those weird foreigners.

Now that I've been living in Korea for over 8 months, I realized how much foreigners like to point out all the strange things Koreans do, but rarely look at it from the other way around. After all, our normal is, well-- normal-- to us, leaving the remainder of things we see outside our realm of comfort as abnormal.

So in the spirit of bridging the gap, I'm compiling a couple lists. Because that's what I do.

WHY KOREANS FIND FOREIGNERS STRANGE

1. We have the obligatory, "bless you" after sneezing, which, when said to a Korean person, hangs awkwardly in the air like a forgotten high-five.

2. We dress in animal onesies to go bowling. This is a new tradition my friends and I have started in Ulsan, because we feel like we get stared at enough already. PS: Our herd is 30+ strong.

3. We like to hug. Sometimes a lot.

4. We play the ukulele, an instrument almost no Korean (and, strangely, some people from the USA) have never heard of.



5. Despite our hugging (see point 3), we like to keep our food to ourselves, and will rarely share a meal off the same plate. That's so Lady and the Tramp.



WHY WESTERNERS WILL THINK I'M STRANGE UPON MY RETURN

1. I will bow to my elders, and maybe to a little head nod to my friends and co-workers.

2. I won't want to use a fork, and maybe pull out chopsticks at the dinner table. Along the same lines, I will eat rice with a spoon.

3. I might forget to give the obligatory, "bless you" when people in my vicinity sneeze. Apologies in advance.

4. I will confuse people with my wardrobe.

5. I will be hugging everyone in sight because that's the one thing in Korea I really don't like living without.


And an announcement for those who haven't heard: I will be leaving Korea in about 100 days (mid-August), and returning by mid-September to Seattle. It was an incredibly tough decision, but I know it's going to be the right choice for me.