KiiSoKo – Kickin It In South Korea

Click HERE to set this blog as your home page. I won’t be offended if you opt to stick with “the Goog,” but my advertisers might. I encourage you to read some of my older posts. While you most likely already know the outcome of the story from CNN or Perez or a number of other media outlets that follow my every move, I think you will still be entertained by the manner in which the story is told. In the “About Me” section, which I custom-crafted like a corner cabinet, you will learn that I now have light green towels. It was an unintentional change of pace from the boring white towels I “borrowed” from the Hotel Avichon, which was the love motel I called home for the first few days I was here until my apartment was ready. Love motels are very popular here because so is living at home until you are 30. And by living at home I mean mom dad, brother, sister, sister, grandma and pet flying squirrel. Sometimes it’s nice to escape from the large round judgmental eyes of that pet rodent. Even though he is sooooo cute, aren’t you Chippy, aren’t you?! Especially when you gnaw on my dresser, leave poo pellets in the sink and bury my coffee beans in my sweaters for your upcoming winter hibernation. I am at a huge disadvantage when it comes to laundering my clothes. I had a decent grasp on it back home; whites on the hot setting, colors on the colors setting. Then I would toss everything in the dryer, except for a few sweaters, which I usually dry clean. If you know me, you know how much I love my sweaters. Especially my v-neck sweaters. Well now I don’t have a dryer, just a super high tech LG TROMM washing machine with everything labeled in Korean. I can’t possibly convey how exciting that is. The whole machine is basically operated by a large dial in the center that rotates allowing me to select from 360 degrees of washing options. I usually play a game I call “Korean Roulette” and go from there. Thus, a set of dark green sheets donated some dye to said bland white towels, which really brightened my day. I also had a pair of white boxers with a sunglasses pattern in that load. I now have a pair of St. Patrick’s Day boxers with a sunglasses pattern. I am sure future games of Korean Roulette, while much safer than the long time favorite Russian version, will provide many more pleasantries in the future. I have actually found myself playing lots of fun new games with myself being here in Korea. One of the other games I play is simply a game of internal debate. As if I don’t stand out enough here in the most homogenous country in the world, I have found myself talking to myself. No you don’t. Yes I do. Ok fine you do. I know I do. It usually happens when I am shopping, or trying to make decisions. I find myself reading things out loud. At Paris Baguette, asking myself what is in a “well being sandwich?” As if a 6’ tall white American male doesn’t stand out enough, now he is talking to himself. I never used to talk to myself. My assumption is that no one really understands me, so it is nice to have a little monologue, er… dialogue? with someone other than a 4 year old. I must say, I am quite the conversationalist. You sure are! Literally, everyone is Korean here. Well… duh, Kevin. I mean, yes I did kind of “expect” it. But there really is no diversity. Similar to the place I grew up. But we at least had SOME diversity. Rajeev Ram (google him) was in my graduating class along with about 899 other kids. In Chicago there seemed to be a nice mix of people from everywhere. (Polish folks from Polish Village, Ukrainians from Ukrainian Village, Chinese from Chinatown/Cermack, hipsters from Wicker Park, Big Ten Alumna from various Midwest cities paying too much for rent in Lincoln park; see, very diverse, mixed and virtually impossible to generalize any one person or area.) It seems to help me have a true feeling of submersion into the culture, but I do miss the flavor that diversity brings. People notice me, that’s for sure. It is kind of fun getting stared at as I walk down the street. I wonder what they think when they see me. Sometimes young people will say hello. They like to practice the English words they know, which I can relate to as I enjoy saying “Hola, como estas” to my Hispanic friends. I appreciate when they do and always return the hello. They seem to get a kick out of it. Similar to my students when I surprise them with the Korean words I am learning in my Rosetta Stone lessons. I think part of the fun comes from the fact they really never hear “bad” Korean. Everyone here speaks Korean; naturally and fluently. Unless your pronunciation is near flawless, they have a difficult time understanding what you are saying. For more on this, read “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Therefore I like to entertain my children with my own rendition of “Anyong ha say yo” which always makes them laugh. Few things are as true and honest as a child’s emotions. There is something about my children’s laughter that makes me want to repeat “Anyong ha say yo” over and over again. But if I did that, I might as well get a job at the GS Supermarket. (Inside joke for all of my trusty readers, I’m here for you By the way, I had over 60 Unique Visitors on Thursday. ) Moral of the story: Laughter is the same word in all languages.