A year later: It's still weird

Over the last year of living in Korea, I have occasionally called Nick and the kids to the window and, once they have quieted, I say to them, in a serious, deeply meaningful voice:

"We live in South Korea."

And then I giggle like a crazy woman and walk away, shaking my head.

I just can't believe it.  I went from being a painfully shy girl to an awkward grownup who still leaves social events early (or just doesn't show up).  I have never, ever been adventurous; my favorite food groups are pasta, potatoes, and popcorn, mostly because those are great vehicles for butter and salt.

But here I am.  I moved across the world.  With my family.  I still can't believe it.

But a year on, even with all my learning and adjustments and maturation, I'm still finding lots to gape at. Signs are still funny, squatting ajummas are still amazing (but not as scary), and the views are still stunning.  So, for your own enjoyment, here are a few pictures from just this week in a land that still makes me wonder.  And laugh.  And shake my head.

"English" signs: Using English apparently adds status to a  store or product,
even if the English doesn't quite make sense.
So, clockwise from top left: A women's clothing store; an ice-cream shop; a music studio; a shoe store. 

Beach life (Sunday afternoon at Bukbu beach):
Koreans typically cover lots of skin, even at the beach;
Westerners do not seem to fear the sun, skin cancer or Korean opinion;
an adorable Korean girl carrying her own (very wet) underwear  as she strolls with her mom down the sidewalk.

Some of the creatures I enjoyed this week:
a (non-native, very lost) red golden pheasant in the woods near my garden;
a great white egret strolling down a pier;
a heron/egret rookery near PosTech University;
and at the PosTech pond (ok, Burger King), I watched a honeybee clambering around a water lily
and a dragonfly resting on an unopened lily.

The land near Handong's campus, which is north of the city:
rice fields near sunset; a mountain view over the highway;
burial mounds along a campus woodland path. (just someone's parents or grandparents, nothing to worry about) 

Technology surprises:
A resting animated mannequin;
a car wash (the car stands still while the car wash moves over it along rails);
a mini-bulldozer gutting a shop while the site supervisor stands on the pile of debris, holding overhead wires out of the way with a stick (ah, safety). 

Street scenes:
A fashionable young woman outside a bridal shop and nail salon buys fruit from an elderly vendor's wooden cart;
A uniformed employee (banker?) buying veggies from a squatting street vendor;
A monk rhythmically tapping a gourd while chanting on a busy street corner across from Jukdo Market.

Inexplicable store items:

At a Jukdo sewing shop with friend Tracey today, we noticed a dried blowfish hanging above the check-out table among the buttons and lace reels and other notions.   Not even Google can explain what that was doing there.

At the moon-gu ("everything store") yesterday, Nick and I discovered some adorable butterfly costumes alongside some very realistic rubber bosoms and buttocks.  They are apparently meant to be worn over one's clothing.

And, at the ArtBox store, we found a variety of odd cosmetic devices, including these eyebrow templates intended to guide one's trimming and shaving.  We did not buy them, but I did sneak some pictures.