tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post7030848532154281395..comments2024-02-28T22:43:49.960+00:00Comments on Asia Vu: Why I Love KoreaMsCarolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-66059767158503481102012-09-01T08:49:05.191+01:002012-09-01T08:49:05.191+01:00The buzzer on the table is really convenient. Wond...The buzzer on the table is really convenient. Wonder why it hasn't spread outside Asia. I've also noticed how attentive the restaurant staff usually is, e.g. how they offer to cut your noodles in smaller pieces..Mitzie Meehttp://blog.mitziemee.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-23761834741217644892012-02-20T06:42:27.076+00:002012-02-20T06:42:27.076+00:00Karen - one good thing about Korea is that no one ...Karen - one good thing about Korea is that no one really expects you to understand what's being said, so everyone does a lot of gesturing and hand-waving. The pushing - you really do get used to, or else you'd end up with a constant low-level rage! Funny about New Englanders - I know they (we?) have a reputation for being aloof, but my family and I concur that you will never meet kinder, friendlier, or more helpful people anywhere you go...even though Southerners are the ones with the traditionally friendly reputation. Of course, we may be just a bit prejudiced...or maybe they're extra nice to us when we run into them because they know we're 'in the club' so to speak... Hope you enjoyed your mini-vacation and got a little down time!MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-23171289980098370502012-02-20T06:37:17.590+00:002012-02-20T06:37:17.590+00:00Emma - We had a similar buzzer incident, except it...Emma - We had a similar buzzer incident, except it really was our fault: one of the first times we went out for dinner here in Seoul, one of my sons didn't realize what the buzzer was and kept accidentally leaning his elbow on it. After the 3rd or 4th trip, the waiter saw what was happening and explained it to us...embarrassing...MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-72476020281920297012012-02-19T00:12:15.604+00:002012-02-19T00:12:15.604+00:00I'm finally getting to comment on this post, C...I'm finally getting to comment on this post, Carolyne. We are starting a week long break for the kids and a long President's Day weekend for Neil and me. My students are also off next week but we have to report for a week of professional development...yipeee! I'm hoping for some time to work on IEP's and other paperwork, since I am inundated next month. <br />For now, I have a long weekend and a slower week (no kids to forcibly eject from bed in the AM, no homework police work, fewer after school activities, no students at work to exhaust me)to look forward to. <br />Loved your post, as always. Having done very little traveling outside the US, I find the quirks of other cultures fascinating. I've gotta say, as a typical "leave me alone" aloof New Englander I felt a bit intimidated by your description of friendly people "helping" and giving gifts and just in general interacting with strangers in public. Along with my geographical "aloofness" I also get tense when strangers interact with me because I usually have to ask them to repeat themselves and because I generally process what someone says to me "out of the blue" somewhat slowly since I am concentrating so hard on just hearing them. It is so much easier just to not interact beyond smiles and nods with strangers. I think that aspect of Korean culture might stress me out! I remember when my kids were small, and very social little beings, I had to deal with them striking up a conversation with everybody and anybody. At the time I decided it was probably good for me to be forced to reach out more. I was younger then!<br />The relationships, the manners and the little extras would please me mightily, though. Except maybe for being pushed on the street. Restaurants and public transportation sound like the places to be. Love the buzzer! I'd probably be OK with the touch thing, too. I come from a pretty "huggy and kissy" family. <br />Anyway, just my random thoughts...and a bit of a ramble, I'm afraid. Enjoy your weekend!Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-87058633984473061312012-02-17T11:48:25.333+00:002012-02-17T11:48:25.333+00:00It sounds absolutely fabulous and I can't wait...It sounds absolutely fabulous and I can't wait to visit! I am planning on accompanying my other half on a work visit at some point - I can't wait to eat my own bodyweight in bibimbab, kimchi and padjeon! <br /><br />Wish we had table buzzers in Munich too. They make so much sense, although the last time i visited a Korean restaurant, a very cute little boy on the next table kept pressing our buzzer and there wasn't much we could do but apologise to the waitress. I think she thought we were mad!