Living in Seoul

After being here for almost a month, the differences in our cultures are becoming more and more evident. Aside from the obvious things, such as scooters being able to drive on the sidewalks when they are in a rush, there are other smaller details that we are beginning to notice.

One of the most apparent differences we have found is that it seems as though this is a society which greatly fears falling ill. Very often we see men and women walking the streets wearing a mask over their mouth, in order to filter the air that they breath. Further, if they do not have a mask available, some will simply cover their mouth and nose with their bare hand, or a scarf. Even to a more extreme extent, we will see some who choose to hold their breath when in crowded areas, such as the subway or elevator. Who knows, maybe they are onto something?

The other night we witnessed something very unusual, and it was not until a few days later that we realized what had happened. We were heading out in the evening, but as we exited the building we noticed that everything looked very different, almost as if the city had `changed`colours. We know this is a very difficult picture to explain, so perhaps its best if we compare it to an old faded black and white photo, which has taken on a yellowish tinge. After confirming that we were not in fact going crazy, we continued on our way, enjoying the ambiance of this phenomenon. However, we had our bubble burst today, as we were informed by some co-workers that the haze was actually a very unhealthy cloud of dust and sand winds that had blown in from the deserts of China. This will apparently happen up to ten times during the spring season, so we may be more cautious next time. Maybe we should invest in a mask of our own?

Aside from this, we`ve had a few interesting experiences on the subway, where we have felt the true meaning of living in a big city. We crammed ourselves into subway cars so tight that it`s a wonder we were able to breath. However, no matter how tightly it was packed, people would still shove and push recklessly to get their spot. We`ve also realized that you need to have a thick skin when living here, and not take it personally when someone shoves you in the back.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to visit a temple. There are many in the area, and we were unsure which was the best. However, we were both very surprised with how interesting it was to visit. There were guards in full uniform at the entrance, which we were able to take pictures with. We took a long walk through the massive area, and even had an opportunity to try on some of the traditional clothing they wore at the time. Check out our phtos to see!