Culture Torture

Whoever coined the phrase "culture shock" should be shot. Ok, maybe not, but they should at least have to go for a time out. It should be called "culture torture". For me culture "shock" was easy. It was funny. It was easy and funny. It consisted of laughing at all the little differences between Korea and Canada. "Oh my god," I would exclaim, "look at the size of their Coke cans, they are so small!" And I would laugh at all the things that make Korea strange and wonderful. The "shock" was the easy part; then the torture began.

What used to be cute and endearing is starting to make me irritable. For example, they eat dogs. This in itself is not a crime I guess. I don't agree with it, and you would probably find me munching away on Alfonso Gagliano before Lassie (ok maybe not), but they take every opportunity to remind me that they eat dog. Over and over again. "We eat dog, you know." "It's good for your health: especially man." They think it helps them perform sexually. Ok, you eat dog. You see that it makes me uncomfortable. Very funny.

So the shock is no problem. That is what travelers get. You stop at a place and pick up some good vibes and continue on your way. What I never really clued in on is that they keep on living those lives forever. Now I am in those lives. I wake up in the morning only to realize that I am going to be reminded again that they eat dog, and I do not. And I am going to feel uncomfortable about it. Oh, but I won't eat dog. No, no sir. I will not eat dog!

Donkey's lips do not fit onto a horse's mouth. -Chinese Proverb