Sarah CP #1

Date/Time: 8 May / 3:00 - 4:15PM

Location: Starbucks

Topic discussed: Seoul/Tallahassee, past and current jobs, our families, undergraduate majors, and just generally getting to know each other overall

Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: My conversation partner is Jiwon from Seoul, South Korea. She is 23 years old, has a degree in engineering, and is incredibly friendly and sweet! We initially met up at CIES and later walked to the nearest Starbucks off Tennessee St to chat over a coffee. We found out that we have both worked as baristas recently for about a year each and enjoyed sharing our coffee related obsessions with each other. I asked her what she liked most about Tallahassee or just the States in the general and I was thrown off when she told me how nice the air is. I was confused as to what she meant at first until she began telling me about how bad air pollution is back in Seoul, which is something I have heard about, but have never experienced firsthand -it made me realize it's something most of us probably take for granted. She explained how it would sometimes get so bad that she has had to keep the windows closed during certain times of the day. I was also surprised to find out that neither her or her parents like the Korean staple dish, kimchi -which I happen to love. Jiwon also told me about how convenient the public transportation system is in Korea and that although she can drive, it is not usually practical due to traffic and the high cost of oil. Overall, I had a really great time conversing with her and I look forward to our next meeting!