Different Experiences in Korea!

This post is about my life as an expat in Korea and some of the things that I've been up to here in the land of kimchi. Click "Read more" to hear/learn some cool shit.

Jeonju film festival: Went to a film festival!! My very first one. I also saw my very first Korean film. It was very interesting! My favorite thing about the movies in Korea is the popcorn! You can get different kinds of seasoning on it - anything from bacon to cheese to onion! Absolutely mouth-watering. After the movie, we headed for dinner and what do ya know - the actors from the movie came in! Guess we picked a good restaurant! At the festival, you could hang out after the movie and meet the director and ask questions and what not. We opted out of this but we still got to the meet the people! Pretty cool.

My bestie, David, always doing the cooking!

Best hangover food.

Cinco De Mayo: Children's Day landed on the 5th of May this year! Children's Day is a big thing here in Korea. We even have no school! The day prior, we set up a "market" at my school and the kids came in and shopped. They earn some monopoly money for good behavior and get to use it a few times a year at the markets. There were gifts and ice cream and pizza. We watched a movie. It was nice and the kids loved it. I ventured to Ulsan for Cinco De Mayo on my nice day off! Some friends and I had a picnic in the park then we headed to a local bar to take advantage of the $3 tequila shots. Most importantly, however, is that there were limes! Limes are nearly impossible to find in this tiny country. Koreans substitute lemons usually and man, it is not the same! I asked the lady if I could buy some limes from her and she gave me a few for free! Success.

Tuesday class!

Picnic selfies

I actually just came back from braving the tax office. Did you know that you go to the office and people do your taxes for you? FOR FREE. It's their job. No paying H&R Block employees or trying to figure out weird ledgers. America should be doing this. At first, I thought the lady was telling me that I owed money and I almost lost my cool but turns out, I'm getting a nice chunk of money in return! Not too shabby. 

I'd just like to touch base on the whole "language barrier" thing I've got going on for myself. It's nothing like in America, where some people complain that people should "go back to their country" and get flustered when they can't communicate with people. Nothing like that. Yes, I have trouble communicating more times than not but eventually, everything always works out. It's actually fun and challenging and I look at it kind of like a game. Like today at the tax office, the lady helping me had no idea how to give me the information I needed so 5 other employees came over and they all tried to help. Koreans never get mad when I mention that I can't speak Korean. I apologize in their language and they always tell me not to worry about it. There was this one time where I asked a lady at a convenient store for directions and she wasn't sure so she asked a customer in the store who was very willing to help. These two women then continued to search things on their phone and walk me halfway to my destination. It's always like this. The only people who get angry are taxi drivers but I think that's just in their nature. 

My boss at the bar - Jessy

Continuing on with this, the bar job is going well. It's fun. I like it. The cook there is this elderly Korean lady. I call her "imo" which means "aunt" and it's a sort of respectful word to call her. Anyway, I know a handful of Korean phrases and she knows even less English. But we can sit together and watch Korean dramas together (if there's no customers) and laugh and smile and it's a great time. There are many other ways to communicate with people besides language. Smiling. Dancing. You can feel a person's vibes like the rays of the sun. These small joys make me happy.

I go to the same convenient store in my small city which is run by this lady and her husband. Everytime I walk in, it's like both me, and the owner, are instantly a bit happier. We both try to talk to each other and it's kind of silly but I think the main point is that we are trying. We are not shaming one another for not being able to speak a specific language. Yesterday she gave me some chocolate. Little things, I tell you.

I finally made it to this book alley where books are stacked from floor to ceiling and in every direction you turn. Yes, they are mostly Korean books but there were some English books as well and I snagged some for a good deal! 

things:

If you ask a Korean child how they are doing, they always say "I'm happy today." And if they aren't happy, they say "I'm so-so." So-so has become very dominant in my everyday vocabulary and I'm not sure if I love it or I hate it. But ya know, it really is a great way to describe things that are, in fact, so-so.

Korea is going through a honey butter epidemic. Everything comes in a honey butter flavor now. Honey butter almonds, chips, cashews, butter, cream cheese, squid. I'm not sure if it sounds good to the average person or not BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR. Everytime I see a new honey butter item, I buy it. Koreans even put honey on pizza. It's better than it sounds! 

This weekend will be one for the books. I'm going white water rafting, bungee jumping, zip-lining, AND caving! Gotta love the tours they set up or foreigners! Til next post.