As I meander my way from one cafe to another (I could pretend that I do other stuff but I really don't and I refuse to consider my everyday chores of washing, cooking and cleaning as real activities or at least activities worth talking about) during these now cold winter days, I often get the feeling that I am existing in a bubble.
I arrived in Korea with zero Korean language skills and, as this has not progressed much further over the past year (although I do now realise that I have spent the best part of a year saying hello instead of goodbye), I remain in total ignorance as to what people are saying to me. I like to think it is always positive and most likely a compliment (if only you could all be in Julie's world) but, in reality, it could be anything and I would not have a clue. I don't know what is written on signs, where the bus is going (or where it will stop), what is behind that particular shop window or why an advert on the side of the bus has little aliens attacking a woman's leg (see below).
I totally agree that I should speak Korean. And, again, I apologise to the Uniqlo staff member who yelled at me for, in her view, pretending that I could not speak Korean when, again according to her, I clearly could understand her (I have found that nodding my head at appropriate intervals seems to get me through)! Yes, Miss Uniqlo, you raise a very valid point when you said to me (in perfect English) that I could learn Korean if I wanted to.
Without speaking a Korean word, however, I am able to order food and drinks (although I am never sure it is my order that I am picking up at the other end of the counter or someone else's as I don't know what is being yelled out by the service staff) and generally buy stuff, including in particular my awesome fluorescent cushion covers made to order at Dongdaemun Market. I am able to engagingly nod at sales staff, (I figure it is always safer to nod one's head rather than shake it) including Miss Uniqlo (I figure it is always safer to nod one's head rather than shake it), guessing that she was asking me in super fast Korean if I knew that the stock was on sale, needed a bag or wanted receipt (she could have also been asking me if I knew that there was a budgie coming out of my bag (given that really did happen one day on the bus in Canberra it is not outside the realm of possibility however it is totally unrelated to this story so I will continue)). I am also able to find out some of what my two year old (who also cannot speak Korean) has done at her Purple School all day: actions for sleep, eat and cry are universal so it appears.
I should probably also stop assuming that just because I can't speak Korean the people around me can't speak English. I spent yesterday walking home from Yonsei University (after waiting for 30 minutes at the usual bus stop I concluded that the bus must have gone off on a magical mystery tour instead of coming to pick me up. I can't speak Korean so could not read the impressively big sign with fancy red writing at the bus stop) singing aloud to Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are" the twelve or so bus stops home all because I felt that no-one was looking at me or could understand me (I won't own up to the fact that I may occasionally also sing aloud on trains). I remembered, after a few weird looks and people taking a very wide path around me as they passed by, that all Koreans learn English at school (given my singing involves a lot of humming as I can never remember most (if any) of the actual words it probably does not even matter whether or not Koreans have learnt English). Note to self: stop singing in public.
But even I were to succeed in overcoming the language barrier by becoming fluent in Korean (although having watched husband heroically struggle to learn it I doubt very much that will ever happen for me) would it really assist me to become wiser in the ways of the Korean? Somehow I don't think that simply by acquiring the language I would then understand:
I arrived in Korea with zero Korean language skills and, as this has not progressed much further over the past year (although I do now realise that I have spent the best part of a year saying hello instead of goodbye), I remain in total ignorance as to what people are saying to me. I like to think it is always positive and most likely a compliment (if only you could all be in Julie's world) but, in reality, it could be anything and I would not have a clue. I don't know what is written on signs, where the bus is going (or where it will stop), what is behind that particular shop window or why an advert on the side of the bus has little aliens attacking a woman's leg (see below).
I totally agree that I should speak Korean. And, again, I apologise to the Uniqlo staff member who yelled at me for, in her view, pretending that I could not speak Korean when, again according to her, I clearly could understand her (I have found that nodding my head at appropriate intervals seems to get me through)! Yes, Miss Uniqlo, you raise a very valid point when you said to me (in perfect English) that I could learn Korean if I wanted to.
Without speaking a Korean word, however, I am able to order food and drinks (although I am never sure it is my order that I am picking up at the other end of the counter or someone else's as I don't know what is being yelled out by the service staff) and generally buy stuff, including in particular my awesome fluorescent cushion covers made to order at Dongdaemun Market. I am able to engagingly nod at sales staff, (I figure it is always safer to nod one's head rather than shake it) including Miss Uniqlo (I figure it is always safer to nod one's head rather than shake it), guessing that she was asking me in super fast Korean if I knew that the stock was on sale, needed a bag or wanted receipt (she could have also been asking me if I knew that there was a budgie coming out of my bag (given that really did happen one day on the bus in Canberra it is not outside the realm of possibility however it is totally unrelated to this story so I will continue)). I am also able to find out some of what my two year old (who also cannot speak Korean) has done at her Purple School all day: actions for sleep, eat and cry are universal so it appears.
