Friends in Korea

People from Portland often ask us, "Is it difficult to make new friends in Korea?" To which I have to answer that it can be just as easy as in Portland. Of course, the language barrier is always an issue, but people always face all kinds of communication challenges even when they're both using the same native language.

One of the great advantages of living in a large city like Seoul is having the opportunity to meet people from other parts of the world. Even among my own work colleagues and associates at Samsung we have a Dane, an Australian, a Belgian, a German and a Guamanian, besides the miscellaneous Canadians, Americans and, of course, Koreans. Every one of them adds their own unique personality and, yes, quirkiness, to the mix.

Here's a photo from dinner last night with a couple we met earlier this year; Nicole, who is the commerce officer at the German embassy, and her fiance Mohammed, who is originally from Yemen.

Here's also a shot of a buddy I met this past winter on a weekend trip to the countryside. Not much of a conversationalist but a friendly-enough guy.

August 08 Update

It's been awhile since we've posted an update so here's what we've been doing in a nutshell:

• Spent two weeks in Thailand in June: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai and two days in Hong Kong
• Jay has been taking Korean language classes for the last two months and can now successfully say, "hello" and "thank you" in Korean
• Earlier this month, Tanya went to a medical conference in Albuquerque, where she delivered a smashing presentation on her work here on STDs
• We both renewed our respective contracts and are happy as clams
• Both of us are healthy and getting a huge kick out of being here. Every day is a new adventure

OK, now please stay tuned for hopefully more expansive future blog postings.