You know you’re turning Korean when… part deux

I got a lot of good feedback from part 1 of “turning Korean” (yaaayy!) so I’ve been keeping track of things that I’ve been doing differently and various habits that I’ve picked up. Can you believe that I’m nearing my 11th month in Korea? It’s amazing how living in a different culture for a relatively short amount of time can change your perspective on so many things.

So here is part 2 of You know you’re turning Korean when…

your laughs and exaggerations now include a raspy throat sound. The Korean of “hahahaha” is spelt “kkkk”. If you listen, you will notice that most Koreans actually laugh with a back-of-the-throat continuous ‘k’. Also if they want to exaggerate or elongate a word it usually includes the “kkk” as well.

you begin punching your leg/butt/stomach as you stretch. I have been doing this a LOT recently. Whenever I have sore muscles or feel like I need to loosen up, I start giving myself what I call a “punchy massage”. You see Koreans doing this all the time and I’ve picked up on it because a) it feels good and b) it feels like it kind of works. I think it’s meant to release lactic acid.

you feel naked when exposing your shoulders. Shorts and skirts can be as short as short can be, but if your shoulders are exposed for some reason it’s tabboooooo! I usually cover up, not because I think tank tops are inappropriate but just because I get a lot more unwanted stares than usual if I don’t.

you start using springy plastic hair elastics rather than elastic ones. They make a better pony tail and they don’t break!!!

trust me, they’re great!

your slogan t-shirts make no sense. whatsoever. I have a shirt that says “No one wants her faes” with a picture of a girl’s face on it. Legen..

for example…

..dary! 

you don’t hesitate to bust out a hand mirror. I got a hand mirror as a free bonus at a cosmetic store once and absent-mindedly put it in my purse thinking that I would never use it. WRONG! I use it on a daily basis, either on the subway or at a cafe, just to check my hair or makeup or whatever. Korean women are ALWAYS looking in their hand mirrors or taking pictures of themselves to make sure they look OK (that’s a whooole other blog that needs to happen tho).

you learn how to shuffle. But you never do, because you would just look silly dancing next to most Koreans.

not my pic, but I was here on Friday! So fun!

I will post more when I think of them :)!!