IMG_0251, originally uploaded by Almost-Human.

So on the inside of my door I’m saving all the take-out brochures that often appear when I return home. These glossy brochures have magnetic strips on them and hang on the doors, because each one of our apartments boxes has a metal fire door as our front door.

I’ve yet to call one, since my pronunciation of my own address isn’t so good. But the food looks great and seems pretty reasonably priced.

You can always tell who’s had take-out, because you’ll see the bag or box of dirty dishes waiting in the hallway outside people’s doors. There’s very little disposable take away containers here in S. Korea. Instead, they drop off real bowls with lids and utensils, and then return to pick them up once eaten from.

As I said previously, bicycle lanes are on the sidewalks with the pedestrians and motorcycles are prohibited from the sidewalks – but the take-out guys seem somehow exempt from that rule, and the only real valid traffic worries here are being run over by a take-out scooter as he jumps the sidewalk and pulls up to buildings, or zips back onto the street between cars.

The bus drivers are pretty aggressive here as well, but they’re big enough to win any argument, so I guess I’m more wondering why Seattle bus drivers don’t work their advantage more. However, I have yet to see an articulated bus here. It’s Korean auto industry all the way here, so makes sense that the Mann buses wouldn’t be used. but it certainly makes for confusing parking lots – I’ve no idea how anyone can tell which car is theirs…

I want to rent a car, drive to the mountains, and rent a cabin for the weekend. But it sounds like I’ll be doing this by myself. (sniff, sniff) I think I first saw this on a K-drama, actually. It just seemed beautiful and nice, and a great way for friends to hang out and actually talk. All this running around and bar hopping, etc. that my English teachers do – there doesn’t seem to be a lot of actually getting to know one another. I also miss cocktails – which are good for conversation. Slamming beers is one kind of socializing yes, but it’s too fast paced to take the time to learn anything real about anyone.

sigh.

I’m also missing dives, where working class people go and unwind. There are dives here – so far they all seem the same – the metal round BBQ tables in the buildings w/ vinyl covered outdoor seating. But those require a posse of people. You can’t really slip in as a solo and just hang out. And like I said, they all seem the same – as it is a mono culture here. I am wondering what country dives are like…