halfway?

Time for a bi-annual update on how long I’ve been in Korea! I think I started with 1 month, then 6 months, then a year… so now it’s time for 1 and a half years!!

My new contract is for 18 months so I COULD be half-way through my time in Korea. When I got to my first 6-month mark I knew there was no way I was leaving Korea after one year. At the moment I’m unsure about what I want to do a year and a half from now (seriously, who plans that far ahead?). I still love living in Korea and my new job is going really well so who knows?!

The one thing I do know is that I haven’t been this permanent since I left home at 18. I did 4 years at U of Ottawa but always went home for 4 months between and spent most of my 3rd year abroad in Switzerland. Then I did Teacher’s College and came here! I like the feeling of being settled but am also itching to explore more of Asia. I like the familiarity of my little neighbourhood where I can say good morning to my favourite delivery man or gossip with my Starbucks barista.

So for now I’m definitely staying put but who knows what the next year or so will bring for me :)!

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 :)!!

turning korean, i really think so

No matter where you live, you’re bound to pick up some habits and pieces of that place’s culture. Over the past 9 months I have noticed certain things that I have been doing differently and I’ve adopted a few customs that I definitely never thought I would. And so ensues part 1 of:

You know you’re turning Korean when….

You do the ‘peace’ sign in EVERY picture. The sign is actually a ‘V’ for victory, and for some reason it becomes everyone’s picture ‘stance’ as soon as they get off the plane. Exhibit A:

You start leaving all the articles out of your speech. OK, let’s face it, my grammar has gone to sh*t in the past 9 months, and it’s only going to get worse. Sometimes I feel bad for the kids I am supposedly teaching English when I hear myself talk. Not only do I slip up on articles, but my verb tenses and conjugations take on a mind of their own when I’m speaking quickly. Whenever I hear myself say “go bathroom” or “what is rainbow?” I just shake my head and resolve not to say it again… for 5 minutes.

Your head gives an involuntary nod/bow when you meet or pass someone. In Korea it’s custom to bow when you first meet someone or when you’re greeting someone formally. I feel obligated to follow this custom but I get so awkward about it, it usually just comes out as a jerky nod.

You carry a cake-box with pride. Eating cake is great, but carrying a cake box to a function lets people know that you are not only generous but that you’re probably going to a fabulous party with lots of really cool people.

You use a nasally “aahh” sound to show you understand something. This happens more often than you think. I catch myself doing it ALL the time. I think it’s a habit I’ve picked up from my students.

Your collection of bow-themed accessories overflows your jewelry case. I was never a fan of cutsie ultra-girlie accessories but for some reason the allure of bows, hearts and all things frilly grew exponentially when I came to Korea. It’s lovely to walk down the street with a giant bow in your hair and nobody thinks it’s strange. I can’t pull it off as well as the Koreans, but I try.

You know the lyrics to every song that blares from hi-mart. K-pop is everywhere you go in Korea – it’s playing in the corner store, on the subway, at Daiso, at the bar etc etc. Hi-mart is an overstaffed electronics and appliances store that blares music from dawn to dusk. There happens to be one right across the street from our school and I find myself humming along way too often.

You embrace the pale. When I came to Korea, my friend Paige and I said we would never get into the ‘pale’ look that is so sought-after by Koreans. However, two things happened to me to change my mind. First, the tan that I worked so hard to get in Boracay peeled off of me in about 2 weeks after I got back, mostly because of the very dry air. Second, I noticed my wrinkles for the first time. My mother (who still denies she has wrinkles herself) will probably call me crazy, but I looked in the mirror one day and there they were! So, I have made an effort to take better care of my skin and the first step in doing so is to stop intentionally giving myself skin damage by way of tanning. I have NOT gone so far as to buy whitening skin products and I hope I don’t get to that stage.

These are a few of the things I have noticed recently. If you have other ideas feel free to comment :)! Anyeong gasaeyo!