I think in a few months things will become normal and not so ironic so I figure, I should talk about it now before I get too comfortable. I also don't want to forget how I adjusted to the "different world" so I'll use my blog as a souvenir.
If someone asked me to say one word to describe this great country I think I would have to say....CONSIDERATE. I hope this blog will give you an idea of what I mean as you read it.
My first week in South Korea I had to visit my new job for orientation. On orientation day I met with the Vice Principal and the director of the school, both of whom are the sweetest and most caring people I've met. Kay Teacher is the Vice Principal of Maple College. Kay has this beautiful presence about her that exudes confidence; her English is great and she dresses to kill. I look up to her and feel that my relationship with her is a positive one. Judy Teacher is the director of Maple College; she has two young children, one of them is my student. Judy is a caring mother who works hard and made me feel comfortable upon arriving to orientation. Judy's humble personality is astounding.
Upon entering the doors of the school I felt a level of comfort that I can't say I've ever felt in the United States. There is a rule here that I personally love: NO outdoor shoes indoor! Kay was quick to explain to me that no one is allowed to wear dirty shoes inside of the school. There are slippers provided for those who do not bring them. She told me to store my shoes in a cubby and take a pair of slippers from an organized shoe rack in plain view at the entrance of the school. This is one of the greatest ideas I've ever heard. As she expressed this rule I was delighted because it meant that my shoes did not have to match any of my clothes. I take full advantage of this most of the time. I wear my sock-like boots to work just about everyday, even if they don't match my outfit. I enjoy a comfortable 5 minute walk to work daily and never have pains in my feet from wearing heels. Kind of cool, right?
My patio slippers:
My slippers for the bathroom. (They keep my socks dry after my morning shower)
In many mom-and-pop restaurants the no shoes rule also applies. I've visited one with Charlotte recently and it felt like I was eating at my mom's house. I felt like I could let my hair down, so-to-speak. The food is made after you order it and you can see the family, usually a mom and her daughter, slave over a hot oven or stove to prepare it for you. If you order soup, they usually bring a stove top-like heater to keep your soup warm as you serve yourself communally with your dinner mate. Most meals are served in large amounts and you see many people eating off the serving dish or bowl at the center of the table. The sense of community is ever-present and I respect it.
My front door. The shoes come off.
In the states I often took off my shoes upon entering the house but not all of the time. Now, I've become so accustomed to it that even if I'm walking into my house to pick up something quickly, I take off my shoes. There is no carpet in most apartments I've visited and definitely not in public places but the understanding that there is not much dirt indoors makes me calm. Especially, when you have to sit on the floor to eat your meal. Who wants to eat from a bowl that's close to the dirt from outside? Not me! If this isn't considerate, I don't know what is.
The slipper rack at school
My work slippers:
THE TRASH SYSTEMConserving the environment is one thing I've learned to do regularly. The trash system here is different from America and it has contributed to me recycling.
After orientation, Kay teacher took me to lunch after hearing my horrible experience eating Bibimbap on the plane. She showed me this Korean restaurant that has plenty of pictures on the menu so that I could enjoy the Korean food without the headache of having to speak to order food. The bibimbap was wonderful and I can now say that bibimbap is enjoyable. After lunch she showed me how to pack trash correctly and explained to me that trash day is every Tuesday and Thursday. That's right, 2 days per week. Want to know why? Well, the bags they use are the size of grocery bags; imagine that! I can no longer hoard trash in hefty bags all week or until my garbage can runneth over. This process is making me an extremely orderly person. In addition to the small bags, each bag you use is color coded. Yellow bags are used for food parts and white bags are used for trash like paper and plastic. There is a small garbage can, no larger than a normal bathroom garbage can, that sits in front of the entrance of my apartment complex. The yellow food bag goes in this tiny compartment, I'm guessing to keep the large amount of stray cats from eating the contents. The white bags are left on the ground along with recycle able items that are supposed to be packaged separately from the regular trash. Kay teacher, noticing that someone had left their empty beer bottles on my property without a bag or box, frowned and said, “Whoever did this is a bad person, always bag your bottles!”
The Trash Bag:
The Food Bag:
After separating for the day, Kay told me to enjoy my week. I thanked her for showing me around and we parted ways.
HOW I WASH CLOTHES
As seen in an earlier blog, I only have a washer. That’s right, I have to hang EVERYTHING to dry because in Korea no one has a dryer. I wonder if South Korea saves more energy than America each year? And if so, how much? I think this concept is great for my clothes but not for my procrastination ways of living. If I ever need to wash something right away to wear within 2 hours I will be out of luck. Upon arrival, my washer was broken and the school had to order a new one for me. I had to wash clothes at my dear friend Charlotte’s house and lug heavy, wet clothes home 2 weeks ago. Regardless of the inconvenience of it all I’ll be thankful for the new experience, it gives me hope. I also have to be thankful for Charlotte, without her everyone at work would smell me before they saw me…that would not be an ideal situation. Nonetheless, I just recently got the new washer installed 2 days ago and boy am I happy! I stayed up past my bedtime just to wash clothes that evening.
