Month One Update: Pay day!

In Korea, you only get paid once a month… I’ve earned by not having a mansion, or a helicopter, or a pony, or kids ;) And I get paid in won- so I am a ‘millionaire’

Here are a few things I’ve observed so far:

1. The people here are very kind:  Everyone wants to help. Whether your shirt is tucked in wrong or you are walking on wrong side of the platform… they will fix it for you- even if it means doing it themselves ;) They even go out of their way to return lost items!
2. There are mirrors everywhere:  I thought they were for safety but they’re not!  They’re for looking good, all the time. It’s 100% acceptable to look in the mirrors or carry them to make sure of this.
3. Dancing is all over commercials:  Every time I watch TV the majority of the commercials I see involve group dances.  ha ha.  Cell phones, yogurt, cold medicine, hospitals, water purifiers… you name it- they dance to it
4. Couples outfits: Instead of a good old fashioned kiss to tell someone across the bar you’re taken- they were matching outfits to make sure everyone knows.  No joke!
5. Pedicures are $60 but a manicure if $5… what gives?
6. Appearance is everything:  On my first day instead of telling me which students were badly behaved or which needed a little more assistance the other Korean teachers told me about their appearance. “She has a kind heart but she’s fat” or ” he looks more like a girl than a boy”
7. Beggars have no legs: here are blind beggars on the train walking around but it seems that all the the ones in the street are leg less!  They lay on their belly and drag themselves around on make shift skate boards, wearing rubber suits to protect their nubs.
8. People jog from place to place:  They walk, then run, then walk, then run, the wait at a stop light, the run.
9. Pushing is totally OK:  Everyone does it.  It’s the rudest thing but instead of saying the Korean equivalent to “excuse me” they just push you out of the way.  It’s mostly in crowed places like the subways or crossing the street… but still!
10. Love Hotels: Since you the Koreans live with their parents until they’re married they gotta do it somewhere. They have these ropes in front for cars to pull in and be discreet… I thought it was a car wash, Nadine laughed and then explained.