Chopstick Tale

The Middle

One of my favourite phenomena you experience when travelling abroad is when you stumble across a fellow Caucasian person and exchange a telling nod, wink or simple look as if to say "Hello. I acknowledge your existence as a fellow white person and realize you are probably immersed in similar struggles while living abroad in a foreign land".  Yeah, you can communicate a lot with one quick glance in the cereal aisle at the local Homeplus.


I've come across that moment quite a few times here in Daegu.  On the one hand, it can be comforting to know you aren't alone and there will always be people to fall back on.  On the other hand, however, there are the unfortunate few that take that moment for granted and jump at every opportunity to complain or gripe about their experiences here.  Clearly, they have been put outside their "comfort zone" by a situation they have encountered or come across a school meal they didn't quite like.... but what did they really expect?

The way I see it, back in the day there was East and West, with clear divisions culturally, linguistically, and of course ethnically.  As the world turns and years go by, these two previously mutually exclusive hemispheres have come closer together creating a cultural Venn diagram.  On one side you have the Western world who think anything foreign to them is either third-world or other-world.  They see it as us and them. Many of the American Army folk that I have encountered thus far still haven't been able to shake this.  On the other side are people of the East that are perfectly content with the state of affairs, who have been doing things the same way for years, who acknowledge the other side but don't see any point of changing for anyone.  This has led them, I think, down a path towards efficiency and prosperity.

In the middle of all of this is a grey area of which I am currently smack-bang in the middle.  I share this space with Western people who are open to exploration, accepting of differences and welcoming to change as well a a bevy of Eastern people inexplicably esteeming to become more Western.  In this gray area you will find Asian teenagers that beg their parents for double eyelid surgery (to make their eyes look bigger) as a present if they do well on their exams, poorly translated t-shirt and slogans, attempts at western foods, and an awesome Spice-Girls-esque fashion sense derived from K-pop. In Korea, the boy band is very much still alive.  Throw into this mix all of the foreign English teachers abroad in Asia and you have a clashing of world where it is hard to tell which side is more fascinated by the quirks of the other.  So where do I stand?  I would like to think I am in the middle, taking it all in and enjoying every moment, watching the pantomime that is taking place, wide-eyed and wondering; what kind of weird shit am I going to see tomorrow?

In other news, soccer started up yesterday and my team the Daegu Devils rose to a 10-1 win over Sparta Busan.  We have a two-day tournament coming up this weekend in Ulsan which should be a good time.  Apparently it is televised on local networks so I will be sure to celebrate in style by dancing with the corner-flag if I score.  I managed to catch up with a lot of the friends I made at EPIK Orientation and get to know the nightlife of Daegu a little bit better.  So far, I like what it has to offer. Especially the casino where Koreans aren't allowed, and all foreigners are given free food and drink all night as well as 10,000 won upon arrival.  Sounds like there a few holes in this business plan but it didn't stop me from capitalizing on the offer while it lasts and allowing them to take 20,000 won from me at the blackjack table.  It's all good in my books

Much Love!
D