LUNCH, ABORTION, PEDESTRIANS

I was out for lunch with some of my Korean co-workers when the Korea's ban on abortion came up. Although not encouraged, abortion has been an option up until recently. But now, doctors and women are faced with a $2000 fine and jail time for the doctor and potentially the woman as well. Does it have to do with Lee Myung-bak administration's attempt to increase South Korea's birthrate (which has been denied)? We discussed this as well as why Korean and English are so hard to learn respectively, as we ate pasta and salad. Note that these western foods were Koreanized by serving everything on one communal plate, where each person takes a little, bit by bit, onto a small side plate. Our pineapple and grape Fanta (you know you're not in north america when...) was also served in huge glasses with multiple pastel-coloured straws.

When it came time to pay up, one of the men went to pay. He is the manager of the audio section of the Editing department, which may or may not be significant. I tried to offer some money, but he said, "Just get me a coffee," adding that it should be sweet as in caramel latte, and not a "nasty" Americano (맛없다).

Our group of three women and two men then went to a coffee shop. Here the other guy paid for everyone's coffees, significant in a country where coffee can cost as much as a decent meal. I guess next time will be my turn.

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Susy and I are finishing up choreography for the dance show we have coming up in April. Since I've started teaching salsa in Korea, one of the biggest challenges I face is explaining a lot of what I do naturally. I know how to do something right, but I don't know how to break down what is a natural instinct for me. Susy has been really helpful with pointing this out and helping me to break down and teach what is either attributed to my "natural ability" or years of practice (probably both). We are doing some stunts where girls are thrown into the air- so watch for those videos if you can't make it to the show on April 3rd.

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PEDESTRIAN CULTURE

When you walk by someone in public, people in Korea pass to the left. They drive on the right... and scooters or motorcycles weave in and out of wherever they walk on sidewalks, but as a pedestrian it is clear that you must pass on the left. What strikes me though, is that a lot of people who I asked say they don't notice this, unlike in Japan, where people consciously told me they pass on the left (ie Kaz). So I tried passing to the right. This always results in a fumble where you dodge to both directions before someone finally insists on talking one path.

And since we're talking about pedestrians, anyone who comes here will immediately notice people's lack of awareness as they walk. Countless times, I have almost crashed into people who are busy texting, or just randomly staring at the ground as they walk. I suppose I can allow this behaviour, as long as their using the new Big Bang-endorsed Lollipop cell phone.

When I'm on my bike, I have to ding the bell to alert people to my approach. This never felt as necessary in Canada, where dinging the bell feels almost rude. (Excessive apologizing, anyone?) I pull it out as my last possible resource in Canada. But here, perhaps due to the high population density, no one will move UNLESS you ring that bell. People also love honking their car horns way more. I suppose noise is okay when cell phone ring tones can be heard over kpop music that plays at transfer points on the subway line.

And as a last, immature note, every lesson plan I have created this week has taught adjectives, and I have used the words "big old" to precede various nouns. I can't deny that every time I hear "big ol'..." I think of pitbull, and want to finish the sentence with "booty".