The Journey Itself Is Home

Seoul actually smells nice. I went out with a friend yesterday and I really like the city, though it does look a bit weird. A substantial part of it seems to be made from clusters of houses that are so much alike that there is something obsessive about it. It is like a wardrobe of a person with obsessive compulsive disorder, ten pieces of identical suits, twenty white shirts and seven red ties…

We had great food, Korean barbecue and cold noodles that I was a bit suspicious about, but they turned out to be delicious. And the barbecue was fantastic.

The language problem is another matter. So far it has been very difficult to have a conversation in English with the Korean people, though I’m aware that I have not met many of them yet and so cannot generalize. But even the staff in the hotel I’m staying in speaks English very badly. At the same time they CONSTANTLY smile at you. They try so hard at appearing nice that it gets artificial. Sometimes feel I’m staying with The Stepford Wives. Except that here the Wives are of both sexes.

Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m really impressed by the Koreans, I think they are smart, cultivated and beautiful. I just wish the hotel staff would relax and be more human. As it is, I feel like I’m an outsider in an alien world.

(Probably just the Blackberry withdrawal talking…)