I miss you guys too! I can't believe its only been just over a week! It seems like I've been here much longer than that!
To answer more of your questions. . .
The cities are very clean, both in China and Korea. The only houses I've seen have been out in the rural areas and they have been fairly poor, but in the city everyone lives in apartments. They are EVERYWHERE! The skyscrapers are mostly for housing and they are 40-50 stories high!
I sat next to a man who works for Hyundai on the plane from Beijing to Seoul and he told me the average salary for college/career types is about $36,000. But an apartment in the city can cost $1 million dollars! And then they are very small. Speaking of Hyundais, they are everywhere. Our tour bus is Hyundai and I have seen Hyundai semis too!
I don't know about wrestling. We did a Skype with Korean students and a high school in San Antonio Texas and Houston Texas and the Korean kids said they study all the time. They start school at about 7 and get out at about 4:30. Then they all take these tutoring classes called institutes and don't get home til 10 or 11! They are under enormous pressure to do well and get into a good college so that they can have a good life. The Korean students are more rowdy like you guys. Very friendly and outgoing. They really like the chance to be able to practice English.
We have a guide who speaks great English. I have learned the characters for person, big, work, mountain, and a few others I can''t think of right now.
I don't know what the prisons are like. But if I remember I will ask our guide tomorrow.
The teacher we met in China was wearing jeans which surprised me, but in Korea, they are much more formal. Everyone wears suits of nice clothes. All the teachers are very young. It makes me wonder what happened to the old ones!!! Its funny because in Korea, the students have nice uniforms with ties and vests, but they all wear slippers! Everywhere in Korea, you leave your shoes at the door and wear socks or slippers.
They do wear brand name clothes. I have seen stores for Adidas, Nike, etc. No Hot Topic though.
The kids go to school 40 weeks in high school. Middle goes 38 and elementary 36 if I remember correctly.
No Mao jackets, but there are some beautiful traditional clothes and when I get a free minute, I will go and buy myself a shirt. The clothes I have seen are a bit cheaper than in the US. Many of the young people are really into fashion. (See pix at bottom.) The clothes seem expensive though because $1.00 is about 10,000 Kwon (the Korean currency), so its funny to deal in such huge numbers and you li terally have to carry around wads of money to pay for stuff.
I don't know about biofuels, but they are really pushing mass transit. You have to pay a small fortune for a license for a car and parking charges are determined by the size of the car. Plus, I told you that you are restricted on how often you can drive.
The health care system in Korea seems to be about the same as the US from what I've been told.
I'll try to post a few more pictures.
The common jobs are the same as the ones in the US.
You guys take care now. Wish I could post more, but I'm VERY busy. I hope that when I get back I can set you guys up with Chinese and Korean students for podcasting, email and maybe even Skyppe.
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2 comments:
Ms.Thomley,Thanks for writing so soon! Charles wants a number or two...(we enjoyed the pictures). Send more! How many police officers do you see? What video games do they play? What is the most popular religion? Do they have Chinese or Korean Hip Hop or rock? Are you taking off your shoes and do you have some slippers? What are disrespectful gestures? We are all wondering if living is so high how anybody lives off 36,000? What are the leading jobs? In Korea what is the popular food? Do they have gangs? How do they treat their older people? What are the popular sports? Is there still fear about North Korea? If they are studying all the time when do they see their families or have a social life? Do they have malls? What is the age of becoming an adult? Does everyone smoke? Are their attitudes towards women very traditional? Do you listen to much of their music, old or new? Talk soon, Mrs.Boria's 1st
Hi Ms.Thomley, My 3rd period would like some t-shirts. Have you seen any sports? Have you seen the DMZ? How do people make it on 36,000 a year? Do they have a welfare system in Korea or China? What type of food is typical in Korea? So are there male and female teachers? Find out what happens to the older teachers? Do the police officers carry guns? Do teachers get pensions? What is the retirement situation? What happens to students who misbehave? Have you seen any tea ceremonies? What type of pets do most people have? Are people healthier there? Do they have school on weekends and do they have a lot of holidays? Are the schools over crowded? What type of nightclubs do they have? DO they have a voting system? What is the legal age to vote? Are you getting sleep or are you still in US time? Love the pictures! Ms.Boria's 3rd.
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