<br /><br />Emma :)BavarianSojournhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12701272367912860549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-9305407141975949162012-02-14T21:33:55.991+00:002012-02-14T21:33:55.991+00:00NVG- we love the buzzers. Definitely something we&...NVG- we love the buzzers. Definitely something we'll miss when we return home!MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-60317544099416274052012-02-13T14:09:47.852+00:002012-02-13T14:09:47.852+00:00Lots of things here that I never knew about Korea,...Lots of things here that I never knew about Korea, thank you for enlightening us! I love the idea of the restaurant buzzer - and it's always nice when people give you 'something extra'. That's something very rare in the UK, although it does sometimes happen in New York (especially in ethnic shops/restaurants).nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-26877276742561338182012-02-13T08:39:50.491+00:002012-02-13T08:39:50.491+00:00Frances - One of the strange things about living h...Frances - One of the strange things about living here is that you stop noticing the differences because you take them for granted. I had to really think about this post for a while - I'm glad I was able to provide a little insight!MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-66520282258877457432012-02-13T08:03:13.522+00:002012-02-13T08:03:13.522+00:00A very interesting post.....I now know a lot more ...A very interesting post.....I now know a lot more about Korea than I did and it sounds like a lovely place to be in many aspects of life.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02576715462615744934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-66537635945342806802012-02-13T07:58:08.784+00:002012-02-13T07:58:08.784+00:00Circles - thank you so much, but I think I have qu...Circles - thank you so much, but I think I have quite a few years to go before I'm ready to tackle something that ambitious!<br /><br />Elizabeth - - what a wonderful opportunity for your daughter and her family, if they do go to Japan. It's funny how we always talk about travel being so enlightening, broadening, etc., but it still manages to surprise us when it happens! I am constantly realizing how little I really know...<br /><br />Marianne - It can definitely be disconcerting, but you do get used to it - and it's not alarming or frightening, just a bit different. This is what we kept harping on about to all of our students when we tried to explain to them about cultures being different!<br /><br />Trish - we love the no-waiting aspect of it, too, and have fully embraced it. We actually embarrassed ourselves a few months ago when we went to an Outback Steak House in Seoul - got up and left our table, expecting to pay at the door and they shooed us back to our table and told us to pay our waitress! I don't know if they thought we were really going to leave without paying, but we had no idea that it was such a Western restaurant that even the payment style was Western...definitely don't like that part!<br /><br />Trish - yes, I'm sure you miss all of these things and many more I may not have discovered yet! I have to say I haven't found the pace of life to be much slower here, but maybe that's because I'm working now. I do absolutely love the emphasis on family, though!MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-42964847154680141852012-02-12T18:10:37.698+00:002012-02-12T18:10:37.698+00:00Only four more months till I am back in the Land o...Only four more months till I am back in the Land of the Morning Calm! This post has made me even more homesick for Korea that I was before. I love all the things you touched on and something else I love about Korea is the slower pace of living I experienced while living there! I can't wait to get back to a calmer, more family oriented environment.SixinSeoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15215503983223587422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-54539729150835340942012-02-12T15:17:10.487+00:002012-02-12T15:17:10.487+00:00I must tell my husband about the restaurant cultur...I must tell my husband about the restaurant culture, particularly the ease of bill-paying. Trying to catch a waiter's attention when we want to pay up and leave is always so frustrating. <br />And love the pitchers of water too!Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00119443727504215312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-31626004566962605902012-02-12T14:06:46.532+00:002012-02-12T14:06:46.532+00:00Have to admit that the personal touch thing would ...Have to admit that the personal touch thing would be hard for me to get use to but I love the idea of it. Thanks for sharing your life and your journey. It makes me not feel so far away from you!Mariannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05257386562221774550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-54082084794713609762012-02-12T13:59:57.417+00:002012-02-12T13:59:57.417+00:00That was really interesting. I have never been to...That was really interesting. I have never been to Korea and indeed don't know the far east at all although my son in law is a fluent Japanese speaker and is doing a PhD in Japanese Studies at Oxford so I wouldn't be surprised if at some time my daughter and her family spent some time in Japan. Isn't the world a huge place, even with all this technology and talk of globalisation!Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-71811611191043034292012-02-12T09:23:48.735+00:002012-02-12T09:23:48.735+00:00Fascinating post! I think you should write a book ...Fascinating post! I think you should write a book about being an expat in Korea, I really do! I love your writing!Circles in the Sandhttp://dubaiunveiled.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com