Beth Salerno

Double Takes

February 15, 2008 Author: Beth Salerno

Here are a few things that have caught me by surprise or made me think twice in the past few weeks.  All except one are specific to Korea.

1)  The bathroom “medicine cabinet”.  Recently I got a new package of drugs and read, in English, “Store in cool, dry location….”.  You know the drill, do not let it freeze, do not let it boil – I would bet most people do not even read these bland directions.  But something did not sound right this time.  I read it again:  cool, DRY location.  Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, will remember that my bathroom here in Korea doubles as my shower stall.  The one thing it is not is DRY.  So six months into my ten month stay, my “medicine cabinet” is now a drawer in the living room.  The UPPER drawer – see #2.

2)  Chocolate’s melting point.  It seemed like a good idea – buy a few kinds of Korean chocolate and ship them to my husband as a gift.  So I shopped on the walk home from the library, put the bag down on the floor, and cooked dinner.  Suddenly, I realized – my floor is HEATED!  Korean ondol heating means the hot water pipes under the floor heat the apartment or house.  So my chocolate had been sitting ON A HOT WATER PIPE!  Rescuing it just in time, I put it in a box, sealed and addressed the box, and put it…well, where does one put stuff when you can’t put it on the floor?  Guess that’s why my apartment has two beds – one for sleeping and one to store chocolate.

3)  “American” chocolate.  While we are on the subject, I do not eat much chocolate – I do not like the taste and am sensitive to caffeine.  But once in a while here I want a piece of home and Snickers and Twix bars have enough caramel, I overlook the chocolate.  The “sense of home” may be in the taste, but the wrapper says otherwise.  Twix bars here are made just outside Moscow.  Snickers are made in “Yan Qi industrial development zone Huairou

4)  “Exotic” food.  Today I had some of the most exotic food I’ve ever eaten in Korea – a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  It was exotic for me because I made it on black bean bread, which has soft black beans embedded in the bright purple bread.  Other bread choices include sesame black rice (black) and sweet pumpkin (bright orange).  But it was also exotic because sandwiches are a foreign food in Korea;  people know what they are, but they are not a standard lunch choice.  So eating PB&J, instead of soup, kimchee, rice, and sides, makes me seem exotic.  And it is easier than kohl eyeliner!

5) Solving the family problems with a Catch-22.  Some of my family members are infamous for two things – afternoon naps and overeating.  I enjoy both at times.  But in regaining my health here in Korea, I have lost the chance to do either.  To keep my stomach acid under control, I am not allowed to lie down until 3 hours after I have last eaten.   Can you imagine how hard it becomes for a snacker (that’s snacker, not slacker) to take an afternoon nap?  It is NEVER three hours after I have eaten!  So I either have to stop snacking or stop napping.  Given that I also cannot go to bed for the night until 3 hours after I have last eaten, when 10 pm rolls around I’m both hungry (too few snacks) and exhausted (too few naps).  This wasn’t what I expected when I signed up for the “living abroad challenge”! 

Further reports as events warrant. 

Entry Filed under: Culture