Prostitutes to Phones and Profanity, Toenails and Threads to Transportation translation
Toenails
Something I’ve noticed here is feet. Yes, it’s strange. But what’s more strange is their toenail polish. As a teenager (and maybe some into my 20s), I thought it completely fine to have five different colors painted across my 10 phalanges. Even so, I don’t think it’s completely fine to simply paint your big toe and only your big toe. But here, it’s the norm. Occasionally I will find someone with all of their toes painted, but normally, it’s just the big ‘un.
Human Trafficking
I am white and I am proud. Say it again! I’m also a spectacle, we’ve already been over that part though. (Ha! I purchased some dark Jennifer Lopez glasses—so I look like a white celebrity, or less noticeable than “round eyes,” as Patrick Murray called me at my going away party). On my walk to school the other morning, three young girls dressed in uniform were crossing the street at the same time. One turned around, saw me, turned back and said something to the friends, who then turned to look at me. They all giggled together, and I just kept on. As soon as I passed them, in unison I heard, “hiiiiiiii.” I must say, it was quite funny. I bid them good morning, and kept on. Similar situations have happened several times since then...
Which leads me to my next story. Only a few days later, Andy (the USC supporter I work with who hails from Utah) and I stopped at a bar after work for a drink and some anjoo (appetizers, since it’s unacceptable to just drink here!) A white man with two Korean women walked in and sat next to us. Of course, Andy and I saw it as an opportunity to chat. He was Canadian, been here 8.5 years, just bought a house, and one of the women was his wife. (Side note: She was beautiful. He was severely lacking in the looks department. Translation: Korean women like white men, even those who aren’t easy on the eyes, because they often think they have money). He was giving us tips and things from his lessons here and the topic of the sleazy car salesmen on my way to work came up. He said, “Oh! It’s because they think you’re a Russian prositute!” I was not only surprised, but insulted. Russian women tend to be a bit stockier and sometimes taller than myself. (When I ran into the American soldier at the immigration office, after seeing a Russian woman walk in with painted on jeans, a revealing shirt, slicked back blonde hair and a Korean semi-well-dressed man as her guide, he was telling me how common human trafficking is here. He said so many of his men have to buy the rights to their women from their pimps. They pay thousands to have their passport, papers, etc. so that they can marry or just release these women from their "owners." Awful!) They also tend to have blonde hair. And HELLO! If they are prostitutes, they AREN’T in business casual or professional attire—not the kind acceptable in a classroom anyway! So I got to thinking about it, and I realized, both by choice and by deduction, that he’s incorrect. Why? Because so often here, including the story above of simply crossing the street, when I get off of an airplane, they speak Korean to those both in front of and behind me, but when whitey here’s number comes up, they say, “Hi” or “Thankyou” or “Goodbye” rather than greetings in their native language. Last time I checked, Russian prostitutes working for Korean pimps aren’t speaking any English.
Subways
Subways here are a normal system like you’d expect. Except for the whole Korean language part. But, because Seoul hosted both the Olympics (88) and the World Cup (02), many things like the subway, road signs, menus and the like, are translated for the person who doesn’t speak or read Hangul. Somewhere in the system though, they skipped a step because as the train stops, it says the name in Korean and then repeats the whole thing in English. “This stop is Mok Dong. The next stop is. Exit doors are on your right.” Seriously! It skips telling you where the next stop is. Not that you can understand it 100% anyway, but if you’re a first-timer or someone who believes in the Armageddon (think Chinese with Y2k!) I could see how this would be an issue.
Clothes
I believe I've already mentioned here how so many people don't match. I've tried determining if they're just going to match fabrics rather than colors, and I haven't found a link there, either. Regardless, another example of this common faux pas is found in men. Usually, when they're in a suit, it's a sort of no-fail deal. Black suit, white shirt, done. Here? Black pin striped suit, blue pin striped shirt, blue/green/something else striped tie. Hello! You might as well put plaid with polka dots! It doesn't go! I'm not even a fashion freak like some people I know-- but it's really strange and to make matters worse, common! I see it daily on my walk here, subway, wherever. Fashion police to the rescue, please!
