Nick and I were naive when it came to the Korean culture, so when we got here we had a lot to learn. We have been here almost three months and still struggle with some things. We thought it would be AWESOME to do a Korea quirk blog of the things we have had to get use to.
#1 The bathrooms: I have heard that we are lucky that our bathroom has a tub in it but, we still don't have a curtain. We have gotten use to the bathroom and really like it. When it comes to cleaning the bathroom we spray the whole bathroom in cleaner, scrub it down then,turn on the hot water and rinse.
#2 Toilet: If you need to go to the bathroom your best bet is to try and hold it until you get home. If you can't make it home, well, good luck to you. The bathrooms in the subway are just EVIL, I don't even consider them a bathroom. I have never seen anything like it in my life but, once, I had to pee so bad i had no choice but to brave it out. I now call this kind of "toilet" the squatter because that is what you have to do to use it. Don't even ask me how to flush it because I tried and I made the mistake of pushing one of the MANY available buttons. Next thing I knew someone was yelling at me over an intercom. For a quick second I thought to myself... to speak or not to speak. I chose not to speak and he got louder and louder until I said, in English, SORRY I'm American and I don't know what I'm doing. Finally I just left the squatter full of urine and left.
The squatter looks like a metal covered hole in the ground that has a pee guard so when you squat your pee doesn't hit the door.
The next thing about the toilets is that you throw the toilet paper away in a trash can. Some bathrooms have toilet paper for free and some you have to purchase out of a machine.
I had no Idea what I was doing the first time, all I knew is that I had to pee really bad and I couldn't find toilet paper anywhere. When you go to purchase the TP out of the machine you get what essentially is a travel size pack of Kleenex tissues
#3 When you receive or give anything to anyone you are suppose to act like you are presenting it to them by holding your arm that is holding the item. So, say you are going to pay for something, whichever hand is holding the money the opposite hand is brought to the elbow to prop it up. We have recognized a change in the way they treat us when we do or do not use this.
#4 Insulation: There isn't any! All the buildings are made of cinder blocks and when they finish construction, the finishing work amounts to pasting wallpaper on the walls and calling it good.
#5 The shoe rule: We don't use many of the shoes we brought because they are inconvenient. We are usually outside for only a minute to walk to work, so why wear nice, cute shoes when you are going to take them off and teach in slippers all day. When you enter public places, shoes are okay but, if you are going out to eat at a Korean restaurant, wear shoes that you can take off and slip on easier or you will look like an idiot as you take forever to put your shoes back on, yes Nick and I have both been that person.
#6 Chopsticks: Nick has always loved chopsticks and his skill with them has improved in the short time we've been here. We don't eat with a spoon or fork unless it is soup or cereal usually. Nick decided to challenge this at a friend's house by using chopsticks to pick up a spoon and eat. You can watch the video here
http://youtu.be/k1HfkLafmXY
If you watch close enough you will she the famous "Lauren look" I give!
And here is a picture of me using my chopsticks to pick up a chip!
#7 Driving: There is a reason Nick and I take the bus and subway everywhere. You are taking your life in your hands when you jump into a car in this country. They all drive like they are distracted, one minute going super slow and the next like they have just remembered they have to be somewhere right NOW. They have no regard for lanes or traffic signals. Most times they don't even use their blinkers to switch lanes. The hazard lights are like some sort of multipurpose signal that signifies the intention to change lanes, excuses stopping in the middle of a freeway or intersection for no good reason, or just as a friendly hey I exist here sign. They never check their mirrors and move freely lane to lane, even in bumper-to-bumper traffic. They honk when they are mad. They honk when they are happy. They honk to let you know they exist.
#8 Sidewalks: If you think it is scary to hop in a car, then don't walk on the sidewalks. You are probably safer in the car. Sidewalks should be called scooter-lanes because before you know it you have a kamikaze scooter who decided he did not want to stop at the red light headed straight at you. Honking his dinky little horn as a warning. Some don't honk and just drive beside you. Oh and on these scooters we have seen dogs and children down where your feet go. The other purpose for sidewalks is extra parking. For instance, to get to our church, you have to walk in the busy road because the sidewalk is stuffed full of cars.
#9 Lines: They don't exist. There is no such thing as waiting your turn. You have to push back or you will never get where you want to go. Oh and hope you are comfortable with having NO PERSONAL SPACE!
#10 Recycling: Everything here is recycled and we also have to recycle everything. Our leftover food is put in a compost that smells really bad, and our trash has to be in a pink bag. We carry all of this to the designated trash pit in our town about once a week. I do think it is a good idea to recycle. Nick and I recycles when we lived in NC, but we have had to get use to the compost thing.
There are other quirks about this country however, these are just our favorites. Hope you enjoyed our little quirk session.
