Staring. Ahh geez... It's one of those days again. Look, no offense kind madam, but if you eyeball me one more time I'm going to start stabbing people. Thank you for not staring. It only took you five subway stops to lose interest in my remarkably hairy arm. Thanks. A word of advice? Perhaps next time you see someone with blue eyes you won't look make that 'throw up' face. Deal? No? Fair enough. ** **** yourself. What? You've never thought this before? It's brutal, sure but try getting stared at 24/7. And to think, mine is a face that is a socially acceptable deviance of what a foreigner 'can' look like (so to say). But who am I kidding? I'm the poster boy for native English education. I can't imagine what others are experiencing here.... Show more

Christmas in Korea. Plainly said, Christmas is a 'friend' holiday instead of a 'family' holiday like it is in America. The opposite can be said about New Years in Korea - it's a 'family' holiday instead of a 'friend' holiday like it is in America. No need to complicate matters. Everything else is completely backwards here so why not Christmas, right? So in this already insanely commercialized country where even chocolate covered pretzel sticks have their own holiday one would assume that Christmas is just as commercial as it is in America. However, one might be surprised that in a country where Christianity is the majority religion, Christmas is not much more important than any other holiday. One could make the argument that 빼빼로데이 is... Show more

Korean fashion. Part Two of Two. Part One can be found here. I present what's happening in the world of female fashion according to a man with no fashion sense. Remember that this covers mostly the young women and not the older women who are long-deserving of a post of their own. In the meantime, here is a selected representation of the pleasantly attractive but curiously strange world of Korean women fashion. - Skinny <everything> - As touched upon in the infamous "fat" post, Korea is hurtin for a good ol' American steak. We gots lot of skinny girls in desperate need of some meat. Haven't they ever had an enchilada or two? If skinny is the new black then this place is straight-up darkness. Sneeze hard enough and... Show more

Korean fashion. Part One of Two. You know, you really shouldn't be listening to me on this issue. I was already pretty faux metro in the States... but for what it's worth here's a simple observation and commentary of what can be commonly seen in Korea. By no means is this as detailed as it should be but for a non-fashion industry guy's observation, I feel it's worth mentioning. Nothing found on the runway, but certainly on the streets by young people. I present to you what's happening in the world of male fashion according to a man with no appreciable fashion sense. - Pink - Look. I'm not here to make the whole "Korean guys wear pink" argument. Pink is found in all countries and is worn by men and women alike. Of course... Show more

Preferential Treatment. Clearly, I'm not talking about a green card. I'm talking about preferential treatment when faced with an unpleasant situation. It's a time when cultural or linguistic negotiation has failed (or will fail) and the foreigner makes an ace-in-the-hole plea. Think: Come on buddy cut me some slack, will ya? but in a foreign land. It's not just Korea, obviously. Expats in South America and China also have pondered this point (although some literally have a card). Pulling the foreigner card is vital to an expat's survival but it's not to be overused. Perhaps it shouldn't be used at all? Like any card game, the Foreigner Card has it's time and place when to use it. You wouldn't want to use it when the outcome could... Show more