Strange Is Now Normal

I realize I have been slacking on the cultural and social observations in my blogs lately, but to be honest after almost a year here, most things are just normal to me now. Things that used to baffle me don't even phase me anymore. I walk around and observe things and think to myself "this should seem strange to me, but it doesn't". Here are a few things that occurred to me lately while walking around and thinking exactly that.

All restaurants in Korea that serve meat or seafood of any kind all advertise the same way. They show a picture of the meat right next to a picture of the live animal right outside on their billboard. I've never understood this. Is it just to ensure the customer that that is indeed the kind of meat they will be served? 'We say it's beef, but here's a photo of cows grazing in a field, just to make sure you really believe us.'

There is a little clinic that I pass by on my way to and from work where many men are always hanging around outside. They are in their hospital pajamas and are sometimes even seated in a wheelchair or have an IV hooked up to them. They are all smoking cigarettes. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. They are being treated for one thing or another and obviously taking time off work and spending money to be healed, all the while they are polluting their lungs and bodies further with smoke from their $2 pack of cigarettes.

On another note, Sean showed me the movie 엽기적인 그녀, My Sassy Girl, a very popular Korean film the other day. I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the beginning because the main female character kept asking the male character if he wanted to die. Sean explained to be that it's just a thing Koreans say to each other playfully. By the second half of the movie I was more interested in learning what had happened in the past (it's kind of a mystery) and what was going to happen in the future for the characters. Of course the movie ended heart-warmingly and I ended up with tears in my eyes. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes romantic comedies and doesn't mind reading subtitles.

My Sassy Girl

Happy September!

Namaste