I leave my purse everywhere May 24, 2008

All of my friends and fam know that I am usually attached to my purse everywhere I go.  It hardly goes without being by my side in churches, parties, restaurants, bars and bbq’s, etc.   One of my friends met an ex-boyfriend at a club b/c he had to know what I had in my bag that was so important for me to hang on to it on the dancefloor.  Even when I do leave it somewhere other than my shoulder, I secretly wonder if it will still be there when I get back.  

I think my grandmother instilled this paranoia in me.  I have a cousin who had a slight theft problem when I was a kid and my grandmother told me to NEVER leave my purse unattended because money would probably be missing when I got back to it.  Somehow, that stuck with me well into adulthood.  Until I got to Seoul.  I had read about crimes of theft being very low in Seoul before I came and people leaving their personal belongings unattended for long amounts of time.  I just didn’t believe it.  But I first witnessed this “leaving your personal belongings behaviour” while I waited to board the plane in Dallas. 

This older Korean woman sitting next to me in the airport got up and left her purse and luggage for about 5 minutes.  I kept thinking, is she insane?  Someone could come and grab her stuff any minute now but that didn’t happen. 

The first time I went out to a bar here, I noticed all of my coworkers left their purses in a couple of chairs the entire night while we danced.  I held onto mine at first but they assured me nothing would happen if I laid it down for 5 whole hours.   It all sounded a little suspect to me.  I mean, what if you have over $100 bucks in your purse? But they said no one would touch it.  I decided to just go with the flow even though I kept glancing over at my purse the whole night.   To my surprise, nothing was missing when we left. 

Now I leave my purse unattended everywhere; in cafes, bars, and restaurants.  Today, I went out for lunch alone and I left my purse at the table while I went to the restroom.  That is something I would have NEVER done back home.  I don’t think that people are stealing purses left and right in the states but I feel like you have to have your guard up more at home.   Because the one time you try to be less paranoid is the time when it will be gone when you get back from the potty.  I’m sure some purses have gotten stolen in Seoul because no city is perfect but it’s nice to feel so free with my personal belongings here.    

Channeling an old friend May 7, 2008

Korea is not my first time living abroad.  As most of my friends know, I lived in Spain for 10 months back in college.  It was a pivotal changing point in my life and I was a new person after I went home.  It’s amazing how living in foreign countries can change your entire view on life.  While I was there, I made connections with people I still keep in touch with today. 

Of course, some people I met,  I haven’t seen since we parted ways in Madrid.  There was this one woman I befriended that started college later in life and she was 30 years old at the time while the rest of us were 20-21.   She was so full of life and really enjoyed every moment from what I remember.  For lack of a better term, living in Spain was her last hurrah before she got married.  She was engaged to a man she had been with for 10 years and before they took the plunge, she said she wanted to do one last thing as a single person.  We all really forgot she was 9 yrs our senior but she was definitely a lot wiser than us when it came to certain things. 

So when I got to Seoul and started hanging out with my soon to be good friends here, I realized I was channeling the woman I met in Spain.  I’m 7-8 years older than the girls I hang out with and at times, I feel myself turning into their much older sister and giving them advice about pretty much everything.  You don’t realize how much you know till you take a step back and look back at your life and see what you’ve learned. 

 I also benefit from hanging out with them as well.  It’s nice to feel like I’m reliving my early twenties again; so fanciful and carefree.  We don’t talk about the future too much; we just try and enjoy the present.   Of course, I am not ignoring the future because I am at an age where every decision I make is basically affecting my retirement plans.  But it’s kinda nice to be this space where I feel exempt from all of that, even if it’s just for a little while.

I still wonder how my friend is doing from time to time.  She prolly has kids now and is living a proper surburban life in Southern California.  But I’m sure she thinks back to those days in Spain when her only care in the world was meeting her girls for drinks…

 

Adjusting May 5, 2008

Last month was.. difficult.  I didn’t blog much at all because I had nothing to say.  The “homesickness” feeling took a hold of me and all I could think about was friends and family and how I wanted to be back in my comfort zone.  After the novelty of Seoul wore off, nothing felt exciting anymore. 

I met this girl at a bar when I first arrived and she has been living here for 6 years.  She told me that you have to recreate the life you had in your home country here in Seoul or you will just feel like an outsider with no real ties to this city.   So, my new challenge is to get some new hobbies so I can really soak up this experience.  I’m finally starting Korean classes this month which will make adjusting a whole lot easier I’m sure. 

 Last week, I felt back to my normal self and I was really relieved.  I’m not used to being in a funk for so long because I’ve always been pretty happy go lucky but now I’m back on track.  I just had a great weekend filled with lots of dancing, eating good food and roaming around the city.  I discovered this really cute district thanks to another blogger (http://nearandfar.wordpress.com/) called Samcheong-dong and I felt at home in this area.  Lots of cute cafes, wine bars, boutiques and shops lined the tree laden streets.  Since I live in a grimy area, it was such a welcome change to see greenery and nice architecture.  I’m sure Seoul has many more wonderful areas just waiting to be discovered and I’m looking forward to finding my niche while I’m here.