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tommynomad
Joined: 24 Jul 2004
Location: on the move
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 Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:51 pm Post subject: Re: yes |
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| Ilsanman wrote: |
| What's a brolly? Why don't you use English? |
Ahahahahahaha! What could be more English than "brolly"?
ps: I think the way Ilsanman uses his brolly is ingenious, if a little counter-cultural.
The reason people cut in line ahead of you is (has someone already mentioned this?) because they don't know your status, so they don't know where they fit on the confucian ladder relative to you. Given the elevated status of us sonsaengs, I prevent line-cutters with a well-positioned elbow and a haughty "Kyosu ieyo. Jae ga mun jun deiyo," which immediately informs the offending individual that in their culture, they are beneath me, and should behave with commensurate deference.
In the street/on escalators (the worst place, IMHO) I take a more indifferent tack: I'm scrawny by western standards (1m71, 65 kg), but I'm still big enough that when most Koreans run into me, _they_ bounce. So I let them--if they're going to ignore my presence, I 'ignore' theirs. Then they'll feel my bony shoulder. Once a big highschooler actually lost his balance and fell down--hilarious! I helped him up, of course, but with a firm "djoshimei." |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Thunndarr wrote: |
| I follow one simple guideline. Never be the first person to cross the street. |
Totally! Using Korean kids as "body shields" is a great tactic too for getting across an intersection. Heck, if I could strap on a couple kids and not get arrrested I'd do it. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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After a short vacation in Vietnam last year, coming back to Korea felt like a return to sane & orderly traffic.
Many 'sidewalks' in Hanoi serve primarily as parking lots for motorbikes, forcing pedestrians onto the street. Walking there there's often someone tugging on your shirt or blocking your way to sell you trinkets or to beg.
Crossing a street was something else again -- 6, 8, or 10 'lanes' of scooter traffic that never paused -- you just held your breath & waded at right angles into the traffic. No pausing, no dashing, you had to trust the flow would part & go around you. Exhilarating, something zen about it, but not for the faint-hearted. I liked Vietnam for a number of reasons, but that wasnt one of them.
I find Korean sidewalk antics more amusing than exasperating. Not being in a hurry helps. |
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