just about Korea, but South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, Iran. Even though America has people from all around the world it's different, because they are Americans. Talking to somebody who is Korean-American is totally different than talking to someone who is Korean, for example, and even though it seems so obvious it's something I didn't totally understand until I got here. I think it's great that we can all get along and experience more of the world through each other.

And also I bought this beauty while shopping :)