Escalators for your shopping carts and other Korean novelties

Every so often it seems to hit me that I really am living in Korea - not just visiting, but making this my "home" for a while.  Certain differences seem to make that more evident...

Shopping: 
One of my favorite things about shopping is the multi-layered department stores - one for groceries, one for clothing and home goods, one for furniture, one for the food court.  You can check out on each level, or you can make your way between the levels using the handy-dandy flat escalators.  You walk on, your cart stays put, and it takes you up to the next floor.  The first time I felt that I had to hold back the cart from slipping - but they are made with these wheels that somehow lock in and won't move with gravity.  Kind of neat!

One of my least favorite things about shopping is that there is almost always some English on the package, somewhere.  The trouble is, it is never in the spot that would be helpful in figuring out something about the product.  For example, you might find something that looks like a box of crackers.  But instead of the few English words saying, "wheat crackers" it says "tastes great!" Or with shampoo (trying to figure out which ones' shampoo and which is conditioner) they both say, "damage care" or "sleek and shine."... and the rest is in Korean.  I'm fine with the packaging being in Korean - it was kind of an expectation I had. :)  But really, if you're going to put English words on there, let's put on the ones that matter. Please? 

The Wall Lady:
At some point every week, the speakers in my wall come alive, bringing elevator music, words of wisdom from a very loud, disembodied voice, and some sort of instruction to the dwellers of my apartment complex.  The first time it happened, I was confused and slightly scared and immediately called Cindy, who is Korean-American and lives in my building.  She laughed at me and told me the hot water was going to be off for a two hour period the next day.  I found it a little intrusive that my apartment can receive announcements at will, because it is very loud; but other than that, no problem. Since then, I have largely chosen to believe that whatever the Wall Lady says is about apartment issues that I will either just find out as I go or deal with when the water is cold some random morning.  On the day of the typhoon (Tuesday, August 28), when I was home all day listening to the wind and working, she invited herself in at least 5 times - I just assumed she was wishing us all well and not saying anything about taping windows or turning off appliances. :) 

Kids not knowing how old they are in Western terms:
Koreans measure age differently than we do - you are one the year you are born, and somehow their ages end up being considered as one-two years older than they are to Westerners.  I made the mistake the second week of school of asking my 10th graders how old they were.  They responded with "Western age?"  and then most of them didn't know it.  So we had to figure it out based on their birthdays.  The things you don't think about!

Age ends up being very important to Koreans - they give respect or expect it completely based upon age.  In the school, that means we really have to watch for bullying or use of younger students to do homework or favors for older ones.  Sometimes parents don't understand when we tell them why certain things are not OK - in their culture, this is how you are treated by elders (even just a year older) now, and this is what you will get to enjoy when you are the elder one. 

Gender differences:
Growing up in Wyoming taught me several things about the differences between men and women.  First, that girls can try everything guys try if they want to try it.  Second, that you are expected to give your best effort in PE, sports, and sharing the work load, regardless of your gender. Third, that guys respect girls who are athletic, not whining, willing to pitch in and help, and not overly concerned about appearance.  While chivalry is valued and appreciated, and obviously physical differences make guys better at most things related to athletics and physical work, women who did their best in those arenas were respected and appreciated as well.   Those things may be less true in other parts of the country.  In Oregon, I would say that I found that mostly to be true (but I also worked with a population of athletic men and women almost exclusively.)

However, in Korea things are VERY different.  First of all, men take affront when women try to help out with physical work.  Specifically when women work harder than they do, or carry more of a load, etc.  Last week we had a parent-teacher back to school night, and there was a lot of tear-down to do afterward.  Since it was in the gym, right above my office, I went back up to help (a lot of the principals were doing the work - along with the athletic center staff and some secretaries, and it had been just as long a day for them as it had been for us).  I started breaking down tables and carrying them over (the tables were pretty light and came with handles, so carrying two was really not that heavy).  But one male staff apparently was upset (he had only been carrying one table at a time) because he didn't like being shown up.  Then the two female secretaries each carried two tables  - making it that much worse!  They told me I was strong - I told them they were too. :)  Eventually the guy told me to leave - one because teachers didn't need to help and two because I was making him uncomfortable (he didn't say that part).  One of the principals told me with a smile on his face that me carrying two tables was shocking the guys and making them think they needed to work harder (he was smiling because in all reality they do need to work harder).  I realized later that it was a silly move - I just didn't understand how me helping looked to the guys - like they weren't doing their jobs well enough, like they weren't strong enough - plus why on earth would a women lift tables and chairs?  This was probably the biggest "culture shock" moment I've had, and definitely the biggest cultural snafu I've made.

Second, it is cultural that most women don't work out, exercise, or do sports.  Here's an example: when I asked the question, "Why do you think men's heart rates are naturally lower than women's heart rates?" to my 10th grade classes, I received the same answer.  "Because guys work out and do sports!"  No, no, no, my young female students!  You can too!  But that is not normal, culturally.  Men do the physical work, men play sports, men are athletes.  While there are a lot of female athletes at the school who break that mold, this is an international school - many of these kids have lived in the US or other countries where its more acceptable.


That's enough for now.  There are more, many more..... :)