myretroperspective

Sometimes living in a different country you forget that some of the very odd and different things around you are in fact...odd and different, they instead become a 'new norm' of sorts. So here are a few things that when I first came to Korea seemed odd but now are overlooked. .being treated differently because we are foreigners. Now, this isn't always a bad thing and I really can't complain about ever being treated badly because we're foreigners. And every once in awhile, we'll get a special treat only available to us. Like at a local Italian restaurant, we get free drinks on certain nights with the purchase of a meal. How this is allowed and the restaurant doesn't get in trouble for being discriminatory...I have no idea but you won't hear me complain about it. Pass the wine please.  .there are...ahem... different snack options at the local convenience stores. I don't know about you but when I'm hungry and we stop for food, I'll choose the ch...

It's that time again!  Link up your expat/travel stories below and make sure to stop by some other bloggers and say hi! We also have a very special co-host with us this month, Nicole from Treasure Tromp  so be sure to show her some love as well! Thanks to everyone for linking up and spreading the word! We have had so much fun getting to know you all! -------------------- Have you ever lived abroad and realized that you've developed tell tale signs that you've been out of your home country for awhile? I was skyping with a good friend of mine back home the other day when all of a sudden, she started to giggle over something I said. You see, when you live overseas for a certain amount of time, you're lingo beings to...change. College turns into University, air conditioners are now air cons. We've also started using the Korean word 'mogi' for mosquito in our household. But that's a whole other type of confusing that we will impart upon our children. This who...

With the recent births of what feels like every single person on Facebook's baby, it's got me thinking a bit about baby names. And as you all know, the first name must correlate well with the last name. The girls at least have it easy and can marry out of it, but pick a bad name for the boy? And they're doomed for life. With the last name 'Diamond' I've got it harder than most people think. No, we're not related to Neil and you'd be surprised how many times I've been asked that question. By the way, this is my old student Tim, pretty much the cutest kid you'll ever meet.  In my graduating year of college, my final assignment was to make a website with my portfolio. The address was to be our full name. With the concern of a teacher, I had to search my name in every search engine imaginable. Because apparently, Chelsea Diamond sounds like a stripper. Lucky me. Thankfully, only the Chelsea soccer team and actual diamonds showed up. That's when m...

Sometimes living in a different country you forget that some of the very odd and different things around you are in fact...odd and different, they instead become a 'new norm' of sorts. So here are a few things that when I first came to Korea seemed odd but now are overlooked. .Yes. McDonalds delivers. And by the way their delivery men drive, I can't imagine it taking more than a few minutes to get your order from across town.  .We found out the hard way what happens when they overbook the bus. They have small stools in the overhead compartments that you sit on in the middle of the aisle. Thank goodness it was only an hour ride to where we were going. .Street food is something that I never really experienced in the states but have grown to love since living in Korea. Breakfast, lunch or dinner people crowd around these stalls on the street to eat just about any Korean dish. Below you can see gimbap, d deokbokki (rice cake in red spicy sauce...delicious!) and o deng (fish pas...

Korea has some of the most beautifully decorated, terrible tasting cupcakes I have ever tried. They're dry and not very sweet but hey! at least they look good! Well, a few weeks ago, my sweet friend, Amber , took me to decorate these aforementioned cupcakes for my birthday. There's a cupcake shop just down the street from her apartment where the owner teaches classes on the basics of decorating cupcakes. I should probably note here that Amber is a natural at all things DIY. You know those people that make it look effortless enough that you think you can try but then it just ends up looking like a Pinterest fail? Yea, she's one of those . Before we went, I was pumped, I was excited, I felt like all of my childhood dreams of becoming a baker were coming true. Although I'll be honest, I think I only wanted to be a baker so I had an excuse to 'taste-test' (aka stick my finger in the batter bowl) sweets all day. The first thing she had us try were 'simple'...

Welcome to the third installment of the Expat Diaries! Go ahead and link up you expat/travel stories below and make sure to stop by some other bloggers and say hi! I so look forward to reading everyone's stories each month! Thanks so much for being a part of this! So let's get started shall we? We live in a small apartment here in Korea. Well, let me rephrase that to say that in American standards, we live in a small apartment. We feel very blessed and fortunate to have the size apartment that we do because we have known couples whose work has provided them with a 300 square foot studio apartment for the both of them. How they're both still alive is beyond me. But needless to say, all three of our apartments in Korea have been smaller than what we're accustomed to back home in the States. And while some things on this list may not apply to our current spot, they all could have been said about at least one of them. So if you're sitting there wondering what qualifies ...

Sometimes living in a differe nt country you forget that some of the very odd and different things around you are in fact...odd and different. Here are  some more things from around Korea that I first thought were odd and different but now just blend into the background.  .Neon lights. Down every road at night it looks like a mini version of Vegas. .Mixing up the language. When I first moved here and started teaching kindi, they would always say 'shi shi' when they had to use the bathroom. As a naive newcomer, I assumed this was the proper way to say 'bathroom' (because kindi kids always speak in perfect grammar right?). I went to a restaurant and tried to practice my newly learned Korean phrase on the waitress to ask where the bathroom is. She started giggling and pointed towards the bathroom. I learned later that 'shi shi' is the equivalent of saying 'pee pee'. .This may just be the best thing ever invented. It's a call button, and it's placed ...

As foreigners, living in a country where we don't speak the language, making friends can be slightly more difficult. Since living here, we have found friends in...well, less than conventional ways compared to back home. Our favorite story is when we met some of our closest friends in the grocery store. Compared to other towns in Korea, there's actually a ton of foreigners where we live. But even though we're not as far and few between as other places, there's still that camaraderie between foreigners here that leads us to give a knowing smile or friendly hello whenever we pass each other on the street. Have you seen this Seinfeld episode? It's kind of like that but with 'Hey! You speak English?!  I  speak English! Let's be friends!' But even though there are plenty of other foreigners, other foreign married couples our age are still uncommon, especially when we first moved here. I remember every time we would pass one on the street, I would nudge hubs an...

I'm  so  excited for the second installment of the Expat Diaries with  Rachel ! We had such a great turn out last month and I'm so excited to read this month's posts! This is such a great opportunity to post your travel advice, questions, or expat and travel stories. But more than that, it's a great way to  connect  with fellow travel lovers and expats. So go add your post below and get to know some of the other bloggers! Last week I may have just had the most un American experience possible. I stripped down to my birthday suit in front of a bunch of Korean women. Jjimjilbangs ( 찜질방) , or Korean style bathhouses are extremely popular where I live. You can see them on just about every block and are a very common Korean past time, especially during the cooler months. These spas are gender segregated and include several different pools of varying temperatures, showers and also separate sit down showers with mirrors where women sit and scrub off ...

Sometimes living in a different country you forget that some of the very odd and different things around you are in fact...odd and different. So s ince the first installment was such a hit, I decided to collect some more things from around Korea that I first thought were odd and different but now just blend into the background.   .I swear to you, I did not marry a man named Jesemy Djamond.  .being directed not to flush tissue down the toilet. .the Korean writing everywhere even seems normal now. When we visited back home it was weird  not  to see it. .a declined English vocabulary- when your job is to simplify the English language as much as possible it only makes sense that your extensive English vocabulary tends to go out the window. For instance, it once took me and some friends a good ten minutes to come up with the word 'insult'. .not only is there popcorn to eat at the movie theaters, there is also dried squid...appetizing. .there is a whole aisle dedicated to ...