When you notice you don’t notice it anymore.

Being in Korea for a little over a year now, I still pretty much am a rookie. Meeting other foreigners (when I really have to), one of the first questions that are always asked are where are you from, and how long have you been here. I’m guilty of asking that same question over and over, too. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s something similar as asking where are you? every time you call someone on a mobile phone. It doesn’t really matter at all, but you still ask.

Either way, things change. Most often you don’t notice they’ve changed, and those tend to be the good changes. When you first come to Korea, all is good, so to speak. You’re living in this haze of wow, people are so interesting and kind. That wears off after a few months, and then the frustration of the older folks kicks in. Older men and women tend to shove you aside in the subway, making way for that free spot. People start pushing you when their stop comes, whether you’re the first in line or waiting behind 20 other people.

For us rookies, it’s the hot topic we can’t stop talking about. When meeting a fellow foreigner you nearly always end up bitching about these things. After a while, though, you get used to it. You find your way around it, either by just letting things be, or shoving them back every now and then, just to remind them what weight they’re trying to shove aside. Or something.

While still being a rookie, I do feel like I’m getting there. Sure, I mention it on occasion, and I have my days where I’d rather drop my backpack on one of those tiny old farts, but generally I just don’t really care much anymore. You learn and adapt, become one of the fellow shovers, group-huggers and, in some ways, PMP-lovin’ korean ridin’ the subway.

I like it.