The subway systems here, both in Taiwan and Korea are pretty amazing. We could learn a thing or two from them; especially Taiwan. When you buy a ticket, you are given a coin. The coin goes in and out of the machine when you enter the subway, and you need the coin to get out of the subway (you put it in the machine again), then the coin is gone. Talk about efficient and cost-effective! Not only that, but the subways appear brand-new. They come every few minutes and have very clean, nice-looking gates which open when the train appears to prevent anyone from falling and/or trying to commit suicide. And, don’t even think about chewing gum or taking food on the system; you’ll get a hefty fine. All in the name of keeping it clean. A really nice girl saw Edit and I looking at a map and stopped to ask us if we happened to need any help, she helped us through the whole process of getting a transit card and which stop we would need to go to. It’s people like that who will just make or break your day. She was one of the few people we met who spoke English very well.
Another day, another grocery store. This one wasn’t as spread-out as the last and the manager didn’t think twice about telling us it was fine to write down prices; he was super nice about it. Not as many people tried to question my work or stare over my shoulder; (though a good portion of them still did that). Here, people are much more pushy than in Taipei, and if they run into you they are much less likely to apologize. I may even venture to say that some people were quite rude. I wasn’t expecting that after all the great things I heard about Korea!
I have been told, and have noticed, that products that are created here are not imported; such as soy sauce and rice. It makes it a pain in the ass to record symbols on the survey book though; and it makes for bad comparisons. The fresh food here though is surprisingly amazing. When it comes to baked goods? Move over France. The selection and quality is just incredible, and I have never been so tempted to eat cake. During lunchtime, I walked around the whole mall about 3 times trying to decide what I wanted to eat. Dumplings? Sushi? Some concoction that looked amazing but I didn’t know what it was? The best looking donuts ever? A fruit smoothy? Home-made tarts and cheesecake? Ice cream? A burger from Burger Project? There was too much to choose from so I bought lunch and then got a pizza with Edit (sat down at a restaurant). I decided to save my lunch for later.
If I come home and continuously bow for no reason, don’t be surprised. I think my stomach muscles are getting stronger from the need to show the locals some respect with the simple gesture of bowing a little when saying hello or goodbye, especially since I don’t speak any Korean and I’m not quite sure how much they understand “thank you”. I’ve always seen it in movies but it’s cool to actually experience it and know how important it is in their culture. Many of them say hello and goodbye with a bow so I have tried to do the same thing, without the Korean. “Gamsa homnida” is thank you, but I’m pretty sure I have absolutely no idea how to say it correctly. Korean is a pretty language, they drag out a lot of words and have strange accents for others. It’s interesting how being emerged into a culture can really show you the beauty of the people. I never really found Asians very attractive, but now I am seeing things a bit differently.
I talked to Mom and Uncle Bobby over skype tonight which was very nice. I am somewhat worried that I will find myself a bit lonely when Edit leaves. The more and more I do this job, the more negative sides of it come out, I think. But, I still love it enough to keep it for at least another year. I worry immensely about life after surveyland, I really do. Laurel is passing in her resume on Monday, I wish her great luck, how crazy would that be if she got the job???
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