Basically the Same, But with More Hot Pepper (Korea, End of Week 2)
We're heading into the end of our second week here in Seoul and I'm mostly amazed by how much life is not significantly different here on the other side of the world. At least not in the big ways I expected. The differences are more sublte. I'm sure it didn't feel that way forty years ago. Nowadays, though, I can do many of the same things I'd do at home. Thanks to the internet, I can indulge my penchants for Radiohead covers, checking Facebook ten times a day, and getting lost for hours on every tangent comes to mind. Even just having my own computer makes home feel not so far away. And there's Law and Order reruns on TV seemingly 24-7 (okay, I've turned on the TV once. I'm trying to change some habits).
While driving from Incheon airport into Seoul, I couldn't figure out why everything looked so familiar. Then it hit me: the cars here are the same ones sold in the US. All those Hyundais and Kias we all laughed at twenty years ago are now so ubiquitous as to be hardly noticeable.
Taking care of K also sort of forces the transition from home to here to be as normal possible. She's quickly grown accustomed to the new living conditions, but it's taken some work on our part to make that happen. There were of course some books and toys brought from home. But we've also tried as best as possible to keep her daily schedule and routines going too. Today we even had a play date with the little boy of one of H's co-workers. And as much as we can, we've tried to find food she will eat. Thanks to E-mart, we were able to find some cheese. Nori is also pretty easy to find around here. But keeping things routine for her has done the same for us too. I've tried to explore and photograph as much as I can, but I still need to remember I have a baby strapped to me and that she needs to move around freely once and a while. Oh, and I have to release the temptation to photograph the riot-gear-donned police while she's on my back.
Of course there are some differences. North Korea being 35 miles away and threatening war is VERY new to us. The small servings of coffee are not especially pleasing. So is the experience of our living quarters. The hotel's website showed a facility with two separate rooms with a door between them. They even say in their literature in the room that there is a separate bedroom. Something really got lost in the translation with that one because not only does our room not have a separate bedroom, management claims that no such room exists in the building. We've made due as the photos below show. Yes that is office cubicle partitions for the wall. You may also notice that the room comes with no chairs, so we sit on the floor all the time (the desk and its chair are now in the "bedroom," so off-limits at night). We're getting by okay with it though. The rental high chair is on the way, which should help with K's mealtimes tremendously. The arrangement of the room has actually changed some since these were taken as we now have a crib in place of one of the beds.
While driving from Incheon airport into Seoul, I couldn't figure out why everything looked so familiar. Then it hit me: the cars here are the same ones sold in the US. All those Hyundais and Kias we all laughed at twenty years ago are now so ubiquitous as to be hardly noticeable.
Taking care of K also sort of forces the transition from home to here to be as normal possible. She's quickly grown accustomed to the new living conditions, but it's taken some work on our part to make that happen. There were of course some books and toys brought from home. But we've also tried as best as possible to keep her daily schedule and routines going too. Today we even had a play date with the little boy of one of H's co-workers. And as much as we can, we've tried to find food she will eat. Thanks to E-mart, we were able to find some cheese. Nori is also pretty easy to find around here. But keeping things routine for her has done the same for us too. I've tried to explore and photograph as much as I can, but I still need to remember I have a baby strapped to me and that she needs to move around freely once and a while. Oh, and I have to release the temptation to photograph the riot-gear-donned police while she's on my back.
Of course there are some differences. North Korea being 35 miles away and threatening war is VERY new to us. The small servings of coffee are not especially pleasing. So is the experience of our living quarters. The hotel's website showed a facility with two separate rooms with a door between them. They even say in their literature in the room that there is a separate bedroom. Something really got lost in the translation with that one because not only does our room not have a separate bedroom, management claims that no such room exists in the building. We've made due as the photos below show. Yes that is office cubicle partitions for the wall. You may also notice that the room comes with no chairs, so we sit on the floor all the time (the desk and its chair are now in the "bedroom," so off-limits at night). We're getting by okay with it though. The rental high chair is on the way, which should help with K's mealtimes tremendously. The arrangement of the room has actually changed some since these were taken as we now have a crib in place of one of the beds.
Probably part of the sameness is because you're in a pretty major city. If you were in a small town, I bet it would feel more different.
Reply to this
I was coming here to make that comment. When I was in Taipei, I could eat at Hooters and TGI Fridays, if I chose to, but on Chinmen Island, where westerners never go, very little was familiar. But I did have colleagues who had been there before and even a Taiwanese liason, who was with me on and off of work.
Reply to this