DALTON, Ga. - Allison Perry stopped to talk to students in a Dalton High School German class on her way to see the world.
Perry, a 28-year-old Dalton High and Dalton State College alum, just completed a year as an English teacher in a public school in Seoul, South Korea, and recently left for Munich, Germany, to take a similar job.
"America's great, but I just want to experience the world and see what other people are like," she said. "I am very interested in other cultures and seeing what the world has to offer."
One of the Dalton students, Tiago Jesus, who's from Portugal, suggested Perry see the FC Bayern Munich soccer team and the Bavarian International School, which has a history stretching back to the 1500s.
She promised to try.
PERSONAL GLANCEName: Allison PerryAge: 28Occupation: Sunrise ABC International Kindergarten early childhood teacher (Munich, Germany)Hometown: Dalton, Ga
Perry said her experience in Asia was one of contrasts. She chose to work in Korea not only to experience cultural extremes but for the relatively high pay and low cost of living, she said.
Students in the Dalton class asked about her tiny studio apartment in Seoul, differences and similarities of the people and their activities, learning to use a subway system and trying to fit into an utterly foreign culture.
Perry said she was struck by the male-dominant society and the role women are expected to play.
"I was at my school, waiting on one of my co-teachers to come in, and this one lady and two of the male workers were having lunch. She was older than both of them," she said.
"They (the men) finished and they went straight to their chairs and sat down, and she had to wipe the table down and clean off all the food," she said. "Then they called out to her and she bowed to them and went and got them coffee."
The exchange frustrated her but she hid her disappointment, she said.
"I'm living here and I need to understand their culture, but at the same time it's very difficult because that's so different from our own culture," she said. "But that's what I'm over here for."
Ava Wyatt, Perry's former teacher, had asked her to speak to her German class. While she said she knew Perry "was destined for great things," her former student's adventurous spirit was an eye-opener.
"Korea surprised me. She's really a trailblazer," Wyatt said. "There's not much more than you can say about it but 'Wow.'"