posted November 13, 2008 10:47 AM         

quote:

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hopefully, i've gotten your attention. i remembered that you went to korea! im leaving for seoul in a week (!!!) and i have few questions. general advice and a wise word or two would be helpful, too. encouragement as well, lol (getting cold feet. literally and figuratively)
in the winter, how cold is it really there? i get told it's just as cold as chicago (chicago is DAMN cold in the wintertime), and growing up here i'm used to nearly being swept away by a snow storm. i figure i should just bring my coat that can withstand all weather conditions, but i'm just curious as to how bad or good winters really are over there.

two awkward subjects: tampons and birth control. i read that tampon's in korea are horrible? and that i should bring a whole year's supply??? that's about 6 36-count boxes of tampons... that's a LOT of tampons. im staying on birth control even though i don't plan on having sex at all while over there (temporary celibacy FTW) just to maintain the routine. i know that it's dirt cheap over there for the same western brands we have here, but i'm a bit worried about koreans general attitude towards birth control. i'll be living in a rural area and i may have very limited choices in where i have to go to get prescription (which isn't a prescription but an over the counter drug there... which is awesome!) but i've read that you shouldn't go anywhere that someone might know you?

food: have you ever eaten live octopus and was it worth it? that's all i need to know i'll find out everything else soon enough.

um, i think that's it. i'll post more when i can think of more.

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Answers below in a minute!

posted November 13, 2008 11:02 AM         

It's really really cold. It was quite frequently -10 degrees celsius where I was (northerlies from Russia) and with wind chill the coldest I heard of was -20. Pack the best coat you have. I was wearing two! I remember showing my Korean friends a coat that I had bought and they were literally crying laughing. They soon sorted me out.

Yes, I got tampons sent to me by my family. I wasn't sure if you could buy them or not but I didn't want to buy them anyway because people would pick out shopping from my basket and look at it (I was in a tiny village and they wanted to see what the white girl was buying - I believe they would have cut my arm to see if I bled red, bless them). So I don't know really.

Birth control I got a year's supply of before I left. I could never get a good idea of what the attitude was, I garnered enough info to be aware that abortion was considered a good method. I never went to the doctor. I would try to keep your personal business as personal as possible as a general principle. It may not be as bad in Seoul, but as a starter then yes. You may relax later, depends on circumstances. *edit* I see you're in a rural area too - adopt a shut-mouth policy then! They will try to lever info out of you but you don't have to give it.

I never ate live octopus. I ate dog (I wasn't aware it was dog, I was tricked) and an eel which had been chopped up live in front of me, again, unanticipated. I am now a vegetarian! haha

I will tell you about the best tip given to me while I was there: If Korean food does your head in and you have a need for Western food ingredients then this is the place - go down to the basement! They sell real cheese.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2765787-lotte_department_s tore_seoul-i;_ylt=AnO_o96RfftWMc8mm89DdI9QFWoL

posted November 13, 2008 11:18 AM         

The food is great. I don't know if you have Korean heritage or if you're familiar but it's not like anything else. It takes a while to get used to and then it has you hooked.

Remember that Korea is Scorpio. It fits. They are intensely proud of their country. They are made of pure steel. When the country was in debt to the International Monetary Fund the people sent in their wedding rings to be melted down to pay off the debt. They often don't remember to give you information, or think you don't need it. If you're unsure - ask. They will often be circumspect rather than direct which was a cause of conflict for me and other westerners. You must learn to adapt to them, it's the only way. Very fixed. They are workaholics. They won't like it if you say no to work much, but you must to keep sane, because they'd work you 80 hours a week if they could.

They have a vast appreciation of beauty and are very sentimental under a hard exterior. I have a lot of time for Koreans. The kids especially are delightful. People are very curious over there, about you, where you come from, and they like to compare cultural differences a lot. They will ask very personal questions. Don't be freaked, it's the norm. Evade them if you like. They are not smutty though, ever.

It was a challenging year for me but I'm glad I went.

posted November 13, 2008 01:26 PM         

i had a feeling that it would be freakishly cold. gah. i may just buy a few jackets there to save myself room in my luggage. i'm gonna need like three; i'm horrible with the cold.

i'm just gonna bring a big box of random items with me including as many tampons as i possibly can. korean airlines allows two check-ins i believe.

as far as birth control goes, i'm just gonna go to other side of town and use my scorpio moon elusiveness as much as possible. i'll be paju city, which is a big enough town where i think i can do that without seeing my kid's parents. i would die if that ever happened.

lol, my family is filipino so i've eaten my share of weird things. i've never eaten dog... as far as i know... it wasn't until i was around 9 that i finally figured out that my favorite snack was really fermented duck egg! you really can't tell it's dead chick when it's covered in hot sauce and smashed up .

i have a feeling that i'll be in seoul a lot. i grew up between cornfields and chicago but i'm city girl. i like to get lost in crowds. i find myself more at ease within myself knowing that i'm surrounded by Life but that's it's all separate and outside of myself. i suppose that's my cancer sun speaking.

i won't mind living out in the rural areas though. i get a lot of space, time, and peace to myself as well, but like you said i know people are gonna be prodding my shell for every little detail about my life. it's interesting that korea is scorpio. it may appeal to my moon; i do have a feeling that i'll feel very at home there.

the one thing that's going to drive me insane when i get there is probably lack of internet access for the first few days. that and cell phone. did you use a land line or cell phone? i'm thinking i may just get a land line because who am i going to need to access via cell phone? and ill probably use skype to call my family at home. i may not even get a television...