ten signs it's time to leave korea

Monday, August 3, 2009

10. every time you hear the phrase, "Waegookin imnida!" (It's a foreigner!), your middle finger starts itching.

9. you're tempted to tell people who want to take pictures of you or your children, "Poto, manwon" (photo, 10 bucks!) and those wanting to practice their English with you, while you're trying to watch your child, "Yeonga-lur, sahm-ship-boon, ee-man-o-cheon-won" (English, 30 minutes, 25 bucks.)

8. you hold your breath every time your toddler runs up to a group of "kids! kids!," waiting to see how they'll respond to the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign "baby."

7. you teach your toddler the phrase "babo (foolish/stupid) kids," as a response to kids who run away or otherwise don't want to play with him.

6. you start to take offense at stupid things, like "egg-ee" (which applies to any child up to the age of 3, whereas "agg-ee" is more specifically an infant) being translated as "baby," or kids always saying, "c'mon, baby," which is a phrase from a popular k-pop song.

5. you're exhausted from running interference for your child every time you're in public.

4. you've begun to openly mock kimchi, which Koreans view as a wondrous cure-all.

3. you actually consider saying, "an-chua shiball imnida" (it's not f***ing cold) to women who insist your baby is under-dressed for a breezy day in the 70s.

2. you interpret the ear-nose-throat specialist's attempts at "enlarging your nasal passage" as blatant xenophobia.

1. some days you think if you hear one more child whine like a police siren, you're going to lose it.

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8 Responses to “ten signs it's time to leave korea”
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dunno that last one resonates here in the states, too.

I've never heard a child in the states whine quite like some of the kids here. They're like world-champion whiners, probably because that's how their moms speak to them. Maybe someday I'll be able to demonstrate for you ; )

I know what you mean . . .Hang in there--the zen kicks in around year 6... and then a month back in North America will drive you equally crazy. (at least it does for me--I know we'll end up back there someday, but I sort of dread it).

Staying here permanently was never the plan. When we came back last year, the max was four years, as we wanted to be back in the States in time for Liam to start kindergarten. I could stick it out longer, if it wasn't affecting my children (well, one of them at this point). I'll be heading home with the boys in October, although Matthew may keep up the blog.

beautiful pics! =D

dude...I remember we would get mad crazy stares whenever we spoke English(when visiting Korea), so I can imagine all the stares you get just by looking different! well, and who couldn't resist those beautiful children of yours?!?! ^^*

LOL.... too funny!! For #10 you should try what I do....

Whenever someone points at me with a stupid look on their face and says 'wow a foreigner' in Korean, I do the same thing back at them and say "ah-mah" (wow) "Hangook saram" (Korean person) while pointing and acting shocked...then turn around a walk away....they will be shocked!! It's too fun!!

Ha ha ha... we do that sometimes, or ask, "chincha? (really?) ah-dee? (where?)" and look around frantically like you're also trying to spot the foreigner.

One time, I corrected a kid who told his brother that I was an English person, in Korean. The look on his face was priceless.

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