Some of favorite things in Korea....
Sometimes I feel as though I have been away from home for so long that life in Asia feels normal. I am not sure I remember what it is like to live in the States; be able to understand all the signs, understand what everyone around you is saying, and go to the grocery store and know what things are. However, whenever I start to get this feeling I see something strange, bizzare, or just downright illogical and am reminded that I have to be away from home a lot longer for some things to really be normal.

Ok first off, picture number 1 (sorry it would not rotate, not sure why). Walking to work the other day I noticed that all of the trees had IVs hanging from them. I am not really sure what the purpose of them is, but apparently all trees in Korea have full health insurance coverage...meanwhile back home most of my friends particpate in hazardous activites with no health insurance. If only we could all be a tree in Korea and not have to worry about healthcare.

Second picture: This is a fish truck comes out every night and parks about a block from my apartment. Unlike the trees in Korea, the fish don't have it so well. When someone orders some fishies, the man reaches into the fish tank that makes up the back of his pickup truck. He pulls out a handful of unfortunate victims and with scissors decapitates them right there. Thats right he uses scissors to cut off the heads of these live fish, and I get the joy of witnessing it every night when I walk home from work. I am not sure why it is only out at night, but apparently if you want decapitiated fish, that is the time to buy them.

Lastly, Koreans like to buy new things and throw their perfectly good old things away. They skip the whole Goodwill/second hand store step and put things directly in the garbage. I mentioned earlier about finding orchids in the garbage; throwing perfectly good things away is a totally normal thing to do, and I am a fan of it because I get to aquire lots of good free stuff . Outside of our friends apartment is a dump of sorts where people throw away the stuff they don't want anymore....and you can always find nice furniture there...like this chair in the picture (which I am currently sitting on). Unliike throwing things away, picking them out of the garbage, like we do, does not seem to be as socially acceptable...and even less so if you take your loot home in a taxi. Oh well, at least I am reminded that I have not become totally Asianised...even if I have started to dress like it.