Fun, Funny & Unique Korean Experiences

One thing that cracks me up (or amazes me) about Korea is that so many people seem to be so obsessed with talking on their cell phones. OK, no different from back home right? Wrong!!! Koreans will go to ANY length to grab their cell phones, pick it up, and answer it whenever or wherever it rings. I was fist taken back by this at school when all the teachers were in a big board room, sitting around the table with the Principal, the Vice-Principal & all faculty members. If a teacher's phone would ring, they will pick it up, say hello, and talk right there in the meeting!!!! They would put their hand over there mouth when then talk (has most Koreans do this normally). I found it so shocking and kinda disrespectful & rude that they would give the phone call more precedence over a school meeting. Apparently nobody says anything, and it's an accepted practice here. This behavior doesn't end at school however...I've seen it happen while hiking; here we are descending down a very steep & narrow mountain path, I'm holding on to rocks, trees, and other people for dear life, and this Korean guy behind is answering his cell phone while climbing down the mountain. In the temple, a holy, sacred, quiet place of rest, reflection, meditation, etc. and you have people reaching into their purses to pick up & answer their phone. Is nothing sacred for crying out loud?? Even my Judo teacher will run off the mat in the middle of class to grab his ringing cell phone and answer it. Does anybody find anything wrong with this picture? Is there ever a time when a Korean WILL NOT answer their phone?? I think I may know of one last remaining sacred place, and that is.........???? Can anyone guess??? Yup, you guessed it...the Popularly Famous Korean Saunas/Bath House. I have yet to see a naked Korean guy carrying his cell phone around with him while lying in the steam room and relaxing in the Hot Tub. Thank God there is at least one sacred cell-phone free zone in Korea. Hopefully they won't make waterproof cell phones so we can keep this one last remaining place cell phone free.

And what's up with Korean people putting their hands in front of their mouths all the time? They do this mainly when talking with food in their mouths, but also often do it when they are engaged in normal conversations as well. That's a nice, fine, respectful thing to do. Even my friend Tina from NJ has picked up this habit of covering her mouth with her hand while she talks. I have no problem with it. It's their tradition, cool. What I don't get though is some of the elementary kids at school who sneeze or cough & don't cover their mouths. You cover your mouth when you talk, but not when you sneeze? What's wrong with this picture? Speaking of sneezing, apparently, they don't have the custom of saying "Bless You" when someone sneezes. It's very very odd for me not to hear "God Bless" when I, or anyone else sneezes. I tried teaching this concept to one of my classes, but it did not register with many of them, or I didn't repeat the lesson properly again. I think I will bribe them to say "Bless You" with candy this week. I've created many lil monsters who come up to me everyday & say, "Teacha, teacha, how are things? Candy candy please!!" So I had to reneg on that agreement and just give them a sticker b/c I'm going through way too much candy.

I wanted to briefly share a wonderful experience I had a few weekends ago on a Sunday afternoon. I got picked up by one of the teachers from school & drove with her, her 7 year old son, to drive to her mother's farm to pick sweet potatoes. Has anyone had the joy and pleasure of ever picking sweet potatoes? I haven't, and let me tell how much fun it is!!! First of all we were there with her son, her daughter, her brother & his wife (their 2 children), and her mother. Talk about family bonding!!! We all headed out to a small lil patch of land where they had planted seeds just a few months ago. We had buckets, shovels (digging tools) etc. We started at one end by pushing aside the dirt with our hand (mine was bare) or using the little shovel-like tool she gave until I felt something in the ground. Once I identified it, I dug away the surrounding dirt with my hand or shovel and slowly started to grab, pull, and loosen the potato that was lodged underneath the dirt in the ground. Let me tell you how much fun this was!!!!! It was so great being outside, so close to mother nature, pulling out all different sized potatoes that were growing straight down into the ground!!! To me it was like digging for buried treasure. Sorting and sifting through the dirt, searching & waiting to "hit" something, and come across a real, live potato lodged in the ground~!~! Her lil 7 yr old (really 6 yr old) son was so cute in helping us push away the dirt. We had to be gentle & take the pulling of the potatoes with caution b/c if we pulled up too hard, too quickly, we'd break the potato in half leaving one end still stuck in the ground. It took me a little while to get a feel for this technique. You had to gently move the potato back & forth till it was loose enough to come out easily. This was especially great for me to do on a Sunday, because that is the day that correlates to Deepak Chopra's First Law of Pure Potentiality where he suggests you do 3 things on that day 1.Practice silence, sit in meditation twice a day for 30 min each 2. Spent time each day in nature, watch a sunset, listen to ocean or stream, smell a flower, etc. (I felt as if picking sweet potatoes was a GREAT way to spend time with nature; there was no better feeling than picking up a living, organic piece of matter that had been quietly growing for several weeks in the ground). This was a real treat to and and experience that I will not forget for a long time!! 3. To practice non-judgement. I can't for for sweet potato season again next year!!!!

Oh, and by the way, the reason why I said her son was either 7 or 8 years old is because in Korean, you are either 1 or 2 years older than our regular ages we go by in the US. This is because they count the 9 month gestation period as your "first" year of life. So when you are born you are either 1 or 2 years old already, depending on what month you were born in. So on the baby's first birthday (a HUGE celebration) in the Korean tradition, the baby is either 2 or 3 years old instead of 1 years old.