What I See So Far

It has been about 7 weeks since I first met SK. Unassuming at first yet slightly and strangely familiar to me. Obviously the language threw me off completely but I was expecting large obstructive culture gaps and that is just not what I found. I found a city that felt a little off, but basically normal.

Gunpo, where I live, is about 45 min outside of Seoul. We are right on the subway line which is convenient. Gunpo is also at the base of Mt. Suri (yea, I think) and is said to have better air quality than other cities. (I don't buy it. All air in SK is hazy and stale.) Gunpo is to Seoul as North Gate is to Seattle. We have it going on here in Gunpo, but we are still a little removed.

SK likes to assume the position of familiarity while still holding a very distinct culture. It seems to be the little things that add up totaling large and peculiar differences between cultures. Only now, a little over a month in, do I feel that the distinct culture of SK has begun to show its teeth to me.

I don't mind. I like teeth. Mine are crooked and slightly misshapen and they serve me well. The teeth of SK can be seen slightly in my last post (my list of random differences between American and Korean culture). Though, through these things I have seen only the flash of a smile. I know only what I can recall and can piece together through my memory. I may have seen wrong or caught a reflection and not the real thing. I don't know yet. I will have to wait and look a little closer next time.