So, this week was an interesting one. On Tuesday i went to Home Plus with my co-teacher. Home Plus is like the korean version of the UK's tesco... it even says tesco on the side of the building.anyways its 4 floors of glorious goodness and i sincerly wish with all my heart that there was one nearby. its a one-stop shop for everyhting you would ever need, and it would make my life so much easier. Alas, the things that we went there for were basic necessities for my 'apartment' and there seemed to be room for little else. We went in with my co-teachers daughter, who is super cute, and left her sitting at the lotteria... like a mcd's only asian. i thought it a little nerve racking as the child is only 7 years old, but it seemed to be okay, and the attendant said her would look out for her, from what i could gather. so we ran around the store and i am now the proud owner of.. a rice cooker (its lavender on insistence of my co- she didn't like the less expensive orange one), a portable gas stove, a toaster, three pairs of chopsticks and two spoons, a large cutting knife and a small parang knife, some really lovely dishware (pictures to follow) a pot, two frying pans (b.c. the tiny one was free with it), two mugs, a mixing bowl, a cutting board, one tray, and a hotplate. :)
all of these things are wonderful amenities to have when paired with the proper groceries.. but those were not acquired and... there are no stores near me... so i had the tools just not the ingredients. after we finished out shopping spree it was around 8:00 at night and was already pitch black outside... its strange how quickly it gets dark here.. one minute its daylight and the next its night.
so she told me she did not want to drive me home in the dark (its about an hour drive) because she is too tired and i should just stay at her house for the night. well, this was not the most appealing idea to me, but i really had no choice in the matter. it was a strange experience. When i arrived at her house she took me into the bathroom and produced a bag full of toiletries that she had just bought.... somehow... she placed a toothbrush, cup and bath puff on the counter. and told me i was to "shower now" and then she left the room closing the bathroom door behind her. i stood there a little bit confused b.c... in the first place i have nothing to change into once i shower, i showered that morning, and it was just plain strange being told i had to shower at that moment. This is one thing about koreans that i have found quite interesting. haha. they all do things the same way. eveyone conforms to this mould of the way you should live and doesnt question it. Now i may be a little biased since i have only been here for a limited time, but my observations thus far have lead me to this mock-conculsion, which seems to be a pertty accurate depiction of their lives.
Speaking with my co-teacher later that night, (after i turned on the water of the shower for like 5 minutes and brushed my teeth... haha) i found out that a lot of the older generation feels pressure to maintain a certain way of life. a pure-blood existence in which stability and conformity are the normal ways of life. she expressed to me her disinterest in this type of thinking, even though it is part of her generation. she also expressed how her belief that was in Canada there is no discrimination between races and race mixing is a very popular thing to do. (her words) i tried to think about this for a little bit and wondered how to answer this statement. true, Canada is a place where many cultures co-exist, but does anyone live in a place where discrimination does truly not exist? if there is such a place i would love to know about it. discrimination can come in the smallest form and doesn't always have to do with race. look at a school, where kids who do not have a certain haircut, or listen to a certain type of music, or wear a certain brand name.. regardless of race they are discriminated against; perhaps not the most astute observation, but one nonetheless. do i think that people are more likely to be married to someone that is not on their exact background in Canada... well yes, Canada is a place that is filled with people from all different backgrounds and cultures and so this would be kind of an insane notion to think of. Korea on the other hand.. well... mainly full of Koreans. the other foreigners you do see are usually stared at as they pass by and not regarded as a part of their society, even though they could have been living there for more than 10 years.
anyways, that was my rant about that. and im tired now so i guess i will have to finish the story of the bodypainting and bus driver another time.
happy reading everyone.
all of these things are wonderful amenities to have when paired with the proper groceries.. but those were not acquired and... there are no stores near me... so i had the tools just not the ingredients. after we finished out shopping spree it was around 8:00 at night and was already pitch black outside... its strange how quickly it gets dark here.. one minute its daylight and the next its night.
so she told me she did not want to drive me home in the dark (its about an hour drive) because she is too tired and i should just stay at her house for the night. well, this was not the most appealing idea to me, but i really had no choice in the matter. it was a strange experience. When i arrived at her house she took me into the bathroom and produced a bag full of toiletries that she had just bought.... somehow... she placed a toothbrush, cup and bath puff on the counter. and told me i was to "shower now" and then she left the room closing the bathroom door behind her. i stood there a little bit confused b.c... in the first place i have nothing to change into once i shower, i showered that morning, and it was just plain strange being told i had to shower at that moment. This is one thing about koreans that i have found quite interesting. haha. they all do things the same way. eveyone conforms to this mould of the way you should live and doesnt question it. Now i may be a little biased since i have only been here for a limited time, but my observations thus far have lead me to this mock-conculsion, which seems to be a pertty accurate depiction of their lives.
Speaking with my co-teacher later that night, (after i turned on the water of the shower for like 5 minutes and brushed my teeth... haha) i found out that a lot of the older generation feels pressure to maintain a certain way of life. a pure-blood existence in which stability and conformity are the normal ways of life. she expressed to me her disinterest in this type of thinking, even though it is part of her generation. she also expressed how her belief that was in Canada there is no discrimination between races and race mixing is a very popular thing to do. (her words) i tried to think about this for a little bit and wondered how to answer this statement. true, Canada is a place where many cultures co-exist, but does anyone live in a place where discrimination does truly not exist? if there is such a place i would love to know about it. discrimination can come in the smallest form and doesn't always have to do with race. look at a school, where kids who do not have a certain haircut, or listen to a certain type of music, or wear a certain brand name.. regardless of race they are discriminated against; perhaps not the most astute observation, but one nonetheless. do i think that people are more likely to be married to someone that is not on their exact background in Canada... well yes, Canada is a place that is filled with people from all different backgrounds and cultures and so this would be kind of an insane notion to think of. Korea on the other hand.. well... mainly full of Koreans. the other foreigners you do see are usually stared at as they pass by and not regarded as a part of their society, even though they could have been living there for more than 10 years.
anyways, that was my rant about that. and im tired now so i guess i will have to finish the story of the bodypainting and bus driver another time.
happy reading everyone.
Emart is nice, but more expensive than markets. At the market though, you get the waegook price until they are familiar with you. It bites.
ReplyDeleteMy coteacher suggested this site:
http://www.auction.co.kr/default.html
You can use google translate (enter the link on the site) to read about it, but the pictures are fairly obvious.
Enjoy.