Shoes are Everything

Looking around on the subway today, I re-realized how important fashion is in Korea. Some of the noteworthy ones included a middle aged man in a blue pinstriped suit with this wonderful sparkly navy blue tie (it was on point) and an elderly gentleman in a complete checkered outfit that looked like a jumpsuit. Those guts had it going on today! One thing I noticed across the board is that shoes are very carefully picked to send a message in Korea. they are meant to hi-light certain style or juxtapose it, but it never looks like anyone just grabbed a random pair of shoes on their way out the door...
On that note, it interests me that in Korea, where people wear masks over their faces and coughing aloud is considered taboo, that so many other things are not. In the US, farts and burbs can be funny, but hacking, spitting, and picking your nose are perfectly acceptable things to do while on the go. Finding a hair in your rice is something to laugh at, and even though it turns my stomach, I realize that that is the nurture part of me, not the nature. I need to absorb more of the Korean lifestyle into me, even if that means thinking more about my shoes.

Also, I'm sure that you are all dying to know what kind of kimchi was at lunch today, so: There was bean sprout kimchi, regular kimchi, cucumber kimchi, and a bunch of other panchan that could have been kimchi, known kimchi or brushed against kimchi in a past life.

PPS: Tonight was awesome! I got to bond with my host family over silly faces, french fries, and mozzarella sticks (I'm saved!). It was an amazing experience!

Night night!
Elena (Walnut)