I should probably also stop assuming that just because I can't speak Korean the people around me can't speak English. I spent yesterday walking home from Yonsei University (after waiting for 30 minutes at the usual bus stop I concluded that the bus must have gone off on a magical mystery tour instead of coming to pick me up. I can't speak Korean so could not read the impressively big sign with fancy red writing at the bus stop) singing aloud to Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are" the twelve or so bus stops home all because I felt that no-one was looking at me or could understand me (I won't own up to the fact that I may occasionally also sing aloud on trains). I remembered, after a few weird looks and people taking a very wide path around me as they passed by, that all Koreans learn English at school (given my singing involves a lot of humming as I can never remember most (if any) of the actual words it probably does not even matter whether or not Koreans have learnt English). Note to self: stop singing in public.
But even I were to succeed in overcoming the language barrier by becoming fluent in Korean (although having watched husband heroically struggle to learn it I doubt very much that will ever happen for me) would it really assist me to become wiser in the ways of the Korean? Somehow I don't think that simply by acquiring the language I would then understand:
- the man who occasionally appears out the front of the local KB Bank and hands out cash to passer-bys from a plain beige envelope;
- the government workers willingly continue to work during summer power cuts, which means no lights on and no air conditioners working;
- that you can buy leg-warmers in the year 2013 (I admit, I did buy a pair); and
- the ever present love-match dressing (I am trying to understand this though).
Generosity towards children: 67/30*
The affection and attention thrust upon children is unbelievable. Routinely over the past month, my snotty nosed, dirty faced, pants falling down children have been showered with lollies, candy, sweeties, nuts, biscuits, chewing gum, chocolate milk, bus seats, train seats, balloons - you name it and it has been provided to them just because they are children.
The affection and attention thrust upon children is unbelievable. Routinely over the past month, my snotty nosed, dirty faced, pants falling down children have been showered with lollies, candy, sweeties, nuts, biscuits, chewing gum, chocolate milk, bus seats, train seats, balloons - you name it and it has been provided to them just because they are children.
Generosity towards families: 6/30
We had a birthday party for two of the three girls a few months ago and our Korean neighbour down the road turned up with 35 Paris Croissant (bakery/ice-cream chain of stores in Korea) ice-creams for the party guests. Just because.
We were out walking one day and the weather turned un-expectantly and, as we sought shelter under a shop door front from the bucketing rain, a woman asked us to wait there while she ran to her car and returned with a huge umbrella that she handed to us as her gift to keep us all dry (it was a pink Playboy umbrella so she may have also wanted to have got rid of it but nevertheless the umbrella became ours). Just because.
On trains, buses and boats (I am lying about the boats but I felt like it should be added in here) our family is always offered seats. Just because!
Generosity towards older people 30/30
Younger people get up for older people on public transport here. All the time.
The concept of service: 25/30
Now this one could perhaps be because I often look like a slightly crazed white woman and people want me out of their shop sooner rather than later but the random acts of kindness I am a recipient of astounds me. Examples of actions that are done under the name of "service" include:
- a shop keeper handing me a free diary and postcards as her way of saying thanks for always walking in (and occasionally buying things like super cool french skirts that I ended up selling on EBAY because super cool french skirts don't look good on me);
- free bottles of water and/or tissues they hand out at service stations when they fill up your car with petrol;
- free candles and party poppers at the cake store because you bought a cake from them;
- free extra ribbons from the ribbon shop man; and
- free coffee when your card fails to work at the coffee shop (despite having worked many times before).
Driving a car: -10/30
I heard a statistic the other day that 60% of Koreans don't feel that it is necessary to stop at a red light and 70% never use an indicator - like EVER! On the road, generosity apparently vanishes too. The amount of times I have been cut off, beeped at, driven around (as I thought I was being reasonable by not turning right into oncoming traffic and waiting until there was a gap in the road to move) or almost been driven into is considerable over a one month period. I am going to refer to this anomaly as the exception that proves the rule!
Soul to Seoul: Road rage aside, I don't need the language to understand that I like what I see.
*Score is the amount of times it happens over a 30 day period.
*Score is the amount of times it happens over a 30 day period.
