Books and television can prepare a person for the sights and sounds of a foreign locale.

Nothing can prepare the other senses.

"The smells were overwhelming,"University of Mary senior Chandra Turner said.

Kim chee, a fermented cabbage dish, in the markets and other smells filled the air in Seoul, South Korea. Last May, nine education majors went to South Korea to learn about some of the schools there. Their teacher, Rod Jonas, started his teaching career at an international school there. He was a physical education teacher and head basketball coach there in 1977.

"Korea is such a homogenous society and education is pretty important," he said.

A former basketball player on his team, J.P. Rader, is now teaching at the school. Rader and his wife helped arrange Jonas' class trip. They visited two international schools, a private elementary school, a foreign school and a women's university. They also visited a folk village, a cultural site, a cultural performance and toured the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea.

"I like the fact that we went to Korea rather than Europe because it is so completely different than here," junior Carly Failor said.

In many of the schools, there were students from around the world. High school is competitive. Students need to do well so that they can get into a good college, Jonas said.

The students on the trip hope to take what they saw and adapt it into their own classrooms.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)