Jul 5, 2013

Signs you've been in Korea for too long *chuckle chuckle*

South Korea statue

I came across this thread on Waygook (Waygook is a meeting place for teachers to ask questions/get inspired/find lesson planning material/vent their frustrations/make friends with other teachers here in Korea. It's free! You just need to register). I found myself chuckling away in my teachers room and thought you might all enjoy the read.

If there are any other signs you may think of, or have found yourself doing/not doing, please do leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :)

In no particular order...

>You remember the bottled beer "Nex"
>You remember when Makoli used to come in the white bottles.
>You remember when Busan was spelled Pusan and Jeju island was spelled Cheju Island
>You jump for joy when you get upgraded to Windows XP.
>You no longer laugh or take pictures of bad English. (unless it really is excessive)
>Your calves are amazing.
>You automatically say '여보세요' when asnwering your cell phone.
>You take buses everywhere.
>You've lost most of your manners.
>You have the ability to wing an entire lesson.
>You start waking up in the middle of the night to turn off your electric fan even though you tell yourself that you don't believe in fan death
>If someone even thinks of aiming a camera in your direction, you throw up peace signs.
>When the driving habits of Korea in general no longer frighten you.
>You pronounce Seoul "Suh-ool" instead of "Soul"
>Finding a lunch or dinner (heck even or breakfast) sorely lacking when there's only one plate with one dish on it
>You can fall asleep, standing up, on a bus
>You are unfazed by the 5 year old hanging out at the BBQ restaurant... at 11pm on a school night
>You get home tired from work on Monday, and upon taking off you jacket you catch yourself sighing a long "아이고".
>the ajoshi next to you burps and instead of feeling disgusted you ask him where that delicious galbi restaurant is.
>you start to refer to every man over 35 as 'ajoshi
>you use the word 'delicious' in describing every meal
>you use 'assah!' because, frankly, it really does the job
>you use rock/paper/scissors to mediate every dispute
>spit on the street with no shame
>every competition is cause to yell out "FIGHTING!"
>You update your co-teacher on schedule changes... or don't bother just for fun
>You blend in to the crowd enough to startle someone who thought you were a local
>You can greet well enough to be mistaken for a Korean person for a split second
>You enjoy scented toilet paper and warmed toilet seats
>You must say it's cold whenever it is cold
>You ask your students what happened on the last Running Man
>You think kimchi isn't so bad after all for breakfast
>You see a truck running a red light at 90 km/h in the city, causing an 80-year-old woman to jump out of the way, barely escaping with her life you think "Well..she should have looked."
>You know the exact length of one-ply toilet paper for any 'situation.'
>You go out of your way not to miss market day. How else will I get all my veggies for so cheap?
>you are used to drying your body with two tiny little towels
>you actually wear the gym clothes that your gym provides
>you always carry toilet paper, and stuff your pockets when you come across a roll
>you automatically check the walls for toilet paper outside public toilets before entering a stall
->you actually buy fresh fish from that adjosshi sitting on your street corner (that you used to think was a hygienic food nightmare waiting to happen)
>when you say "no", you automatically cross your whole arms and shake your head at the same time, even when you go back home to visit your family- who think you're completely nuts
>you are no longer scared of fish heads and tails, and are actually buying them and cooking them at home
And when you get back home:

*search for the button on the thermostat that turns on the hot water for showers
*reach over like a patient with a stroke tied down to hand money over with your right hand in a drive through
*say hello and half bow when walking into any store
*expect a smile and shrug to take care of almost any problem
*have no idea how to get the waiter's attention
*get dirty looks for standing 2 cm behind the guy ahead of you

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone! Try to keep dry in this wet weather.

x CityGirl x

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