Nearly Nine.

As I reflect on the past (almost) nine months in korea... 

(that means only ~3.5 months until i'm home!)

(ironic Side note: big hand mirrors like this, 

are very commonly found in the purses of korean young adults)

------------

I'd like to write about things that I have found surprising,

things I LOVE about living here,

things that drive me bonkers about living here, 

(sorry in advance for generalizing "koreans")

and

things I thought i'd miss VS. things i actually miss

~~~~~~~~~~~

TOP 12:

0.  It goes without saying- but I'll say it anyway:
I LOVE my kids.

1.  There are about a billion coffee shops in korea.

(Korea's land mass is smaller than Texas)

very few of which, actually sell regular/cheap coffee... 

Typical drinks at a "coffee shop" range from $3.50 - $7!

(popular mega coffee shop chain, pronounced "angelinas")

2.  Everyone has a cell phone...

in their hands

at (essentially) all times.

The old, the young, and everyone in between... 

i have students in 2nd grade who have more expensive

"smart phones" than me.

(very common cell phone cases... you can talk with them closed...

 coincidentally, making yourself appear to be talking into a small book.)

2.5  Because everyone has a cell phone--

everyone has a camera.

(This also falls under the "things that drive me bonkers" category...)

Because: the social norm with camera phones is

to take shameless amounts of "selfies"

in public

alone or with friends

i'm talking entire photo shoots

with ZERO regard to where, or when, or why, or how many photos

... 

(this was no less than the 45th picture that this girl and her mother took during the game...

 OF THEMSELVES. 

it was distracting,

 so i made the best of it by photobombing every single picture possible.)

--

If you think a large population of american's are vain... you're probably right.

and Korea desperately wants to be just like America.
--
Story time: just the other night, I was at a restaurant, and 2 teenage girls were eating together...
for the last 20 minutes of their meal,
one girl put a 6 inch mirror on the table and stared at herself incessantly!!!?

3. The older Korean generation (30-75 yrs. old) seem to be obsessed

...with hiking clothes/gear.

-I'm utterly clueless on this trend!? 

4. Korean healthcare is SOOOOOO cheap.

if my boss hears me sneeze, 

she'll pretty much immediately suggest I go to the "hospital"

because an appointment will likely take 10 minutes and $2

accompanied by a guaranteed prescription for under $5.

5. "hospital" is what korean's call "the doctor's office" 

as well as the actual "hospital"

6. Korean prescriptions are sorted at the pharmacy immediately when you walk in,

 and they put each dose of all the pills prescribed 

that you can take together in small disposable paper pouches

for the exact number of days and doses you need!

Therefore ensuring you really can't screw up your meds,

saving you time and money.

(love!)

7. Birth control is sold for $6-9

OVER THE COUNTER

no questions asked.

Korea is way ahead of America in this area.

Politicians make such a fuss over abortion laws,

but why is no one talking about making birth control easily accessible??

Prevention... is obviously a great option.

8. Small dogs and cats are the favorite pets here.

(apartment living is the majority)

But a twist in doggy grooming--

There are special boutiques where you can dye your dog's fur 

teal, fushcia, and purple seem to be the trendiest colors.

I'm not sure how the dog's feel about it.

9. Here, if you go on a date with someone,

you are dating.

if you date for more than a few months,

things are getting serious, therefore:

time to take the next step...

MATCHING OUTFITS!

(dead. serious.)

a popular way to parade around with your significant other,

is to dress in all the same things- if possible.

shirts, shorts, shoes, socks, hats... even matching fake plastic glasses.

and incase that wasn't enough to publicly establish your relationship,

you must hold hands, and/or be touching at all times.

feeding each other is also a common thing.

If you date for even longer, 

the question of 

"should we get 'couple rings'?"

will likely arise.

talk about a marketing technique.

someone noticed people like jewelry...

and why should you have to wait to actually get engaged

to buy some for each other?!

ta-da: the couple rings phenomenon was born.

9.5  Hand holding is actually a very common thing to behold 

regardless of age, gender, friendship, or relationship.

girls holding hands with girls and boys holding hands with boys,

however, does not give any indication of sexual interest.


10. Going to the Movies here is AWESOME!
$6-7 a ticket (at night)
Spotless, air conditioned theaters.
extra comfy seats (you pick your actual seat when you buy your ticket)
and my favorite: AMAZING POPCORN FLAVORS!
-garlic -onion -caramel -chocolate -cheddar
Grab a huge combo with 2 flavors and 2 big drinks for less than $9.
It's kind of sad that those prices seem so incredible to me.

11. Expat teachers in korea are important for marketing at private academies.

Most foreign teachers are not expected to be evaluated based on student achievement, 

if at all.

We are expected to be pleasant, and often times to look a certain way 

(slim, blonde hair, and blue eyes are "BEST")
-a friend of mine was observed by some parents of his students,
and at the end of the day, all his boss said was, "They liked the way you looked."
(to their credit, 3/4 or more of them probably aren't fluent in English)

and i've heard a few stories of teachers being fired for no specific reason-
so it was assumed the boss didn't like the extra pounds they had gained...
not sure how legit that is... but astounding, if true.

Many teachers who work in korea for a while, end up at some point 

feeling unmotivated because they can't move up in rank
or, often times, because they don't get much acknowledgement at all.

11.5  The amount of hours the average korean student spends in a school/academy

are anywhere from 9-14 hours a day. 

(monday-friday PLUS often some classes on saturday or sunday)

(depending mainly on age and Socio Economic Status)

So, whenever I catch myself wondering how much my class time really matters,

I remind myself to focus on making learning fun,

because it's no wonder so many kids here become depressed or burnt out.

WHAT I THOUGHT I'D MISS MOST:

12.  I thought i'd miss panera bread and people i know.

(and i do)
oh, sweet mother of fuji apple chicken salads and turkey artichoke paninis!....
How i do miss you...
and people... people too.
*

But I also extremely miss:

CHEAP burritos, easily accessible salads of any kind, driving a car,  GOOD beer.
turkey... provolone cheese... Seasonal flavors- pumpkin/peppermint

(gross korean beer options)

and DIVERSITY.

it might sound like a weird thing to miss but...
here:

The cars are mostly the same 3 colors.

The people are all the same race.

and if you do see a non-korean face:

9 times out of 10 they speak english

and are teachers.

therefore you almost only see white-skinned people. (not as true in Seoul)

and you almost only hear korean or english.

Korea has one or two main flavors in all their dishes.

 

"korean red pepper" and "kimbap" which contains popular ingredients found in many other korean dishes as well... rice, egg, seaweed, carrots, meat, Krab, spinach, cucumber, and the infamous Yellow Pickled Radish (not a fan)

The ideal beautiful/stylish person is very specific, 

and not too many people veer from it by choice.

(thin, huge eyes, lots of make up, and poses with hands in front of the face 

is common to look "cute" and "make your face appear smaller"-"because a 'big face' is ugly."

...

"K-Pop": the cult.

aka korean pop music: boy bands and girl bands, 

 ...the flashy "rebellious" over-choreographed groups who sing about "love" and sex

 with at least one verse of english in every song.

("BEAST" a famous K-Pop group)

Sadly, it is the only type of famous modern music specific to korea.

(and it sounds even worse than it looks)

...don't even get me started on korean TV...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, yeah...
the biggest surprise to me,
is that I miss uniqueness
people, flavors, smells, cultures, languages, skin colors,
eye colors, sounds, and cars for goodness sake!

I miss: America, the melting pot... the salad bowl... 

the vast diverse land that will always be my home sweet home.

3 1/2 months and counting!