Monday, July 31st
10:41 p.m.
Another hot day today.
I wouldn't want to drive in this city. They have a lot of what I call "Michigan turnarounds" - U-turns that you have to make in order to get around the median - but obviously they don't call them that here, and there are a lot more of them. And whenever someone wants to slow down, they use their flashers instead of just braking. Annoying. Worst of all is the merging, though. Traffic is constantly being condensed into less lanes for one reason or another - a slow or stopped car or bus or converging roads or something. It reduces motion to barely a crawl and causes all sorts of harrowing close calls and lengthy backups. Gas stations are still full service anyway.
That's the thing about Korea: It feels like a step back in time. Commercials are blithe and cheesy, much like the American ones in the '50s. Demonstrations resemble the turbulence of the '60s. There are no drugs, no guns, and no PDA. People aren't worrying about how their lifestyles could be damaging their health or the environment yet. It's so much simpler to be alive.
Of course there are downsides. Children are given free rein - to have fun and use their imaginations and be happy, yes, but also to play with fire and scream in restaurants and run the streets. Women are almost never able to find a job that is appropriate for their level of education or that offers any chance for advancement. Most don't even consider marriage to be an option - they plan on it. And after they're married, their job is to serve their husband and his family. When he invites his coworkers over for dinner, she is responsible for all of the preparations and hardly even gets to eat. And I was wondering why I never see any women driving motorcycles. . . .
Apparently the popularity of motorcycles originated with the rise of ordering in. Traffic is too heavy in Seoul for the food to stay hot if it's delivered by car, so instead it comes by motorcycle. They have big rectangular baskets on the back where they keep the bowls and plates of food in a big metal container until it reaches its destination. When you are done eating, you leave the dishes outside to be picked up later. Different, eh?
Weddings are very important here. There are ads for wedding photographers absolutely everywhere - huge billboards even - and there is even an entire street of wedding dress merchants. No, really, block after block after block of little stores with long white dresses in the windows. . . .
It's hard to be complete in my discussion of South Korea because by now I take so many things for granted that it doesn't even occur to me how significantly different they are.
I can recognize the difference between the Honda logo and the slightly italicized Hyundai one now. I can recognize the difference between the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Koreans now too. I can also recognize the Korean language when I hear it. I can even tell the difference between Korean-Americans and natives. (One clue: Korean girls cover their mouths when they laugh and whine a lot when they talk.) Now that's an achievement. ;)
I consider myself fairly proficient with chopsticks. They certainly don't hold me back anymore. In fact, there are certain foods that I can't imagine eating any other way - like rice and stir fry, for instance - so I bought enough sets of spoons and chopsticks to have service for five at home. And won't I just impress the next time I eat at a Chinese restaurant! :)
Korean grapes are different from the ones that we eat in the States. First of all, they ALL have seeds - usually between one and three in the black ones, although I did find a big one with four once - and the skin separates easily from the inside part, which is rather chewy. It takes a little getting used to, but I really like it. One more thing to miss after I leave. . .
With the exceptions of ice cream and fruit on a stick and anything else obviously intended to be eaten right away, eating while walking is not done here. I can get away with it because I'm clearly a foreigner - a convenient luxury sometimes - but it's culturally unacceptable. That luxury is more than compensated for by the "dual economy" system, however. In other words, there are two prices for everything: the Korean price and the foreigner price. Again, they're not trying to rip us off, just to make a living. The rationale behind this modus operandi is that foreigners can afford to pay more, which is usually true. Still, who wants to pay an amplified price? Bring along someone who can speak the native tongue.
Some other Western chains that have made their way to Korea: Domino's, Pizza Hut, Bennigan's, T.G.I. Friday's, Chili's, Starbucks, TCBY, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, Tower Records, The Body Shop. . .
It begs mentioning that it has come to my attention since I've returned to eating meat - or perhaps it's the spicy food - I'm attracting a lot more mosquitoes.
It's apparently dragonfly season in Korea now, and the suckers are HUGE. On campus, where there's actually some vegetation, they honestly fill the air. And some of the birds here are so loud that it almost sounds as though you're in the middle of a construction site. I can't figure out which ones those are, but I know I have my favorites. The big, shiny black bird with the white chest and blue tail is one of them, and the other also is black with blue tail and green wings. I like to watch them from my dorm room window.
Another common sound when walking near a university campus: poongmool, the traditional Korean drums. Learning to play poongmool was actually one of the extracurricular activities that was offered to us when we first arrived here, but I picked old-fashioned Korean pottery instead. I've also halfheartedly participated in IYC (International Yonsei Community), which sponsors two-hour Forums on current, relevant topics every Thursday at 5, and YICF, which meets every Wednesday night at 7 and also sponsored that retreat that I attended. Another one of the activity choices was yearbook, who ran the essay contest in which I won third place. This week I found out that my friend Ayana, who is another non-Korean from U of M, got first ($70!), so I'm really interested in the identity of the second-place winner now. Supposedly I'll get my prize on Friday.
I had a really interesting weekend, but this journal entry has already stretched more than two pages, and it's not even Monday anymore, so I'll stop for tonight.
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