On Walk-about

An update from when I “went for a wander,” as my new British friends would say:
I walked around for a couple hours in the SuSong district and around Bummeo Junction. There is a HUGE four way intersection just down the street from my apartment. To give you an idea of just how big it is, I’d say that each direction has about eight lanes of traffic flowing into/out of this intersection. So I traveled to the intersection and then walked for about a mile in every direction. I was actually looking for something (a place to buy a hairdryer and shampoo), but I either walked right buy it or there isn’t one near me (probably the first of the two). I did find a FoodMart, though so I bought some bananas, water, toilet paper (I wasn’t given any…I’ve been using the tissues I brought with me. Thank goodness I remembered them.), and a little treat for my brother that we’ve been unable to find back home.
I came back to my apartment for a little while (my shoulders were aching from carrying my laptop around the city), and then I ventured out in the other direction. I found a little market about a mile or so from my apartment where I was able to buy some shampoo and conditioner. I’m also hunting for a little blanket that I can wrap myself up in when I don’t want to be in my bed. All I have is a big comforter. So I saw a shop that sells beautiful bed linens and decided it might be worth a shot. I had to remove my shoes at the door, and of course the woman did not speak English. We struggled for a few minutes before she whipped out the paper. Of course I can’t write the Korean words, and she can’t read English so that wasn’t very helpful. I was able to remember the phrase for “How much?” so I asked that. She wrote down a number that was waaaay out of my price range. I excused myself from the shop in the most polite way I could, but I have a feeling we both left that interaction embarassed and confused. So yes, I lied. To those of you whom I told that Koreans speak both Korean and English, I lied. Korean children speak both; Korean adults do not. Or rather, most Korean adults either do not speak English, speak very little English, or know how to speak English but refuse to out of fear of embarrassment because they think their English isn’t good enough. The number of Korean adults who speak English and will use it with a foreigner is very small indeed. Unless of course they happen to be English teachers, and then it’s a non-issue. Regardless, I will have to learn Korean. So I continued to a hardware store where I finally found outlet adapters/voltage converters! Walmart, Best Buy, and Radio Shack all wanted to charge me anywhere from $25-$35 for five converters. Here I bought four for 2,000 won, or about .50 cents a piece. That is just absurd. Also, I went in a couple other shops to look around, and Korean sales clerks literally come stand right next to you while you shop. They want to be available if you need anything. I appreciate that, but I absolutely hate a hovering sales clerk back home. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, telling the clerk that I am just looking doesn’t make them back off here. Oh well.
I noticed that nearly everyone drives either a Hyundai or a Kia. Small Korean children stare at me, due to the fact that they probably haven’t seen many blonde-haired, blue-eyed people in their lifetime. When I had my vision test at the hospital the nurse said “Blue eyes…beautiful!” Of course everyone here has brown eyes so blue is unusual. Possibly the best part of Korea so far…the bars do not close at 1am. They close when you leave. It is not uncommon to stay at the bar until 5am. “Ddong” is the word for poop, but we never say it at school…we always spell it out. My students call me “Jaime Teacher,” and we (the teachers) bow when we greet or say goodbye to our Korean Manager at school. It’s also very bad form to write a child’s name (or anyone’s name, for that matter) in red ink. It is symbolic of death. To avoid making the mistake, I think I’m just not going to own a red pen, pencil, or whiteboard marker. Problem solved.
Also, I don’t have my apartment address yet, but I do have my school address. If you want to send a package (if you don’t mind paying the exorbitent shipping fees), send it to my school address:
Jaime Dorion
MoonKkang Academy
Daegu
ChimSan-Dong 293-4
Daewoo Building 2nd 3rd Floor
702-050
South Korea
(Mom, the phone # at school is 053-710-2223 and I believe the country code is 82. Always call my cell first, but if it’s an emergency you can call the school.)
If you want to send me regular mail, I’ll post my address as soon as I know it.
I'll write again soon, miss you all!