Kim Chi, Showers, and Shoes

This is a photo taken at dinner this evening. From left to right, clockwise: Mrs. Kim (my home-stay host), her mother, James, Michael, and me. This is my third meal here, and I’m getting used to the kim chee (well, a little bit!).
So I am definitely learning a lot here. First, you always remove your shoes when you enter a Korean home. Since we’re living in the fourth floor apartment above Mrs. Kim’s pre-school, I leave my shoes at the front door, then wear “welcome” slippers to climb the steps, then leaves those slippers outside the apartment door when I enter. And of course, you reverse the process as you exit.
Korean showers are also very different. The bathroom has a shower drain in the middle of the floor. The bathtub has a removable hand-held shower heard, but the shower curtain does not extend into the tub — the water goes everywhere, including the floor, where it drains away. You just have to be careful when you exit the tub, because the floor is wet!
Today’s expedition took us to Korea University, where we had a meeting with the president of the school, and I had the pleasure of exchanging business cards with him. After lunch in the university cafeteria, we visited an elementary school that is connected to the National School of Education, where new teachers are trained. It was a very progressive and beautiful school.
The flood waters of the Han Gang River receded today, revealing parks, bicycle/running paths, basketball courts, and more in parks along the banks. May residents were enjoying the respite from the rains.
Tomorrow we will tour our host school, the Seoul Foreign Language School.