Geek Paradise - Yongsan Electronics Mart (Seoul's Best # 94)

This is the place that will make a true geek drool. It's the largest electronics market in Asia with over 7,000 shops housed in 20 buildings. I got lost wandering the 10 floors of one of the buildings, and all the choices were way too much for a guy that has been living for over three years in a small South Pacific Island nation where choices are limited to either the supplier that sells what you need, a friend making a brief trip to Australia, or doing without.

I have made the trip twice to Seoul to window shop there, and once I figure out what they have I will be doing some shopping. The surprising part is that the prices there are way cheap! I say this without knowing if that statement is true because I have been living abroad for over three and a half years, but so far the choices are plentiful and the prices seem reasonable enough compared to both Vanuatu and America. The funny thing was even here I had vendors ask me where I was from and on discovering that I am an American they wanted to know if the prices were cheap. To answer this question I had to give my standard answer of, "Sorry, it's hard to say because I have been living abroad too long and am not sure, but they do appear to be cheaper. They are definitely cheaper than in the South Pacific, where I lived for the last three and a half years."

Wherever I travel in the world there is the perception that prices are cheaper in America. I have been asked if aspirin, milk, electronics, iPods, and Big Macs are cheaper in America vs Korea. The difference between here and Vanuatu is that here they just want to know for the sake of knowing, in Vanuatu it is a reality that everyone including the expatriates know is true and seeks to sneak away to a larger country to go on a shopping spree and indulge themselves on things that cannot be found in the Pacific.

"Yes" is the new "No"

I recall in Vanuatu that "no" is the universal answer to almost any question or comment to avoid misunderstandings and maintain a bit of privacy. In these situations it is mostly used to stop the conversation from going further. Every question has to have an answer even when one does not want to answer very personal questions to complete strangers outside the village or on the street. When this happens, "no" is the polite way to extricate oneself from the conversation.

Here "Yes" is used often to avoid temporary misunderstandings and keep the peace. Its a path of least resistance that allows relationships to move forward. I have seen many people, both Korean and foreign, use this masterfully. My date this evening came over to my house and needed to buy me a gift, because it is customary, so we went to the 7-11 down the street from my house. The lady behind the counter began a conversation with her. When I asked what that was all about she said that the lady behind the counter was asking her for something but she did not understand what or why she was asking for something from her so she just said "Yes, but I have to go because the 12 liters of water I am holding is heavy." After that we left.

One needs to understand that there will be times when they need to say it, mean it, and deliver and times when it is just easier to say it to avoid further discussion. In many ways I said "yes" to the gas sniffing lady just to get her to stop yelling at me in a foreign language I do not understand. It was fairly painless and now I know how to avoid her, just like the rest of my apartment building does, with the exception of the other sucker downstairs from me--I expect he will learn to not answer his door also.

The Trash Fairy

It took about two weeks and a pile of full trash bags near my door before I discovered the Trash Fairy. I search diligently outside to find a trash bin with no luck at all. So I decided to walk up the street and just see if my apartment building shared one with another or just figure out what to do with my trash. One thing I noticed is that outside every apartment building are three mesh bags or other kind of 22 gallon receptacle each containing plastic, glass, and paper recycled goods. So I figured that out and separated my rubbish accordingly into the mesh receptacles I found outside, but still did not know what to do with the real trash that can't be recycled... I think for a bit and decide to just leave it by the road and see what happens. When I come home from dinner I noticed another bag of someone else's refuse so I figure I am doing it right, and in the morning the mesh receptacles were emptied and the two bags of garbage by the road were gone. My street is so quiet that I can hear my neighbor across the street's tv so if a vehicle was used to haul it away I'd notice, but nothing was heard. That's when I decided that trash fairies do exist. Just leave your trash on the road and kindly separate your recyclables and the trash fairy whisks them away. I have yet to spot one, but when I do I'll take a picture and post it here.

Why I will never answer my door

The obvious answer in the states is to avoid door-to-door sales people that pedal anything and everything from encyclopedias to religion. However, in Korea we have the door-to-door "gas sniffing lady." No, its not a joke, it is for real. Normally everyday my door is plastered with advertising stickers selling everything from food to women; I ignore them and the "Trash Fairy" comes and makes them disappear in the morning. I can't read the advertising and don't try. I come home one night after work and notice five post it notices that show the date and time she had come to my house to sniff my gas. I ignore these too because I was sure the good Trash Fairy would make these too disappear. Then at 9:30PM the door bell rings and spontaneously I answer the door. There she is yelling at me and waving a wand at me trying to push her way into my house to do something. I smile and say thank you hoping that she will go away and as I go to close the door she grabs for the handle. More yelling... Then I give in. She waves this wand at me, no, no gas there today; then proceeds to run it around every wall in my house and in every drain and pipe. Upon completion she has me print my name, sign, and write my phone number on this form. Now she calls me once a week. I say "English" and hang up.

There were two other instances that happened with different people when I answered my door. The last one was someone I think trying to proselytize. I again answered the door and did not understand a word that was said so again I bowed and said thanks and closed the door. They knock again and kept screaming something. Eventually they left. It took three times for me to figure out that if I don't answer the door they will go away. I even asked my co-workers if they answer their door and they said "nope, what's the point if I don't understand."

The gas sniffing lady did come back today. I just quietly peered through my peep hole and watched her move on knocking at all the other doors, waiting three seconds before moving on to the next until she found a sucker that answers the door. Today my neighbor downstairs was her victim.

My head is going to explode

I don't think I will ever get used to culture shock. After living close to four years over seas, it still gets the best of me. It is compounded by some very challenging stuff at work that has me reeling right now. There is one thing that everyone should know about me is if one challenges my integrity, they better be right... If you are wrong be careful in the future... The culture here was supposed to be one where respect, honor, integrity are revered... I am not seeing this. Of course I was dropped off here and not given any cultural training like in Vanuatu, but at least I know that the reverence for respect, honor, and integrity are do-able. If I am wronged in Vanuatu, I know that the custom chief system will eventually bring about a sorry ceremony. I am not seeing this here.

OK, enough venting on this blog. Tomorrow will earmark my 2 month anniversary here. I am not sure what I am doing to celebrate it, but I need to have some fun... Time to make some phone calls...