JOURNAL: Working man's Viagra

First of all, I received a private comment warning that I may turn readers off if I am "too negative." Let me address this publically and assure people that this is not my intention. I am merely out of the "honeymoon period" of my stay in Korea. I still love this country, but I am now becoming more keenly aware of its faults, some of them admittedly humorous. These are things that are on my mind right now. In my defense, I have this to offer:

1. I am, and always will be, a city girl. I was brought up in the country, but the "country" in California is more culturally diverse than in the rest of the United States. In this sense, it is like a smaller urban area.

2. There are no young white women in Byeongjeom. I have one older female coworker (from Dublin); the rest of the teachers in my building are male. This is especially an issue with all of the Arab field workers in the village; I am constantly getting stared at or harassed.

3. The noise factor.

These three items alone would drive any sane person to drink. Together, they just make life more interesting. I am slowly learning to cope, but it is not easy.

So, what keeps me going? The funny little "hmmmmm" moments mostly. I had two tonight.

I was walking home from the bus stop this evening, when I noticed something odd. There are a couple of bosintang (dogmeat soup) restaurants along my route home, and tonight one of them gave me pause. They look like average Korean restuarants usually, but this one had a difference. I peeked in as I walked by out of morbid curiosity, and noticed that there were "girly" posters on the wall. Bosingtang, I am told, is the working man's Viagra. A short, stocky, and muscular man came out, and I hurried by. He apparently didn't see me, or if he did, he didn't mind my curiosity.

The street is a bit dark, and as I mentioned, has a small red light district. Each
night, there are hundreds and hundreds of flyers scattered on the street and taped to car windows. I personally would find the taping of flyers onto my windshield annoying. These posters usually offer various "services," phone numbers, and directions to the establishments. They are so common that I am even beginning to recognize each individual one. I often wondered who put them out, and how they get away with it. Tonight, I got a slight clue, although I don't know where it leads yet.

The man from the restaurant began walking down the street with a notepad in his hand. He looked at every car with a flyer stuck to it and made a note of it. He began counting the flyers, like taking inventory. He also appeared to be replacing them as he went along, although I couldn't see what he was actually doing. I surmise that one of the "businesses" is on the second floor, and he is associated with it somehow. It does make good business sense to sell virility remedies and professional companionship in the same building. Perhaps they are in cahoots together.

Musing on this theory, I continued my journey home. The fighter jets were particularly frequent and loud this evening, so my reverie was interrupted every time I had to put my hands to my ears. Suddenly, I remembered what my coworker had said about the roof of our building. Curiosity got the better of me, so I dropped off my packages and climbed the stairs.

The view on the roof was breathtaking. I could see the layout of the munincipality, and the rice fields green and lush. The smoky mountains in the distance were dotted with traditional houses, and the lights from the light traffice snaked up the shallow mountain passes. I then observed the light show as the fighter jets performed their nocturnal maneuvers, their sleek and lithe bodies circling the dark as they cut through the night sky...They swooped so close that I could see every detail of their bodies. Almost as good as people watching.

So, in short, I have found entertainment of a sort, on the roof of my apartment building. People hang their wash up there, and I noticed some chalk art on the ground. With a table and chairs, it might make a nice patio...Bar the ear-splitting takeoffs and landings at the air force base.