Hey there!  I apologize for not writing until now, but with all of the interviews and tours and just taking in Korea, it's been hard to get time on one of the public computers.  Anyway, I have been having an AMAZING experience and am so thankful to Furman, The Riley Institute, and the VTM program.  It seems like the other folks have been keeping you up to date on a lot of the people we are meeting, but I thought I would write a quick note about some of the interesting cultural experiences we have had the past couple of days. 

For the first part of our trip, most of us were concentrating on just the basics--like eating entire meals with stainless steel chopsticks (which is more difficult at first than one would think) and bridging the language barrier.  Now that we're nearing the end of our visit, I feel like we have had so many incredible opportunities to be immersed in Korean culture, I hope that I get to return someday to travel the country more widely.  Yesterday my group traveled with the spouses of the APEC CEOs, and we participated in a traditional Korean tea ceremony, saw a re-enactment of a traditional wedding, and explored a street market. Although all of the speeches and fancy dinners have been interesting, and I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to question business leaders in an open forum, these are the types of experiences I will remember when the name of the Chilean diplomat or the Australian businessman fade from my memory with time.  I somehow managed to fold my 6' tall frame into a low kneel to drink tea with the spouses of the world's business leaders.  We got to try on the beautiful Korean traditional dress (Monica ended up in the Queen's outfit--lucky girl!), and play with the little children that always seem to be running around together after a wedding, whether it is held in the U.S. or Busan, Korea.  We've been joking about how some parts of Korean culture have been a little difficult to adapt to, like the fact dessert here is nearly always fruit (some of us are serious about our daily chocolate intake) and a dish of spicy, pickled cabbage is served with every meal, but I think other cultural elements of Korea I would be able to quite easily adapt to.  For instance, when walking around the street market, men would call out to us "You are beautiful!  I love you!"  I personally think that tradition would make a trip to the mall much more enjoyable if it was carried over to the States. 

In all seriousness, though, I have had not only a lot of fun but also many meaningful experiences.  I've learned more than I ever dreamed about trade, globalization, and APEC as an organization and had the opportunity to meet interesting people from around the world.  Well, I have to get going to another interview, but I hope the next couple of days are as enjoyable as the rest of this trip has been.  As much as I have been enjoying Busan, I still look forward to getting back to Furman an seeing everyone again!

Take care,

Jen Holden