rontlittle

I have never really traveled internationally before so this is my first time being immersed in another cultures cuisine. I have been in South Korea only two weeks but it has felt like a month and so far the hardest part of this trip is adjusting to the taste of the food. The language barrier hasn't been a real big issue yet because either eventually they understand or some friendly korean stranger helps out. But whenever I buy some product, mostly from the convenience store I feel like I'm playing the lottery with my taste buds. I have purchased some American products like Doritos, Cheetos and Funyuns expecting to be reunited with the flavors of home, instead I get some weird flavor or even a different version of the product! Buying local food is a little scary because unless they have pictures you have no idea what they are going to bring you! Yesterday I had some kind of seafood soup that had a weird piece of something that resembled a miniature brain that squirted some kind of liquid in my mouth when chewed..... still have no clue what it was and so far no korean has been able to translate it to an english word, it was something like "bidodo" if anyone knows... All this to say, my tongue has probably experienced the biggest culture shock so far. Also, I wasn't aware that having rice and kimchi with every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack) was normal! I love rice and kimchi is alright but after a couple months I'm not sure how I will feel about either one.