Where are you from? (What they are really asking/saying.)

In Korea:

1. Why can’t you speak Korean fluently even though you look Korean?
2. Are you Chinese?
3. Are you Japanese?
4. Why are you saying “Yes” in response to my questions that aren’t “Yes or No” questions?
5. What level of respect should I show you?

In the USA:

1. You’re clearly not white, so tell me your ethnic background.
2. It will make me more comfortable if you reveal your “nationality” to me. (I hate this because nationality does not equal ethnicity.)
3. Why do you speak English so well?
4. Your name and face don’t add up.
5. Which part of Asia do you originate from?  Once you tell me, then I can try and impress you with my knowledge on your people or offend you without realizing I am due to my limited geographic and cultural awareness and understanding.

Adjectives for Koreans

From varying perspectives, these are the words used to describe and generalize Koreans that I have heard prior to moving here. I admit they have impacted my observations and some of the generalizations I make while living here…and being ethnically Korean myself, it makes me wonder: If some of the generalizations are true, how true are they for me?

Koreans are:

1. Emotional
2. Repressed
3. Passive-Aggressive
4. The Italians of Asia
5. Highly creative
6. Dramatic
7. Superficial
8. Materialistic
9. Cool
10. Scholastic

My personal favorite that I came up with on my own is: Quirky

Whether these are not true at all, semi-true, or very true, I have to wonder, as I always do when pondering the humans on this Earth of varying cultures: Is there any real way to generalize? Aren’t we all just humans? Are any of these traits innate if they are true? How many of them are environmental factors? Do environmental factors eventually lead to these traits becoming innate?

Thoughts?

Reasons why I’m fabulous…there are more than 10.

(Warning arrogant post ahead, but please appreciate it since my heart was more than stomped on 3 months ago.)

1. I have bangs.
2. I have a cute teddy bear.
3. I know how to use a rice cooker.
4. I understand the true meaning of the word “honest”, and what it means in how it impacts myself and others.
5. I can run 10k and maybe within the next year a half marathon.
6. I survived getting cheated on and lived to tell about it.
7. I live in Seoul and therefore have access to $3 Korean meals at 3 am if need be.
8. I am in a relationship to friends across the globe who are fabulous, making me more fabulous.
9. I’m single and not feeling pathetic about it – nothing wrong with being 30 and single and searching for who I am in the country I was born in – even if it means doing it all alone.
10. I have cool cell phone charms.
11. I am open minded to people’s religious beliefs.
12. I voted for Obama and he won.
13. I’ve had the privilege to go to Hong Kong, San Francisco, London, Stonehenge, Paris, Bangkok, Los Angeles, New York City, Macao, Beijing, the Great Wall of China, New Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and the life-changing experience of living in Zhanjiang and Seoul.
14. I’m holding a green tea latte in my hands a good majority of the time.
15. I live 2 minutes from one of the best subway systems in the world.
16. I’m Korean, and adopted to the USA and fiercely compassionate toward KADs across the world.
17. I can stand on my head for a long time if need-be.
18. I am cynical and you like it.
19. I can still play the piano even though I never practice anymore.
20. I still love life and feel that it is beautiful, despite the moldy lemons that are part of it sometimes.
21. I can see my future again, and though the logistics are cloudy, I know I will continue to find and create my happiness.

Subway stops I seem to get out at most often…

…so far anyway:

1. Sinsa 신사
2. Myeongdong 명동
3. Express Bus Terminal 고속터미널
4. Nambu Bus Terminal 남부터미널
5. Hongik 홍대
6. Ewha Woman’s University 이대
7. Sinchon 신촌
8. Yangjae 양재
9. Gangnam 강남
10. Itaewon 이태원

Reasons Why I Like 고속터미널 Subway Stop

1. Smoothie King
2. Aveda: Can buy, sniff or obtain free stuff there
3. Sticky Fingers vegan bakery!  (At Shinsegae)
4. Waffle shop
5. Youngpoong Bookstore (English book selection and they sell “Don’t Eat” cell phone charms such as the one in the photo below)
6. Music store (prettycomprehensive K-drama soundtracks to choose from)
7. Thai restaurant
8. Cheap goods in actual subway area
9. Art Box store
10. Fresh squeezed orange juice

Orange Line (Line 3), south of the Han river…also known as “Express Bus Terminal” stop in English.

So I’ve decided to just make lists…for now…

Top 10 Reasons for turning this into a blog of lists:

1. I have writer’s block seemingly all the time.
2. It seems to be popular for Letterman (wait – is his show still on TV?)
3. I have so many personal things to say and don’t want a public audience for all of that – personal emails and skype/MSN chatting is there for processing the personal stuff (for now).
4. It’s fun to make lists.
5. Reading a list is easier than a long post rambling about red eyes and coffee.
6. It makes me feel more creative.  
7. Maybe it’ll help me to develop my skills as a magazine writer.   
8. It’s getting really cold here now so I need something new to occupy my free time as I shiver in my apartment after work.
9. Change is good.
10. It’s my blog and I can do what I want to.