(no subject)
- Interesting that, though there are several programs for elderly people to live better, the amount of money they get from the equivalent of social security is about $100-$200 a month. In other words, nothing. The elderly are also paid less, and they are less likely to be hired because workplaces want people under the age of 40. Culturally, it's expected for the younger generations to take care of their elders, and also it's a case of "if not, what can you do?" There've been a couple of cases where people either murder their elders or simply drive them somewhere and leave them there.
- There's no one like Koreans for staying up really late doing nothing but talking. My family all just swigged energy drinks, at 10 pm, to stay up and talk.
- I think I could honestly live here, if I didn't ever have to deal with another comment about my personal appearance. I know that it comes with having a Korean family, but if I hear another comment about how I should wear makeup, get plastic surgery, wear cuter clothes, I will cause a political shitstorm.
For reference. In the subway, less than five feet away from each other, two giant ads for plastic surgery doctors. While having coffee and cake in a cafe, I looked out a window at the building across the street where there were three separate clinics for cosmetic surgery.
I can't tell you how little I care about my looks and girling it up. In terms of things I care about, it ranks somewhere between apple cores and pigeon shit.
Cutesyness is everywhere in this country, even in the way people speak. Young women speak differently than the Korean I always heard growing up. They use certain types of inflections, lilts in the voice, all to make it all... cute. The announcements on the metro sound like this too. Safety reminders, cute.
- I could also live here if it weren't for the fact that I feel like it's expected of me to behave like a proper Korean woman. I think my sister in law gets a pass because she's white, and therefore clearly foreign, however I am obviously Korean, and thus I get held to certain standards, whether I know about them or not. I'm feeling the pressure pretty badly, and it's making me homesick.
The nationalist pride in this place is very, very strong. I feel like, if I told someone in the US that I haven't been there for 40 years, they'd be surprised, but it'd be no big deal. Here, when my mom tells someone that she hasn't been back for 40 years, the response is always dramatic, wide-eyed gasps.
I've been asked if I'm actually Korean because even though I am by blood, I'm missing part of the national identity by not speaking or reading the language.
- Starbucks doesn't do very well in this country, and I found out that it's because there's this chain called A Twosome Place that has amazing pastries, sandwiches, coffee. Starbucks is poop water by comparison.
- Tried an etiquette bell in a bathroom stall. They're basically there to mask the sound of your peeing, poopin', whatever. As soon as I pressed the button, this incredibly loud, obviously fake toilet flushing noise started to play, which puzzled me. I can understand having a shy bladder, but to me, the sound of toilets flushing is just as off putting as the sound of pissin'.
- without the etiquette bell, the toilets themselves are very... polite. They flush quietly, but with a fair amount of force.
- Back in America, morbidly obese is the norm. Here, I have not seen a single person that would count. A couple are a little chubby, but nothing that would set off a doctor's alarm bells. THEN AGAIN, CONSIDERING HOW IMPORTANT LOOKS ARE HERE...
- k heated floors are pretty nice, but after sleeping on them all night, I feel a little like a panini.
-An interesting thing about the rules on abortion here. They used to be more free, but doctors told mothers the sex of their baby during ultrasounds and such. Young girls were often aborted. You can still get one done, it's just a little stricter now, and they don't tell you the sex before it's born.