Hilary Meets the Land of the Morning Calm

So what is Christmas in Korea? Whatever you want to make of it, essentially. Unfortunately, I lost my "big" vacation, due to the closing of my school during our swine flu outbreak. So instead of having both Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve Day off, I only got the latter. (Same will apply to New Years as well).

I haven't talked too much about culture differences in Korea. Here are a few things that pop into mind:

• Out and about: Prepare to be pushed. Seoul is crowded. The sidewalks, stores, subways, u-name-it are always full of people going in all different directions. Add to this fact that Koreans' idea of the personal bubble space is much smaller than in the US/Canada, and you have the result: guaranteed physical contact. To a foreigner, this can seem rude, because it feels like you are getting bumped, pushed, shoved, and jostled from all sides by people who don't seem to notice you or apologize for the seemingly avoidable bumps. This can be quite aggravating on a bad day, but it is something you simply must get over if you don't want to be in a bad mood all the time.

It's that time of year again, and yes, it comes to Korea too. I have been singing Christmas songs with my kindergarteners and engaging them in detailed discussions about Santa Claus with my elementary-age students. Familiar pop Christmas songs are being pumped out of store speakers at full volume, and plastic Christmas trees are popping up like dandelions everywhere you look.

So I made one brilliant move last week, which was leaving my purse in a taxi. This happened after a big shopping adventure at our local Costco (it was pay day, so we splurged). My coworker and I were rushing to get everything out of the car so the taxi driver could leave, and it was dark and I guess I couldn't see my black bag in the shadows where I left it. Gone.

In the end I didn't lose too many important things, my cellphone and wallet were luckily both in my jacket, so I didn't need to call a million financial institutions. This being Seoul, home to a zillion different taxi companies, if you don't know which one you got in to, its nearly impossible to track down. Word to the wise, always take a mental note of the taxi company you get into, and always ask for a receipt, even when you pay in cash. Cab receipts have not only the name of the company, but also the cab driver's phone number so if you lose something, you can contact him directly.