Hanging to dry:
The trick is to dry clothes in the warm house. They dry faster.
THE FUNNIEST but, MOST DELIGHTFUL THING I’VE ENCOUNTERED
So for the Lunar New Year, I had a 4-day weekend. My new-fellow foreigner friends and I went skiing to celebrate. I had an awesome time and I’ll post about the entire trip on a later date. For now, I will talk about one particular invention that I think is funny but so useful.
Ladies: Have you ever went to a public bathroom and felt embarrassed because the gassy food you ate for lunch made you do something that you couldn’t hold in? Have you ever waited in the stall until everyone that possibly heard it has left to save you the embarrassment of them seeing your face? Well, my friends, South Korea figured out a way to save you from these sticky situations. Say hello to my friend……DRUMBROLL……
The Etiquette Bell.
The Etiquette Bell is this nifty gadget I came upon in the Subway station while using the ladies room as I was in route to the ski resort. As I took care of business I looked around my stall and noticed a button set on a plastic gadget called an Etiquette Bell. Coming from the curious gene pool I come from, my fingers could not resist the urge to touch it. To my surprise, I touched it and nothing happened. I was so confused. The only thing I heard was the sound of my neighbor flushing the toilet. As the 2-day ski trip went by and I found myself back at the same subway stop and using the bathroom along with the rest of the crew. I asked around before going into the bathroom because I was still very curious. The girls, all whom have been here for close-to or longer than a year, informed me that it is a helpful gadget that spits out the sound of a flushing toilet in an effort to conceal the sound your body is making. BRILLIANT!!!!!! I think I want one to carry this with me at all times. I’m already researching how I can get my hands on one. This culture is even considerate of your stall neighbor, wow!
SPEAKING OF BUTTONS….
I have an hilarious and embarrassing story. So The 1st week here, I’m walking down the street and I approach a stop light of the fairly busy main street here in Isu. As you all know it’s extremely cold here so I get anxious a lot when I’m outside in the cold and I’d rather not stop. Let’s just say I’m a little impatient. So I’m standing at the crosswalk waiting for the light to turn green and I realize that I’ve been standing there for what seems like hours and I’m freezing. So the American in me looks for the pedestrian button that communicates with the light so that the green light will appear. I see a button but I notice no one else seems to care. In haste to get to my destination, I press the button. All of a sudden I hear this loud voice speaking in Korean. As I look away, expecting for the light to change, I feel the heat of the eyes of other pedestrian’s staring a hole through me. I look around and they’re giving me this blank stare that looks like pity. I’m so embarrassed because I know I did something wrong but I really don’t know what it is. So I’m waiting and waiting and the voice stopped but that darn light was still red. Hold on, just when I thought the voice would stop and put me out of my misery, the voice starts talking in a very demanding voice, again. There were so many thoughts running through my head at this point. I pondered, “maybe I called the police?”, “maybe I called a city worker to fix the street or light?” By the time the light turned green I ran across the street because I was so nervous and afraid of what I had done. I asked my friends here, what is that button that is connected to the cross light? They confirmed that it is a message button for the blind. When a blind person approaches they can press the button and it tells them when to walk.
After hearing what the button was for I had this immense respect for South Korea. I have never heard of something so helpful to blind people in my life. Although the experience was embarrassing, I can honestly say I learned a lot about the country that I live in.
KEEPING THE PIPES CLEAR
I heard it through the grapevine that landlords are sticklers about keeping the pipes in their complexes clog-free. I don’t know how true it is but I do know that Korea has made a way for tenants to respect this wish, whether they like it or not. The sink drain and the shower drain are like nothing I’ve ever seen. Unlike the kitchen sinks in America, the kitchen sinks do not have garbage disposals for any excess food droppings washed from a dirty dish to be emulsified. Instead there is a food trapper that keeps food from entering the pipes. This trap is a strainer that allows water and other liquid forms to pass and drain out. The food particles stay in the trap and with the little handle, looks like that of a bucket, you pick it up and pour the contents into a trash bag. I was sort of disgusted the first time because the food smelled so bad but eventually I learned to clean it as soon as I finish washing dishes to keep it from smelling.
There is also a trap in the bathroom that is also built this way and I like it. After washing my hair one day I realized that the drain was stopped and the water would not drain out of the bathroom. I quickly turned off the shower spout and discovered that beneath the metal plate that covers the drain is a gadget that keeps hair from going down into the pipe. I picked up my cleaning gloves and pulled the unwanted hair from the contraption and water flowed freely. I wonder if the plumbing business is booming, my guess is no. How pain-free is it to know that any clogged drains can be done without having to spend an arm and a leg? I would say…very!
These are just a few discoveries I’ve encountered here in Seoul. There is much more but I don't have time this visit to share.
Until next time...
Love and Peace from Seoul
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