Quirks of the City (part one)
I’m glad you all liked my Vlog! I got a pretty good response from it, so I’ll keep those coming! For now though, here are just a few things I’ve come to find interesting about living in Seoul.
The apartments have heated floors. I find this to be a much better way of heating a room. Not only do your feet never get cold, but as we all know, heat rises. How genius!
Most restaurants have a button on the table that you press when you need service. I find that this is both beneficial to the wait staff, as well as the customers. No more awkward interruptions by your server, no more servers waiting around and nonchalantly passing your table. Just push a button and presto…a group (not just one) of smiling Koreans are at your service!
Ajummas. Literally translated meaning “woman old enough to be married”. See picture below:
Sure, she may look like a sweet lady who just wants to offer you a bowl of kimchi….but if you’re in her way when she’s trying to get on or off the public transportation system then you had better watch out! These women often sport huge visors and/or fur coats. When they reach a certain age they cut their hair short, get a perm, and begin savagely stomping through subway stations, pushing anyone in there way to the side.
The stares. These aren’t as bad as I had previously thought they would be…but I assure you that I don’t walk around this city unnoticed. My height doesn’t help my anonymity very much either, haha. The Korean friends I’ve made so far say that these stares aren’t a bad thing….people are just curious about Westerners so a lot of them can’t help but look. The good thing is that if you look back, they will immediately glance away because they want to avoid any confrontation or awkwardness. This is VERY unlike Czechs, who if they recognized you as a foreigner, were perfectly content to stare at you the entire subway ride as you sat across from them….never breaking face.
Animal hats for kids. As if Korean kids were not cute enough on their own, their parents often dress them up in these animal hats for the winter:
There are many other quirks of this place that I’ve come to find interesting and endearing….so I’ll make these entries part of a continuing series. I always find it most fascinating to learn about these little social facts that really separate cultures….and there are many here, I can assure you.
Hope all is well, and much love!