I served in AF from 83-87, and was in CA (language school), TX (equipment training), S. Korea, and MD (NSA) mostly. Not exactly a good experience for me, for my 'career', but always tried to enjoy the time, wherever I was. Had lots of fun in Korea, especially as that was the language I learned.
One bad experience was seeing a mink blanket in a shop window, and stepping in to see how much it was, and hearing the shop owner holler back to the lady in the back that he was going to see how much $ he could get out of this 'dumb GI, meaning me. I decided to only speak English, and asked, and heard him say that they had only paid $4 for it in Korean, and turned to me to say, "I'll give you my best price, $15!" I turned away, and said, "See you later" in Korean, and they stopped me. I got it for the $4 they paid, but they wanted me to not tell any of my friends. Well, I told all of them to avoid that place!
The one really awesome experience I had was bicycling through the countryside, thinking I could make it to the coast, which was only 10 miles away, as the crow flies. I must have gotten only about 5 miles out, when I realized I wasn't going to make it and still get home before dark. When I turned around, someone sitting on the bank between the ride paddys, where there were a dozen or so workers planting rice, yelled out to me to come over. Suspecting something terrible, I cautiously went over to them. There on the blanket on the ground was one medium bowl of kimchi (fermented cabbage that is the staple of Korean cuisine) and another bowl of rice the same size. I was asked to sit down and eat with them. I was in awe! I asked if this meager meal was for all the workers to share, and was told that it was. Since I could explain in their language that I didn't feel right to 'steal' the food from their mouths because they were obviously working so hard, they were not insulted (which they normally would be for such a refusal). I was so humbled, though, at the hospitality and generosity of such simple folk who had so little, yet were willing to share.