I know, I know....

I have been horrible at updating this month! I apologize. The only reason I have to offer is that I've been laying low. I have a few Korea-isms to share with you:

1. Costco - A mecca of samples! You think Costco (or Sam's Club) at home has good samples? Try Korea! I had the best lunch walking around the store last weekend. The ladies giving samles wanted to give more and more (especially to the foreigners). The best bit, though, was the table for sampling beer! Yes, she kept asking if we wanted re-fills! Hilarious!

2. Elevators - I love Korean elevators! Because there is such a concentrated population of people, the majority of buildings are quite tall. Hence, there are MANY elevators in this country. My favorite thing about the elevators is that if you press the wrong floor, you can cancel! Pressing a lit button inside the elevator turns the stop request off. Yay!

3. Store greeters - When you visit WalMart in the US, there are always greeters welcoming you to the store. Well, Korea takes this to the next level. Not only are there greeters, but the greeters bow to welcome you to the store. Yes, bowing is a tradition here in Korea, as well as in many other Asian countries. Usually, when I see someone in a store or on the street, I bow to say hello. You also bow back and forth after making a purchase or being helped in any way. However, the greeters at LotteMart (better than WalMart) do the full 90 degree bow. Makes one feel special entering the store.

4. Circulation - Korean people are as big on circulation as Germans used to be with garlic! There are MANY products on the market to promote circulation, there are footpaths all over the place to get your blood flowing, and there are massage parlors (yes, and "special" massage parlors, defined by 2 barber shop poles instead of one) all over the place. My favorite 2 purchases so far are the massage exercise ball and the massage hula hoop! The hula hoop took a while to get used to (as I felt thoroughly bruised around my midsection the day after my first use), but I now love it! Once I mastered being able to work it up and down my back as it circled my waist, I had a built-in massage!


5. Cute-ness - EVERYTHING here has a cute-factor! There is a huge emphasis on animation, on cartoon-characters being used in clothing and accessories, and on cartoon-like drawing! The kids here, as a whole, would out-draw almost any American child, but all of their drawings here look alike! The big bubble-like figures are all over the place. Even my trash cans are cute:

Hopefully this will end the drought of my posting to my blog! I am going to a traditional re-enactment of a Shamanist wedding on Sunday. Look for an update then!

Relief from the heat!

Does it get any cuter?

According to the weathergirl on tv (and, according to my students all weathermen in Korea are actually weathergirls), we are out of the rainy season, and the sticky season has begun! I happened to choose one of the warmest days I've experienced so far to get lost wandering around Seoul on Monday (lost in a good way). I think I ended up walking in excess of 5 miles in the blazing heat and humidity. Needless to say, I did end up with a sunburn. Luckily I still have another day for it to soften before going into class and being called a tomato!


I came upon a wonderfully fun fountain in the middle of Seoul, outside the lawn in front of City Hall (the lawn, by the way, has a sign that states "Do not walk on lawn on Mondays".... strange!). Kids of all ages were taking the opportunity to cool off in this fountain! I walked around the edges with my bare feet, as walking around the city soaking wet would have been a tad bit uncomfortable! I don't mind the heat, actually, because at least we're finally seeing the sun!!!