Slept in, which was great ;) Made it to Gwangju at about 2:40pm, with the intention of buying some books about Japan and Japanese, and also some new shoes for the gym. Sounds simple, right?
No dice when it came to English books about Japan. Specifically, I was after the Lonely Planet Guidebook for Japan, and Japanese Phrasebook. The book shop in the terminal used to have them, but since they opened, they have dramatically reduced the number of books they have in English, which i don't get, since Korea is crazy about English. So, decided to head downtown, to go the big ass bookshop there. Once again, no dice. Also, checked out two Adidas shops for shoes - lets just say, the salespeople were "keeping their distance".
So, went to my "used to be" favourite Adidas store in Sangmu - the other end of the subway line - in Gwangju. Found a nice pair, 70,000won, fit well and was comfortable. So, got out the credit card. No dice. The guy was telling me that there was something wrong with the card. So, I told him, that the card is fine, because I've used it in the store before, and used it last week in Lotte Mart. So, he tried again. Yep, you guessed it... No Dice. So, I asked him what payment method he was using, and he just looked at me. I've seen this look many times before. It's the "why is a foreigner telling me how to do my job" look. People who have been in Korea would know this look. So, I tried to tell him, that with my "foreign" card, that I can only pay for things in one payment, and not with the payment spread over a certain amount of months. He tried again. 주사의 없다 (Korean for "no dice"). He just handed back the card, and because I was getting frustrated, I just walked out.
Went to eMart to buy some groceries. One thing that I am used to, is how crowded places can be in Korea. One thing I am not used to (and will never be used to), is how stupid some people can be when it is crowded. So, I just did whatever any other Korean would do in a crowded place. Put my Mission face on, and did what I had to do, Korean style. Squeezing though people, moving trolleys, giving people the Ajumma elbows if I had to. I was not in the mood for tolerating stupid behaviour. When its crowded, you make the effort to keep out of the way. It's simple. I was hit a few times by people who just swing their trolleys around without looking. An evil side glance and the words 조심해라 (be careful) fixed that. It can be frustrating here at times, with the lack of common sense and common courtesy from some people.
Got back to the bus terminal, with 20 mins remaining until the bus back to My town. Forgot that it was sunday, and saw the soldiers already lining up to take the bus. Had to get my ajumma elbows out again, to push in, korean soldier/children (yeah, they push like children push here in Korea) to get a seat. Wasn't in the mood for standing up on a 45 minute bus ride, where the bus driver was gonna drive like an L-plater in a small ass car on ecstasy.
** ajumma (아줌마) is korean for middle aged woman. Ajumma elbows is what i call it when these middle aged ladies shove out there elbows, to get them through crowded spaces, but mostly end up hitting people in the ribs. Does make people move though :p
9 years ago
8 comments:
they have a ton of the lonely planet books in English at the Kyobo in Daegu. Ah, I'm enjoying my vacation from the Korea.
and if i was close enough to daegu, or any other decent city, I wouldn't hesitate to go and buy one ^^ hehe
I think it's important when visiting another country to keep manners in mind and represent yourself and others from your country well.
Do you really find it necessary to speak rudely in public places? Korean people, even if they are angry wouldn't say "조심해라" to someone they don't know...
"조심하세요" would keep you from making foreigners look like pushy jackasses. Please consider it next time you are on a mission at e-mart.
Hey Marie. Thanks for visiting my blog. I get what you mean, about saying things politely, but when someone hits you in the shins with a trolley being swung around to change direction, its not a good feeling, and if they were careful, they would know that its crowded and busy... Its just common sense really.
I guess it just depends on what kind of person you are.
If someone bumps in to me in a market, I never say "watch it" or "fuck you" or something like that. I just assume it was an honest mistake.
To give you a little background about me, I too have been living in korea for a while, almost 2 years. I too study Korean, in fact I love it.
But all to often I notice blogs on the internet that seem to focus only on the negative about this country. To me, that is the lazy way to write. I rarely see people focus on the great things this country has to offer.
I also have to put up with strange assumptions made about me because of previous contact with foreigners who show no regard for Korea's customs. If you did that in France people would tell you to get the fuck out of the country.
It probably seems to you like I am trying to pick a fight. To be honest, I would love to talk about all of this over a cup of coffee. You show some interest in Korea and Korean language, so I am confused by your focus on the tiny things that don't really matter...
Marie
Hey Marie. Yeah, they were honest mistakes, and I probably shouldn't have said be careful the way I said it, but, when you think about it, it is a pretty stupid mistake. When the traffic is busy, you are more careful when driving, why should shopping be any different?
Lately, I haven't had much luck with the good things here in Korea. I know I have written a lot of negative things lately, mainly because negative things have been happening to me. I have had a lot of good experiences in Korea and made great friends (who I will miss when I leave).
Overall, I enjoy living in Korea, but I know that I am at the end of my run, and I need a break from it all.
I'm also up for a chat and a coffee ^^
Hey Andy,
Thanks for the reply. I think living in a foreign country always has it's ups and downs. The cycle of culture shock never quite ends actually. So its natural to feel this way.
But it it lasts too long then it means, yes, its time to go home. So I guess its good timing.
I don't know why I bother posting comments or even reading blogs by foreigners. It always fills me with negativity. I used to write quite a lot too, when I was depressed or angry, since Jr. High. But these days, I am just happy, so I don't have the urge to write. I wish I did, cause I think that would be a better way to counter the strange posts I see on the net. Focus on the great people, food, indie bands, the latest korean language discoveries, etc... But, yeah, I'm too busy to write so often...
I am living in Jeju... Where are you?
Hi Marie. I like to read blogs about non-Koreans surviving in Korea. Sure some can be filled with negativity, but I respect their space and opinions in their blogs.
I'm living in a very small countryside town (population about 5000 people) 50 minutes out of Gwangju, in Jeollanam-do province. I'm the only "white" guy in my town.
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