Josh:
Personal space is a bit of an issue here in Korea. One finds that out very quickly when walking down the streets and multiple people ram into you without even blinking. I knew about this before I came because we researched as much about Korea as we could but it still is really strange to have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Audrey, unfortunately, had to deal with the worst story about personal space (or lack there-of):
We were going over to Seoul (for some reason; once again, score one for my memory) and, of course, the plan was to take the train. There was a line this time (it must have been rush hour) so we jumped in and waited patiently just like everyone else. Other people started getting in line behind us and normally this would have been perfectly acceptable. The only problem was the older man (probably 50 or so) stood directly behind Audrey. It's hard to convey how close he was. If Audrey and the old man were represented by the letter "i", "ii" is a pretty close representation of how close this guy was to her. It's not like there was any need for it because there was plenty of room behind him. He just decided that he needed to be one centimeter away from her. It was to the point where Audrey could smell and feel his breath; needless to say, she wasn't happy. I moved forward a little bit to give her some room. She stepped forward and the old man, not missing a beat, took a step right after and ended up in the same position as before. I then asked Audrey if she wanted to trade because maybe touching his nose to a sweaty foreigner's back would change his mind about personal proximity. She refused, unfortunately. Whenever the line would move up slightly, this guy was right on top of it (almost to be taken literally). It was utterly ridiculous. Audrey decided that if he was going to be that close, he might as well serve a purpose so she started leaning backwards and having him support her weight. He didn't really even flinch, much to our dismay. When we finally reached the front of the line Audrey jumped forward and she finally escaped the clutches of a creepy old man. We bought our tickets and got out of that area.
Why would someone feel the need to stay so close to someone? Unfortunately, I already know the answer to that. It turns out that if you aren't "thisclose" to someone in line, people assume you aren't in line at all and tend to cut. At that point you can attempt communication (which often fails) and tell them that you were clearly there first even if your nose wasn't in the back of the other person's hair or you can let the 60 year old crazy woman have her way. Just like the lines on the road, lines inside buildings are more like guidelines. Frequently I have to break my personal space issues and move right behind another person because someone decided not to wait behind me, but instead beside me. These line vultures are everywhere and it gives me great personal satisfaction whenever I manage to foil them by putting my giant foreign shoulder in front of their face to show that, "Yes, I was waiting in line."
On a more chronologically focused path, the weather started changing since you last saw a date (around the beginning of May). It started to get a little warmer and Audrey wasn't dying every time we went outside. My taste buds were starting to get more accustomed to the super spicy food here. I know that because I had noodles that were labeled as "spicy" to Koreans. I felt like my face was on fire but I still managed to eat it all (pat on the back to me). Audrey says that's a bad thing because I am not actually being tough and getting accustomed to the spicy food but actually killing the sensitivity in my taste buds. Way to ruin my manliness with science, Audrey! I suppose it is pretty manly to say you burned off your taste buds though; I'm back in the game! I digress.
As I reread this post I realize that my blog tends to shift tones so rapidly it probably makes my readers feel bipolar (and its author seem so as well). I didn't mean for it to get so somber because the post started out fairly funny (or I like to think so at least). I apologize for the 180 turn but I figured I would give you a heads up so it's not as sudden of a change as it could be.
The Tuesday following the all out brawl by our landlady's granddaughters I learned some rather sobering news. It was a normal day and I was talking to Ms. Kim when she mentioned that something had been changed in the schedule. I asked why and she said it was because a third grader killed himself on Monday. Keep in mind that I had gone through half of the day without the slightest hint that anything was askew. Apparently he had a big fight with his parents and he jumped off the top of his apartment building. I don't know many more details than that (such as his name, what class he was in, etc) but needless to say it was a bit crazy. I knew that this part of the world had a higher suicide rate but it's different to experience it first hand. Of course, I never taught this kid and, most likely, never really even had the chance to meet him. I felt bad for Ms. Kim because I believe he was one of her students. I really don't have much to say about it because I don't know much about it. The reason why I mention it is because it gives me a weird feeling to have taught in a school where one of the students I potentially talked to decided that nothing was worth living for and jumped off of the top of a building. It gives me pause to wonder about what you would think about as you see the ground flying toward you at an alarming rate. Did he regret the decision half way down and wish that he hadn't been so hasty? I really can't think about it too much because just the idea of a boy wishing he hadn't made a stupid decision with all his might but to no avail is too much for me.
I hate to end a post on that story but I really have no where to go from here.
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