Are you Canadian? You look nice.

On St. Patrick’s Day we went to a bar near our house called Woodstock. While there, a guy came up to me and asked if I was from Canada because I looked so friendly. When I told him I was from Seattle, he said Seattle must share its water with Canada and that’s why I look so Canadian. Aside from this being a horrible pick up line by a Canadian, it is very true to how Canadians and Koreans view themselves and Americans. My first week in Seoul, I was amazed by how many Canadians are here teaching. I would say about half of the foreign teachers we meet are from Canada. Considering the size of their population to that of the U.S., it is pretty impressive. Of the 10 foreign teachers at my school, 4 are from Canada. Apparently, a stereotype for Canadians is that they are very friendly, and Americans are not. When I told my co-worker Gordon, who is from Canada, about this horrible pick up line, he laughed, and said I do have a very Canadian looking face. I guess I am to take this as a good thing. Since there are so many Canadians here, many of them have friends who are already here. One of the teacher’s I work with, Colleen who is from Prince Edward Island in Canada, invited us to see her friend’s band play on Friday night. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the weekend here, so her friend’s band played covers of songs from various Irish bands. I guess I missed the memo that Canadians know every random Irish song ever made! I thought I had a vast knowledge of Irish music, but I was mistaken. Every Canadian in the bar (which was the majority of the bar) would randomly burst out in song and dance to Irish songs. At first Casey and I were speechless, and then we started laughing and tried to join in, although we were told we were not clapping the correct way!

Aside from being surrounded by Canadians at the bar, we were also surrounded by American military men. The area of Seoul, called Itaewon, it where the military base it located. It is also where you can find any foreign food you could ever want, I enjoy the Turkish kabobs! Itaewon is the only place in Seoul I ever feel unsafe. The rest of Seoul is incredibly safe. My friends and I had a conversation about this and we decided part of it is because there is such a strong, harsh drug law and enforcement here. Because of this no one does drugs, and thus there is less of a need for crime. Also, guns are not allowed here, so it brings the level of violence down a great deal. However, when I am in Itaewon, I always feel a little on edge because there are so many foreigners present, and they are the ones most likely to steal from people.

After we listened to the band we decided to call Gordon, since we were in his neighborhood and have him show us around the area a little more. It ended up just being us four teachers from the second floor, and we had a great night together! Gordon showed us some new places to go that were not full of military men and the places to avoid. Again, we were reminded of what a great, fun, group the four of us are and how lucky we are to be working together. We also found out that Gordon had some say in the foreign teachers that were hired, and thanked him for choosing us!

Other outings in Seoul this week included a trip to the mall to see Alice in Wonderland in IMAX, Changdeokgung Palace, a Jamaican themed Hookah bar (don’t worry, I never smoke the hookah!), Mad for Garlic restaurant, and Nakseongdae park. Next weekend I am going to a Buddhist Temple and to tea at a tea house!