So we've all heard the things we do like...

After living in a foreign country for five months and having several mixed-up feelings about the whole experience, I feel like it's finally time to share the not-so-peachy emotions/feelings I have about South Korea. Now, I've been wrestling with whether or not I should even bother putting up this post as it might offend Koreans who read it. I just want you to know that this isn't a post meant to knock the country... or the people... I'm just simply stating the things that bother me as a Canadian who has grown up in Canada for nearly all my life.

Now, on with it... the things that happen here... that are different in Canada... and bother me... sometimes.

1. The lack of public trash cans.
I don't know what it is, there's trash everywhere. Well, everywhere is a bit of an exaggeration but I dare anybody to find a 5 foot radius that doesn't have litter on it. Well, I guess that does mean it's everywhere. It's not only dirty and unpretty (which is a much nicer nonword than the one I really want to use) but it's especially annoying when you have two dogs. While walking the dogs you're often avoiding the bits of scrap everywhere... from paper, plastic, food, fish bits (i.e. heads), cigarette buds and the most common - broken glass. It's awful seeing the dogs pick the stuff up and having to rush over every few minutes to make sure to get it out of their mouths so they don't swallow it. It's rare and I mean EXTREMELY rare to come across a public trash can. It's almost like a celebration of sorts. And I don't exaggerate that in any way. Also, without any public trash cans, most kids (and adults too, I'm sure) are just used to throwing their trash anywhere. There is a garbage can in every classroom at my school but I guarantee you won't find one classroom at the end of the day that isn't littered with garbage. Most kids simply just don't dump their garbage where it's supposed to go. A few months ago, a student of mine was drinking something out of a can and when he was done, he opened up the window and just tossed it outside.

2. The recycling program
Now, from what I've gathered, all apartments in Korea have different recycling programs. There's not one standard method such as leaving your recycling out in a bin at a certain time and having it get collected by the recycling people... whoever they are. I'm not going to focus on the other apartments since I'm not so sure about their policies but I'll discuss our apartment's ridiculous system. Essentially, we have to save up all our recycling for an entire month. There's also no standard bin, so we keep it all in grocery bags or old laundry hampers. You'd be surprised how much gathers up in a month with the two of us... nearly 6-7 full grocery bags (and I do believe the grocery bags here are a bit bigger than the ones home). It looks awful just sitting out there on our balcony. Anyway, here's the annoying part... the recycling only gets collected ONCE A MONTH... always on the 15th (doesn't matter if it's a Monday, Friday, Saturday... whatever) between the hours of 7-8am. Keep in mind that we don't have to work until 1pm four-out-of-five days and having to get up at 7am to bring our recycling outside is very annoying. Not only that, but once you're downstairs, you have to crush all your bottles and sort through all the junk. There's literally 10 different places your recycling can go and sorting it all out at 7am with one eye shut is ridiculous. The whole process can take up to 20 minutes sometimes.

3. Spitting and horking
I will be the first to admit that I will occasionally spit while I'm outside. I agree, it's not the most gentlemen of acts, but Korean men (and occasionally women) take it one step further. There's spit everywhere. Outside, inside, in class rooms, in elevators, in the hallways, in malls, etc. Again, it's not a pretty sight and again, it's frustrating with two dogs. Just last night, I took Deva and Lincoln out at night and while in the elevator on the way out, there was a giant amount of spit in the corner of the lift. On our way back up, I caught Lincoln licking up the last bits of all that spit. Also, if you're going to be walking outside... even for just 10 minutes, you are absolutely bound to hear somebody horking their brains out. Constantly. About a month ago I went nuts on a kid of mine who spat inside the classroom. There was a washroom just a few feet away.

4. Driving
The driving here is not at all like it is in Canada. Amy put it best a few months ago when she said traffic lights are mainly just suggestions, not rules. Cars frequently (and I really mean usually) run red lights. Doesn't matter if you're walking through the crosswalk and you've got the light to do so... cars will still run the light whether or not you are in their way. Just last night Dawna and I were trying to cross the street (again, we had the light to do so) and nearly got hit by a bus. It was a matter of feet. There have been several times where this happened to me. It's quite frustrating and dangerous. Also, buses here seem to drive twice as fast as cars and cars definitely drive faster than they're legally allowed to I'm sure. Cabs are also dangerous. And most cars/cabs/buses I've been in all have a very jerky-style of driving. There's really no such thing as easing into the breaks or gas.

5. Street Etiquette
Again, I hope this isn't offensive and I'm not trying to insult any Koreans here but the street etiquette is simply just different from the way it is back in Canada. I don't want to draw any comparisons but I can't help it. Living in Korea, you should get used to people cutting into line, people disregarding queues sometimes (like when you're trying to board a bus or a buy a ticket), people not saying 'Thank You' when you hold doors open for them. It can be frustrating, but I have to try my best to remember that this isn't Canada when it comes to this aspect. Also, with the gym, if I put my water bottle on a machine and quickly get up to stretch, I am not surprised anymore if/when my water bottle is removed and my machine is being used by somebody else.

6. Animal Treatment
To put this in a very nice way, many pets here are treated as toys. I've heard several stories of Korean pet owners not taking the best care of their dogs. There are lots of dogs outside just tied up to a posts and the only thing they can access on their 5-foot chain is their dog food, some water and sometimes their dog house. Also, with the lack of grass, these dogs are even lucky if they have a clean area of pavement to rest on. It's quite sad. There's also TONS of homeless dogs in this country and a lot of them are doomed to their lives because of the locals not wanting to pay their vet bill or just getting tired of the responsibilities associated with owning a pet. What do they do? Well, they take their pet in their car, drive off to the next city and just dump the dog outside. Now, not all pet owners are like that, but I've heard enough stories to know it's not an isolated individual doing it. And also, it's NOT strange to see dogs dyed in all sorts of different colors... like white dogs with pink ears and green tails. And also, with fish... and even though some may just consider them fish, I know they're not always treated in the best of ways either. I have seen some fish markets with eels just lying on a rag, still alive, and completely skinned... entirely.

7. Soap
What a weird thing to mention, but there's lots of times where public washrooms aren't equipped with soap. Now, I know this is a result of the infrastructure, so I won't complain about that. But, and I hope this doesn't offend anybody (as it is a reality), but I'd honestly say that nearly 80-90% of people who use the washroom (for a number one or two) do NOT wash their hands when soap is provided. With my students, I'd say that the figure is somewhere near the 95% range.

8. Sales People
Again, different from Canada, so I have to respect it, but that doesn't mean I can't be annoyed by it. Sales people here are VERY aggressive. They always (and again, not an exaggeration) follow you in the store and it makes for a very uncomfortable experience. And also, if you're in the change room and you've tried on something new (i.e. pants) and come out to check it in the mirror, don't be surprised if somebody goes past you and into the change room... while your old pants are still on the floor and you still haven't changed back into your original clothes.


Okay, I think I'm done. I feel better now. There you have it, my honest take on some of the things that do happen to annoy me. Dawna will release her own list, equipped with 300 things. 295 of them are sure to be about me.

- Gilad