So in my class the other day, we were talking about TV shows people like...and one of the grown ass men said to me "I like the Sex and the City"." This shocked me. I looked at him mouth agape and told him that in America...not a single straight man would be able to live down admitting that. Here...it is acceptable. Hell...I even found out that men can be in to fashion here. It is even acceptable for men to be in to girly pop music like the Pussy Cat Dolls (by the way...go check youtube for "Chocolate Love"....thats huge here). Hell...it is not unheard of to see men walking down the street holding hands. I have the awesome picture in my head of what would happen when two Korean men would walk downtown in San Francisco. Can you just imagine two Korean men walking down the street hand in hand...and accidentally joining a gay pride parade? That...would be epic seeing as homosexually isn't accepted here as well as it is in america (and lets be honest...it's still not quite accepted in the US).
Let's play a game. It's called "This is a rip off of The Price is Right". I am going to name 3 products...and you are going to pick the prices.
360ml bottle of 80 proof Soju (distilled sake)
1 bag of Snickers Candy
Bottle of Shampoo (Head and Shoulders)
The prices you can choose.... $10, $1, $5, $6, and $9.
I'm going to assume you went like like "Soju...$10. Snickers...$5...and Head and Shoulders....$6." You would be wrong. VERY wrong. The shampoo....$9, Snickers...$10!. The booze? $1. That's right. The liquor was $1. We're not talking about the bottom rung of the booze here too. We're talking Jinro...the most popular Soju in all of South Korea. This just seems so very off to me....but perhaps...it's genius. Think about it....if you want to get clean....you are gonna spend almost $20....but if you want to get drunk? That is cheap as hell! We could be so lucky in the US. Their national liquor is only slightly more expensive per fluid ounce than what we spend on bottled water. Speaking of which,,,,you can easily mistake a bottle of Soju for bottled water...as I almost did today. You know those big ass bottle of water that hold like 1.5L in the US? You can buy one of those in Korea at any gas station...but its soju. I almost bought one today but the guy at the counter was like "Soju! Soju!", I like to drink and all...but it was a little too early.
I am supposed to go to Seoul this Friday to get my replacement passport. Because of this...I am required to take a day of vacation. So I was thinking I would meet up with my friend Allie whom i went to High School with who teaches near Seoul...so as not to waste the $70 or so I will be dropping on the bus fare (not to mention the 3.5 hour trip each way) and whatever it costs for the Taxi to the American Embassy (or Mi gook day sah kwan as they say in Korean). Apparently...this is not to be. I have been told I am to come back to Jeonju immediately upon finishing at the embassy so I can work my evening shift. What the f? So I am taking one of my vacation days...of which I only get 7 for the entire YEAR....to go to Seoul to replace my passport...that was STOLEN from my HOTEL ROOM....and you STILL want me to work....on a day I am using a VACATION DAY?! What the f? This doesn't leave me much room for error either. Keep in mind I am being made to do this on my own...no one is going with me or driving me...and I don't speak Korean. What if I get lost...what if the embassy is busy? If he thinks I am actually coming back to work this shift...he is sadly mistaken. It's not going to happen. F that. I plan on not coming back and just claiming I got lost. Screw 'em. Don't charge me a f'ing vacation day if you are expecting me to work. How about you eat me....mmmkay?
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