Phones
Since I got my phone, I've paid far less attention to those with cellular devices around me. But when I was buying mine, I was looking at all the gadgets they had to offer. (I simply wanted one that worked. Skip the mp3 player and whatnot, just let me talk to my friends and family, the end.) Well, I got the most inexpensive one they had to offer that you could change the language to English, and it still has a camera on it and TV capabilities! I have no clue how to get CNN going on it, but still, when I played with it the first night I found that. Anyway though, there are these new phones with these flip around faces that allow you to do everything you could ever dream of on a phone-- somehow, I figure they're video cameras, too, but I have no idea. So the point: they're $800. When the RAZR came out, the $400 it cost was absurd, most people agreed, but some still paid. Now there's the ROKR and all this other jazz that Motorola is whipping together along with Apple and no telling who else has something else on the assembly line for a debut. Well most of my students have cell phones, even the 10 year olds. Some even have the ones that are nearly a grand! Who spends that? HELLO! There are starving people in Haiti! Not to mention, homeless people in Louisiana. We're spending a month's salary (average wage here is a lot lower than US) on a phone for our kids that'll just be outdated in less than a year? Wild.
Expletives
Have I mentioned the department store/restaurant tunes? They're profane. I know we can't understand what people are saying in rap music that's in our own language, but it still gets bleeped out because someone knows what they're saying. Here: no such luck. You can be in a fancy store and there are swear words over the loud speakers. McDonalds, too, and from what I know, they have pretty successful marketing around the world. I really find it funny. I don't find the same humor in a woman wearing a shirt with vulgar things plastered over the front, though. There's something sad about an expecting mother, pushing around her toddler, perusing the grocery store aisles with f*** across her chest. But I've seen it more than once. And they're such a clean, normal looking family!
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
Something I’ve noticed here is feet. Yes, it’s strange. But what’s more strange is their toenail polish. As a teenager (and maybe some into my 20s), I thought it completely fine to have five different colors painted across my 10 phalanges. Even so, I don’t think it’s completely fine to simply paint your big toe and only your big toe. But here, it’s the norm. Occasionally I will find someone with all of their toes painted, but normally, it’s just the big ‘un.
Human Trafficking
I am white and I am proud. Say it again! I’m also a spectacle, we’ve already been over that part though. (Ha! I purchased some dark Jennifer Lopez glasses—so I look like a white celebrity, or less noticeable than “round eyes,” as Patrick Murray called me at my going away party). On my walk to school the other morning, three young girls dressed in uniform were crossing the street at the same time. One turned around, saw me, turned back and said something to the friends, who then turned to look at me. They all giggled together, and I just kept on. As soon as I passed them, in unison I heard, “hiiiiiiii.” I must say, it was quite funny. I bid them good morning, and kept on. Similar situations have happened several times since then...
Which leads me to my next story. Only a few days later, Andy (the USC supporter I work with who hails from Utah) and I stopped at a bar after work for a drink and some anjoo (appetizers, since it’s unacceptable to just drink here!) A white man with two Korean women walked in and sat next to us. Of course, Andy and I saw it as an opportunity to chat. He was Canadian, been here 8.5 years, just bought a house, and one of the women was his wife. (Side note: She was beautiful. He was severely lacking in the looks department. Translation: Korean women like white men, even those who aren’t easy on the eyes, because they often think they have money). He was giving us tips and things from his lessons here and the topic of the sleazy car salesmen on my way to work came up. He said, “Oh! It’s because they think you’re a Russian prositute!” I was not only surprised, but insulted. Russian women tend to be a bit stockier and sometimes taller than myself. (When I ran into the American soldier at the immigration office, after seeing a Russian woman walk in with painted on jeans, a revealing shirt, slicked back blonde hair and a Korean semi-well-dressed man as her guide, he was telling me how common human trafficking is here. He said so many of his men have to buy the rights to their women from their pimps. They pay thousands to have their passport, papers, etc. so that they can marry or just release these women from their "owners." Awful!) They also tend to have blonde hair. And HELLO! If they are prostitutes, they AREN’T in business casual or professional attire—not the kind acceptable in a classroom anyway! So I got to thinking about it, and I realized, both by choice and by deduction, that he’s incorrect. Why? Because so often here, including the story above of simply crossing the street, when I get off of an airplane, they speak Korean to those both in front of and behind me, but when whitey here’s number comes up, they say, “Hi” or “Thankyou” or “Goodbye” rather than greetings in their native language. Last time I checked, Russian prostitutes working for Korean pimps aren’t speaking any English.
