One Week Anniversary!

Woo! Our program had just finished its first week today, there is so many things that I have seen and done in just over a week here in South Korea. Although this week has been very intense with not being able to get enough sleep and wondering about what other adventures will happen during our trip, it has been amazing so far! Exhaustion can't even describe us at the end of the day, but I can say that the traveling is very much worth it. On a daily basis if we are going outside of the University. We travel by walking all the way down the large hill from class, onto the city bus which then takes us to the subway station. From the subway station we then choose the route with the shortest distance to get to our destination. We have been a lot of places so far, so we haven't used all of the lines of the subway yet.

Even though we have only been in South Korea for a week, I still have many questions about the country. Since most of the time our group walks around the streets to get to a subway and walk around the streets to get to our destination after we exit a subway, I have found that there are some things that are foreign to me. For example, I walk into a convenience store, buy an ice cream and leave. I'm walking and I take my ice cream out of the wrapper, take my first bite of the ice cream and enjoy it very much..yet, it's time to throw away my wrapper. I look around, and a trash can is no where in sight; how is this possible? I am not entirely sure why there aren't any trash cans around the city, but I recognized that close by bus stops is where a trash can MAY be, but not all the time. My question is, why aren't there any trashcans around the city, especially a city that is highly populated.

Also, another example of a question I am eager to ask. As a classmate and I went to eat at a restaurant on the second floor of the building, we were able to see a large intersection and the streets. We are waiting for our food so we look out into the streets to watch the cars pass. As lights turn red there are taxis and motor scooters running these lights! Cars coming from the opposite direction might pause for a second to let them finish through the intersection but just as their light turns green, they bolt out of the intersection too. An interesting way of driving out here in Seoul I suppose. So my question is, are the traffic rules enforced in Seoul or are they just guidelines for taxis and motor scooters? Hmm..definitely something I will write about when I find the answer.