When I packed to come here to Korea, I figured I wouldn't need any really dressy clothes. I knew I'd be spending most of my time teaching and as much free time as possible exploring the country, mostly in blue jeans. I brought two black pants suits (a.k.a. my funeral suits, one short-sleeved, one long sleeved. I mostly wear them to church or things like the parent orientation, where they want the teachers to look really sharp) and a couple very casual skirts, but nothing fancy. All of my clothes are mix and match, very simple, very washable, and mostly good for all four seasons.

So a few weeks ago when I was invited to go to a wedding with a fellow teacher, I started to wonder what I would wear. A black pants suit like I'm going to a funeral? A denim skirt? I contemplated ordering something from the US but didn't want to pay the exorbitant shipping fees. I also contemplated having someone dig through the things I packed away in storage and send me something, but I didn't really want to put my family through an archaeological excavation. So I decided to try my luck shopping for something to wear here in Korea.

It doesn't take the world's most observant person to see that my build is much different from that of Korean women, but I figured since I've lost almost 10 pounds since I got here (stress, good walking trails, and kimchi will do that to a person) and since I occasionally see women who are taller than I am, it shouldn't be an impossible task to find something that fits. I went to a huge department store in a city of 500,000 people. Surely, they would have something, right? I stopped at the first section in the department store and through pantomime and the few Korean words I know, I tried to ask if something would fit me. No. Again, I asked at the second section. No. Third, no. After being told no at the fourth section, I asked WHERE I can find my size. The answer: "Big size-ee, here (motioning toward the whole department store), no." And she pointed to the next department store, "Big size-ee, yes!"

With that, I went to the other department store, and started asking and pantomiming there, only to get the same answer. No. No. No. No. No. Sometimes they even laughed when I asked if they had my size, "Big size-ee, no. Ha. Ha. Ha." (If you're not built like a typical Korean woman and are even thinking of going clothes shopping in Korea, be sure you have pretty high self-esteem before you start out.) Finally, I asked someone at the information counter where I could find "big size-ee" clothes. She made a few phone calls, and then another department store employee escorted me to a section of the store that carried a few things. I ended up with a very plain but classy black skirt and a very frilly white blouse. Yes, I know I don't ordinarily go for frilly. For that matter, I've never gone for frilly ever in my life, but this was the only shirt in two whole department stores (a total of six floors of clothes) that fit. I'll have to post a photo for you all next weekend.

The sizes here are also totally different from American sizes. It was quite a shock to find out that I now wear a size 77! It is just one more example for me about how the entire frame of thinking for people is different from what I'm used to. Kilograms, not pounds. Kilometers, not miles. Won, not dollars. Celecius, not Fahrenheit. Rice, not bread. Size 77, not size 10. Koreans go by their last name first. They drive on the right side of the road but walk on the left side of the sidewalk. If you frame a question in the negative (i.e., "Isn't he coming to school today?") and the answer is yes, Koreans respond "no." "Yes" would mean you are correct to say he isn't coming to school today. "No" means that it is incorrect to say "he isn't coming to school today" because the truth is that he is coming to school.

It's a completely different way of thinking, and it's a challenge for me everyday to remember that what I have known all my life is no better or worse than what they have known all their lives, but to be effective in my work here, I need to understand the Korean way of seeing the world as best as I can, so I try and I learn a little everyday.

Tomorrow is Easter. I saw the church staff unload an entire truckful of hardboiled eggs yesterday. I'm very curious.