Subways
Subways here are a normal system like you’d expect. Except for the whole Korean language part. But, because Seoul hosted both the Olympics (88) and the World Cup (02), many things like the subway, road signs, menus and the like, are translated for the person who doesn’t speak or read Hangul. Somewhere in the system though, they skipped a step because as the train stops, it says the name in Korean and then repeats the whole thing in English. “This stop is Mok Dong. The next stop is. Exit doors are on your right.” Seriously! It skips telling you where the next stop is. Not that you can understand it 100% anyway, but if you’re a first-timer or someone who believes in the Armageddon (think Chinese with Y2k!) I could see how this would be an issue.
Clothes
I believe I've already mentioned here how so many people don't match. I've tried determining if they're just going to match fabrics rather than colors, and I haven't found a link there, either. Regardless, another example of this common faux pas is found in men. Usually, when they're in a suit, it's a sort of no-fail deal. Black suit, white shirt, done. Here? Black pin striped suit, blue pin striped shirt, blue/green/something else striped tie. Hello! You might as well put plaid with polka dots! It doesn't go! I'm not even a fashion freak like some people I know-- but it's really strange and to make matters worse, common! I see it daily on my walk here, subway, wherever. Fashion police to the rescue, please!
Phones
Since I got my phone, I've paid far less attention to those with cellular devices around me. But when I was buying mine, I was looking at all the gadgets they had to offer. (I simply wanted one that worked. Skip the mp3 player and whatnot, just let me talk to my friends and family, the end.) Well, I got the most inexpensive one they had to offer that you could change the language to English, and it still has a camera on it and TV capabilities! I have no clue how to get CNN going on it, but still, when I played with it the first night I found that. Anyway though, there are these new phones with these flip around faces that allow you to do everything you could ever dream of on a phone-- somehow, I figure they're video cameras, too, but I have no idea. So the point: they're $800. When the RAZR came out, the $400 it cost was absurd, most people agreed, but some still paid. Now there's the ROKR and all this other jazz that Motorola is whipping together along with Apple and no telling who else has something else on the assembly line for a debut. Well most of my students have cell phones, even the 10 year olds. Some even have the ones that are nearly a grand! Who spends that? HELLO! There are starving people in Haiti! Not to mention, homeless people in Louisiana. We're spending a month's salary (average wage here is a lot lower than US) on a phone for our kids that'll just be outdated in less than a year? Wild.
Expletives
Have I mentioned the department store/restaurant tunes? They're profane. I know we can't understand what people are saying in rap music that's in our own language, but it still gets bleeped out because someone knows what they're saying. Here: no such luck. You can be in a fancy store and there are swear words over the loud speakers. McDonalds, too, and from what I know, they have pretty successful marketing around the world. I really find it funny. I don't find the same humor in a woman wearing a shirt with vulgar things plastered over the front, though. There's something sad about an expecting mother, pushing around her toddler, perusing the grocery store aisles with f*** across her chest. But I've seen it more than once. And they're such a clean, normal looking family!
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
posted by LSULiv | 1:31 PM
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