A Morning on My Own

I think Americans are a little strange with our need for independence and the amount of time we spend alone. Other cultures, especially those that are group-oriented, can't seem to survive without other people around. It is so nice to see people spending time outside on these cool summer evenings, whether they are sitting outside drinking soju and pointing at us as we walk by, playing Go in the park, exercising together, playing soccer, or having picnics in the park on the weekend, Koreans definitely spend a lot of time with other people.

For me it has been different spending so much time with other people. I live alone and am very independent. At times it has been stressful, being here in a foreign land with people who know less Korean than I do (and believe me, I don't know a lot), trying to navigate new foods, unfamiliar streets and a confusing cultural landscape.

Yesterday morning I ditched everyone and went downtown on my own. I thought it would be fun to be able to turn in any direction I wanted, to go into any store I wanted, to not have to wait for other people as they made purchases or looked in shop windows. I thought maybe some Koreans would see me and ask me where I was from, and I'd be able to talk to them for a bit. I thought it would be relaxing and interesting.

It was none of those things. For the first time since I've been here, I felt really stressed out walking around. People in front of me were walking too slowly and always seemed to be in my way. I felt conspicuous. I felt strange. I didn't have anybody to laugh at funny t-shirts with. When I went to the restaurant in Debec for lunch the waitress seemed unimpressed by the little Korean I knew. Instead, she saw me as a green foreigner. So much so that she gave me a fork with my bibimpab and watched me carefully to make sure I didn't touch the hot stone pot.

It was a strange experience for me to walk around alone. Since I went all the way downtown on the bus, I stayed for as long as I could, and covered a lot of territory, but I was really glad to come back and meet up with Sonja for dinner.

We went to another neighborhood restuarant - one I've wondered about since the first time I saw it. It turned out to be a Korean barbecue place that served kalbi-so (beef rib meat). Our waitress gave us special attention and grilled our meat for us and showed us how we could use the different leaves to wrap it. It was really delicious, and even though it was a little bit weird to have our own private cook (the Koreans did theirs on their own) - it was fun. It was a bit of a splurge - the total came to 51,000 won (a normal meal is 3,000-5,000 each), but it was worth it. They served this really yummy yellow dumpling that was filled with sweet bean paste and sprinkled with cinnamon. It was worth 51,000 won just for that, it was so good!

Today I am going to the market with Sonja. Maybe with just the two of us, and not on a weekend, it will be a little easier to navigate. My mouth is already watering thinking of the cinnamon pancake I'm going to get!