Here’s a little light-hearted (but true!) ranting for the weekend. Over the past year and a half I’ve learned to navigate some of the…nuances of everyday life in a major South Korean city. The quirks about the culture can take you by storm and catch you off guard just when you’re seemingly having a great day. Everything is fine, then it happens. One of those quirks. What’s the best thing to do?
Here’s my take on the biggies in my own life and how I’ve adjusted my actions when encountering them.
Again, even in a rough and gritty town like NYC, people let you off the subway before clambering into the car themselves. Not in Korea. When that door opens it’s literally a free-for-all.
Here I am trying to get off the subway car and I’ve got little old ladies and high school kids hip checking me out of the way to get a seat. For a while I was confused and getting more frustrated with each ride. That was until the day I decided to just get off the car with no remorse. Men, women and children were ricocheting off me like a pinball machine. Have you ever plowed snow?! Something like that.
It doesn’t have to be like this though =========>>>
Here’s the ironic thing that happened that very day – nobody even blinked an eye. I know on some occasions my shoulder “brushed” against some faces, but when I looked back there they stood, staring intently at the seats. I actually think they enjoy the challenge of the doorway blitz.And now, so do I.
If you come up from a bow and there’s a twinge of disdain lingering on the other person’s face, you didn’t go low enough.
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If you see a co-teacher,
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If you see the principal,
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Enter your health club and see the owner,
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Enter your martial arts school,
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If you see Korean friends,
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When you encounter elders,
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Walk into your empty apartment, say it. Practice makes perfect.
Lol..Pretty funny stuff man. I will have to remember this if I ever make it over there. How do you stay in touch with loved ones in an affordable manner?
You gave me quite a moment of laughter with this one! I have some good news for you: if you ever visit Israel, you will be 100% okay! These things are common on the Egged buses and walking in the streets.
But different vibe on the Arab buses. More polite and kind. However, if it is after 4 pm, when the guys are using the bus to come home from work, hard to get off the bus. One day I had to push about 15 guys off because they would not move. I felt like Goliath and that is a pretty embarrassing thing for a lady to say! But it worked! They were laughing in the end anyway! Gotta love it! 🙂
Thanks. I usually use email and the occasional Skype call. Skype is so inexpensive now, it makes keeping in touch easier.
Good stuff! Sometimes you've just got to "make it happen" when getting off the subway.
Thank you for sharing this blog post. Hilarious. I laughed several times without knowing what Thomas and Friends is. Will be reading more.
My students always laugh when they first learn my name. They love that show!