Korea--Our New Home

Well, we are three weeks in...and we are surviving, if not yet thriving!  :o)  I've put off blogging about our adventure until now--giving us time to get over jet lag (a total beast!) and allowing us time to get settled. 

I thought I would take this first Korean blog to point out some of the observations we have made so far in our new country:

1.  Our new home is very similar...yet different.  We say that all the time now.  “These Pringles chips taste similar...yet different.”  There are soooo many things that are almost like we are used to, but not quite.  But we are adjusting.  I laugh that we have come so far in just three mere weeks, but it is true.  Every day we become a little more familiar and a little less confused.

2.  Humidity is not my friend.  I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard someone say, “You guys are from Texas.  You’re used to weather like this, right?”  No.  No we are not.  Heat, heavens yes.  But 90% humitity???  No, thanks.  It’s like swimming.  Outside.  With your clothes on.  And my hair is not loving it.  (Those of you who know me best know how vain I am about my hair!)  But I’m adjusting...and doing my best not to complain about it.  I think even Michael could say I’ve been a trooper (on my best days).  Luckily we only have a couple of weeks of this humidity left...or so they say.  In the past few days, it has already gotten noticeably cooler in the mornings and evening.  Bring on the Fall!

3.  I miss my car.  Now, mind you, Michael and I both agree that I should never, ever drive in this country.  I haven’t quite figured out the traffic laws (What does a blinking red light mean as opposed to a solid red light?  Stop only if you want to??) and people drive insanely crazy around here.  I find myself praying in our taxi as the driver cuts off a bus...and we narrowly escape death.  Not to mention that the road we walk to school on is a two lane road, but there are cars parked on both sides of the street (and often on the sidewalk), giving you only the narrowest width to drive down.  So, no thank you to driving.  However, I miss the freedom and convenience of my car.  I’m used to thinking, “Hey, I’m going to go to the store,” jumping in my car, and five/ten minutes later being at the store.  Not here.  Everything has to be planned out before you leave.  Taxi? Bus? Subway?  Can I carry back everything I’m going to buy?  Or can I simply buy it at one of the stores in our neighborhood?  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

4.  There is no such thing as personal space.  With a city this large and a population so huge, you are not afforded your own space “bubble,” as Grace calls it.  Subways are a lesson in getting to intimately know your fellow man.  Or woman.  Or whoever.

5.  People are extremely helpful.  We’ve had people offer to help us at the subway station, reloading our subway card.  We were at a food court in a marketplace on Saturday, and an elderly man brought all us forks.  :o)  I’m sure in their head, or even out loud in Korean (I would never know!), they are muttering, “Crazy Americans...”

6.  Napkins are teeny-tiny.  Strange topic, I know.   Michael explains that in a city this size, they have to be really conscientious of their waste...but I miss napkins that you could actually wipe something with.  And gone are the days when they give you a big wad of them with your meal.  You are lucky to get two.

7.  Shopping is amazing!  We haven’t even scratched the surface of all of the markets, shops, malls, and outlets that are available to us...and I have plans to rectify that soon.  It is good to have a goal.

8.  Shopping for food is an event you just have to experience.  Labels are obviously in Korean, so you have to remember colors of food labels that you are used to.  Depending on the store you are shopping in, you may get lucky and there will be English on signs and/or labels—yippee!!  Sometimes you just have to guess.  We bought a pancake mix the other day.  All the instructions were in Korean.  No pictures to follow either.  I give all the credit to Michael that they actually turned out pretty good!  :o)

9.  The beds are extremely hard.  It’s like sleeping on the floor.  We bought an 8 cm (I’m trying to embrace the metric system) memory foam mattress pad for our bed, so it’s a tad better.

10.  We are amazed how much English we see and hear.  Signs may all be in Korean and then have one English word, "Sale," "Coffee," or "Best."  Many restaurants will have some English on their menus (Bless them).  Now, mind you, the English isn't always the best nor does it always make sense.  It's like they put the words in Google translate and came up with a convoluted English translation.  It often makes us laugh.

11.  Things in Korea are smaller--cars, apartments, chip bags, chicken, teen-tiny brooms.  Take the size of just about anything you find in the States and micro-size it.

12.  In our neighborhood, fried chicken seems to be the "in" thing.  There are sooooo many Korean restaurants to choose from.  But when you want to break out of the norm, chicken seems the best option.  Or Italian.  But don't forget the Chinese or Japanese restaurants here, too.  We are multi-cultural at its finest.

It definitely hasn't been easy to adapt to all of the changes around us.  But, as a family, we are venturing out more and more to learn about this new place we call HOME.