(More) A day in the life

I can't believe how fast this year has gone; I'm only a few days away from my 11-month anniversary in Korea. The last month will be full of errands, tearful goodbyes and preparations to travel. But for now, things are still calm and I've had time to reflect.

Here are a few of those reflections, continued from the previous two lists of everyday observations I've made here in the ROK.

-The kids we teach will often time have English names. Of course, this isn't the name they were born with, but sometimes it's hard for us foreigners to pronounce (and remember) every student's Korean name. Perhaps to make it easier on everyone (and for the sake of being at an English academy), we give them Western names. Sally, John, Amy and Steve are popular selections. Though I've had my fair share of odd names, having taught a Label, North and Sponge. I've even had the honor of "naming" a few of my students. The class works together to come up with a list of names and then the new student can pick the one they like best. I'll admit, I lack creativity when it comes to giving names and the list usually consists of the same ones (mostly names of friends or family from home).

-Fan death. I made a small reference to fan death when I first arrived, but it's crept up on me a few times since then. As I understand the urban legend, many people believe that it's possible to die if you sleep in a room with no ventilation (i.e. windows closed) and a fan circulating. I've heard different theories about why this happens, each more bizarre than the last.

-Sharing things is quite common here. I don't mean sharing pencils or erasers (because students are actually quite serious about their school supplies. Never mess with a child's pencil case). I mean sharing things that foreigners would usually like to have only to themselves. My best examples come from school. We have a water cooler that anyone can use to fill their cups or waterbottles, but it also has two community cups that students will fill up, use, then put back for the next student. No washing or cleaning in between uses. There's also community soap in the bathroom. No, not a soap dispenser, an actual bar of soap. This is the norm throughout all of Korea, including a communal towel. Hand sanitizer has been my friend.

-Eating out was a little hard to adjust to at first. At home, you're accostumed to being waited on. After all, these people are working for tips and they usually do a great job earning it. There is no tipping system in Korea (something I admit, I will miss). Therefore in restaurants, waiters aren't coming over to your table every once and a while to make sure your meal is okay or you need anything in the mean time. Instead, they only come over when you call them. How do you get their attention? Press a button! At most restaurants, there's a button you can press to get your waiter's attention and they will come over swiftly to get you whatever you need. If there's no button (or you're feeling brave) just say "yeogi-yo" which basically means "here!" It seemed rude to me at first to yell come here to the person working, but this is quite common in Korea, and may actually be rude if you do it any different.

-"Bongs" A bong is a room in Korean. There are several different specialized rooms here, the most popular (I think) being a "noraebong," or a singing room. Go and sing karaoke and drink beer with your friends for a few hours (a craze that certainly needs to be brought to America). There are also DVD-bongs, which you might think would be a good way to relax after a hard day at work. It's cheap, easy and you don't have to wait for the movie to download. But beware! Many young couples will sneak off to DVD-bongs and do certain things they wouldn't be allowed to do at home. You'll be used to the idea of sharing by this point, so a community couch should be no problem.

-All men are required to do military service. I believe it's a minimum of two years. Therefore, a lot of men will start their higher education after their time in the military is done. While visiting the DMZ, I was a little shocked by how young some of the soldiers appeared to be. It breaks my heart to imagine my students in those uniforms...

-Smoking. I'm not a smoker and I've been pretty grateful for that while living here. Unfortunately, it seems that Korea is still archaic in many ways and for some reason, it's frowned upon when women smoke openly. I can't say why this is, but I've witnessed friends being stared and even yelled at because they chose to smoke a cigarette in public. Because of this, there are often ashtrays in the women's bathroom. I suppose if a lady is feeling to urge to light up, it's better if she sneaks off to the bathroom instead of doing it for all to see.

-Korea has been incredibly accommodating over the last year. Besides food and people, I can't say I've really missed anything; most everything that you need can be found somewhere in this country. Language hasn't been much of a problem. Many, many people speak English, even if it's simple phrases. I've learned a little Korean, enough to order in restaurants or get home in a cab. Other than that, most communication has been done in English. But besides that, the people have been overwhelmingly accepting. There have been rare occasions when I've been scolded on the subway or people have said inappropriate things. Yes, it made me feel stupid, unwanted and foolish for being an intruder. But then I realize that out of the last 300+ days I've lived here, this has only happened twice. Those few incidents aren't going to ruin my perception of this country and to be quite honest, it could have happened at home, too. Instead, I'm going to always be grateful for Korea, the people, and the opportunities it has given me to learn about their amazing culture and myself.

