Korea Doesn't Change Everything

So... it has been close to two months since my last post and if I have any faithful followers still out there.... I would like to apologize. Even though my diet, surrounding language and time zone have all changed, my astounding skill of procrastination has stuck with me. Old faithful. That's what twelve years of private education will give you. Thanks Dad.

I have been in Korea for three months and it gets better everyday because everyday is literally an adventure. I have had escapades of all types. Some good, some bad, some funny, some (in retrospect) quite sad, but all memorable. Here is a little taste:

Even back home, I am not a great grocery shopper. There is something about 74 different brands of cereal, 40 flavors of yogurt and the endless aisle of spices that really seems to unnerve me. The problem has only escalated since my arrival here. Now, I can't even read what flavor of yogurt I am buying. I have no idea if the rice I picked up is actually rice or some sort of wheat grain. I just go with what I think rice is supposed to look like and hope for the best. Just as long as it doesn't turn out to be octopus, I can deal. The only time I thought I hit rock bottom was when I was trying to act out sliced deli meat and got something that tasted like old spam. Even if it tasted like fresh spam, I don't think I would have liked it.

I miss being able to freely communicate with waiters, waitresses, check out tellers at the grocery store, sales people and bus drivers. I was almost stuck on a bus because the bus driver didn't open the door at my stop and I didn't know how to say "please open the door" in Korean. So I just ended up making some sort of startling noise until someone noticed and told the bus driver to open the door. A few weeks ago (ok... a month...I KNOW I am behind!)I was grocery shopping with my friends at E-Mart and we were checking out our groceries when my friend Sam pulled out shaving cream she had bought from a different store from her purse in order to grab her wallet. Well... the cashier thought she was trying to shoplift said cream. Ten minutes, fifty hand gestures and one shaving cream receipt later, we limped out of E-Mart.

But this is where I really lucked out. Korean people are some of the most welcoming, kind, friendly and helpful people I have met. They put up with my foreign nonsense everyday. If they speak English they want to talk and find out where you are from and how you like Korea. They go out of their way to make things easier for you. Korean people really are what make Korea special.