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.