A few more observations

Hello! A short update so everyone knows I am still safe, despite what you might have heard on the news. I keep a little notepad with me at all times so I can write down things I observe. I like to notice these little differences. It interests me, but it also makes me thankful for all the luxuries I have at home. Here are just a few more, continued from the last list.

-The holidays. I can't say for certain that Christmas is as commercialized as it is in the states, but I definitely think there are some companies making bank on this special day. I don't have cable and I don't watch TV, so I can't say whether or not television programs are flooded with commercials telling you to buy this toy or go to this sale. And there was certainly no Black Friday, obviously due to the fact that Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here. But a lot of stores do have giant Christmas trees put up already and Christmas decorations are readily available here. I asked my students if they celebrate Christmas, and I would say about 25% yes.

-Birthdays are different here as well. It's a little difficult to explain, and I know I'm going to probably give some wrong information, but here's how I understand it to work. Everyone still has their individual birthdays, but when you're born, you're already 1 year old. Then when the new years roles around, everyone has a birthday. So since I was born in 1988, everyone born in 1988 with me would turn 23 at the same time. You still celebrate your birthday on the day you were born, you just wouldn't say you turned older on that day. You're still 12 or 83 until the new year! And what I found most odd... If you were born on December 26, for example, you're 1. So then on January 1, you're 2. So when you're just a few days old, you're already considered 2 in Korea.

-I will often find myself speaking in Korean sentence structure. A student explained to me that Korean is very short, unlike English, where the sentences are very long. For example, and again this may be wrong, she told me that in English you could say "I have a lot of money." But in Korean, it would simply be "Money. I have." So students will often say to me, "Candy. Give me." or "Money. Give me." because that is how their sentences are structured. Since I spend a good deal of my day talking to little kids, I try to speak to them in a simple way. So forgive me if I come home and the first thing I say to you is, "Hug. Give me."

-The weather. Korea definitely has the extremes. When I first arrived in August, I remember getting off the plane and feeling mortified; how could it be so humid?! Apparently, July is the wet month, so I can only imagine the state my hair will be in. This winter has been brutally cold, as well. It doesn't snow which is nice, but it is windy. Having grown up in Illinois I would say that I'm accustomed to cold winters, but this cold has certainly tested my patience! I've heard that spring and autumn are quite pleasant, though it only lasts a short time.

-Food. Overall, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to new cuisine. I know what I like and I stick to it, which has proved to be troublesome during my travels. I would say the most curious I've ever gotten with food was eating snails and frog legs in Paris, which is really quite a shame. I accidently ate a little piece of squid here and thought I was going to absolutely lose it, but did my best to hold it all in. I've tried popular Korean dishes and I think they're quite delicious, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. I think it will take a lot more persuasion (and soju) to try the dog, bug larva, chicken anus or whale. Yes, certain restaurants here sell whale meat (or so I've been told). I think I would rather starve.

A day in the life

I decided I would try to give everyone a little peek into what life in South Korea actually consists of. I'm always finding things that are specific to Korea, but I haven't documented them for everyone to read yet. So here they are.

-I've been asked what my blood type is by several Koreans. When I say I have absolutely no idea they look at me as if I grew a second head. They're shocked. I guess a blood type tells a lot about a person, so I usually just make an answer up.

-I really can't explain to you the noises you'll hear in Korea. I think my favorite, and one I find most bizarre, is the war-like propaganda I'll randomly hear coming from fruit stands. I'm not kidding. You walk by a little stand in the back of a van selling something like herbs or fruit and there will be a bizarre voice yelling something from a loud speaker. It really is difficult to explain. One friend told me about a comic he read in which two people were walking by this bizarre event. One friend asked what was going on and the other said, "Either the nazis are invading or nectarines are on sale." And it's so true.

-Socks. There are entire tables dedicated to selling socks at various markets here in Busan and I've heard they are a popular gift to give.

-It's totally normal for hospital patients here to leave the hospital for a little bit and roam the streets, gown on and IV drip attached. I've seen patients in restaurants, stores, taking walks. It's just no big deal.

-Service. People here really will do their best to always make sure you're accommodated and comfortable. From my short time in the country, I see that they really do aim to please. My best example of service comes from a man working at a 7/11 right outside my apartment. I go in the store frequently to buy all sorts of items: water, food, candy, beer. One time I went in and the bar code on an item didn't work right, so he gave me a free energy drink for my "time wasted," which was about 4 seconds. Another time I went in to buy just a bottle of soju, so he gave me a bag of potato chips for free, because he didn't want me to get sick. He's the best.

There are so many other things I have noticed about the culture and people, I could go on for days. I make it a point to jot down these observations so I can write about them, share them, remember them. This is just a small chapter in what could be a book about, "Why Korea is so Awesome."