1. Eating. Besides the obvious chopsticks, it's been weird for me adjusting to the way that my boys eat. Eating here is a heck of a lot more audible than at home. If it's noodles, the polite way to eat them is literally to grab as much as you can with the chopsticks and slurp. Apparently, audibly eating is a sign of respect, as if to say, "This is so good that I'm eating it like a hungry bear." It's actually quite liberating when you're noodles to just dig in without the formalities. The diet is way different. Rice and kimchi are available at every meal. At restaurants, there's a whole side dish course that comes out before the food and is free. Eating culture in general here just caught me by surprise.
2. Driving. I'm not trying to perpetuate any stereotypes, but the driving test here must be as easy as writing your name at the top. The following clip demonstrates all too accurately what you deal with regularly here.
3. Bowing. This sounds like a ridiculous one, but every Korean you acknowledge, you're usually doing it with a bow. I know that when I'm home in December, I will be bowing to everyone I see without thinking about it.
4. The Internet. Sorry, folks, but the US is millennia behind. I'm really surprised if I'm somewhere and I don't have fast, free WiFi here. It's ridiculously fast. I rarely if ever have issues with Skyping, and it is glorious. Downloads happen in seconds instead of in minutes. It is absolutely wonderful, and the US needs to take notes.
5. Health and fitness. Everyone is as thin as a rail, but there doesn't really seem to be any emphasis on health or working out. My boys enjoy sports, but the idea of running or lifting weights is pretty repulsive to most of them. As far as staff, I see two Korean gentlemen in the gym from time to time, but besides that, all foreign staff. The boys would rather eat Ramen for every meal than anything else, and I get the feeling that when they're home, they're spoiled, and it literally is Ramen and fried chicken for every meal.
6. Music. K-pop, man. It's everywhere. The boys like lots of American pop, but generally like really epic Korean ballads and K-pop are their go-to. I was lucky with my group, and they all have interest in guitar, so they like John Mayer, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. Otherwise, I may have been wearing noise canceling headphones a lot more often.
7. Parental relationships. Tons of pressure from the parents on everything. Most of the boys have never heard their parents say they love them. They show that they care in other ways, such as making sure they're fed at all times. I noticed it a lot when I met parents at the soccer tournament earlier this year; on the surface, it looks a lot like a strictly-business relationship, but you can see that the parents do what they do because they care.
8. Masculine/Feminine roles. My boys are super feminine. It took me a while to get used to their morning routines which involve blow drying their hair, applying excessive amounts of cologne, and ironing their shirts. Emotion is more readily displayed with the boys I've come to find. Sitting on each other's laps and holding hands in the hall way is normal. As far as girls, the roles seem to be more traditional than at home, but the school also does a good job of making sure that girls don't just slide into a role that they're expected to assume. It seems to be a newer thing than at home that women are coming out of the household and into the workplace, but maybe I'm misinterpreting.
9. Gaming. At home, if you're into World of Warcraft or League of Legends, you might be considered a nerd. Here, people are making money doing it. The kids are obsessed and watch YouTube videos of the best players. The boys are never happier than when they're at their computers gaming, which is half horrifying in that I worry it cripples their imagination, and half helpful because I get silence when they have MacBook time.
10. Age Distinctions. I think I mean multiple things by this. First of all, unless a Korean is really old or really young, it's really hard for me to distinguish how old they are. I have coworkers who I thought were 20 who are in their late 30s. Some of my boys look like they could be in 2nd grade instead of 7th. Additionally, the way that ages treat each other is strange. The older kids can really hold things over the younger kids heads. Apparently, a lot of bullying occurs based on age. For instance, apparently, one of the kids told a younger boy he had to prostrate him self to him every time he saw him. Strange stuff, man.
Anyway, I'm feeling the yawns, and that's the first ten that came to my head. Have a good weekend, people.
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