Musing on Korea I

Instead of bore you with my inadequate attempts to control high school students, I've decided to start a series of mini posts on life in Korea, anecdotes on the plus and minuses, ups and downs, and unfiltered observations of a strange and foreign world. With respect to any current or future cultural comments, I mean no criticism, only observation.

- People stare at you. This is clearly not the case in Seoul, far more urban and worldly than the rest of Korea. But in Mokpo or any other provincial city, Koreans stare are you like you're going to eat their kids or cop a feel as soon as they look away. I can't ever tell if I've made their day or ruined it by invading their cultural homogeneity--but the sight of dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and light skin indubitably causes instant optical paralysis in about 25% of the population. Let me clarify though, I don't think this is rude on there part. I suppose the pilgrims looked a bit strange to the Wampanoags in 1621 (Thank you Thanksgiving lesson...). Though if there is one thing I've gained from this experience-it's that Americans should enjoy cultural pluralism. Be proud of the Thai restaurant down the street and (for most people) the feeling that we're all *the same.* Because here in Korea, I am not the same. And there's no Thai in Mokpo.

- This one is less cultural and more familial: I am afraid to use the toilet in this apartment. No, it's clean-and the one attached to the parental suite is just fine-but the communal bathroom toilet in this apartment clogs before I even get the urge to use it. One time I looked at it funny and it overflowed. Pon Kil (Host Dad) pumps and snakes the thing at least once every day or so, but that just puts us back at square one. My host mom thinks the kids got one of their toys stuck up in their, I prefer to think think someone re-routed the pipe into a brick wall.

- Living with small children--something I never did until now (Thank you Mom and Dad!)--they love to touch, lick, and sneeze on everything in the household. I'll just go ahead and point out that Korea is a very communal culture, meaning we all eat out of the same dishes, often share the same glasses, etc. Hence shared germs are a way of life. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate these kids (they're far better than most to be honest), but they do drive me up the wall on a regular basis--and for the simple fact that they're kids (another post, another time). But when one kid gets sick, you can pretty much start the countdown until everyone else is: because coughing and hacking sans barrier is a way of life. When there's a hunk of meat on the table, I'll grab my chunk and hoard it like a starving hyena just before multifold chopsticks bear down into the rest. When there's fresh greens on the table, grab yourself one or two before little fingers go searching and discarding through every piece until they find the perfect one down on the bottom. What can I say when an 8 year old sticks his tongue in a communal dipping sauce? These observations are not uniquely Korean, I understand. But they're still unique to me. Remember those Superbowl commercials where the guy at work is surrounded by a bunch of deranged monkeys? That's pretty how I feel at home--except they prefer to sing and dance, touch, and jump head first into the wall instead of pound on keyboards in the office.