SchneiderWeb

I've been here in Seoul for nearly three weeks (three weeks tomorrow, to be exact), and now have somewhat of a feel for the way in which life is lived differently here from back home. Koreans do some things better, some things worse, and some things just differently.  The Better Cellular and wireless technology : Korea is home to Samsung and LG, so it should come as no surprise that Korea is a world leader in all things cellular. Every Korean in Seoul seems to have a smartphone, from elementary school kids to grandmothers and grandfathers. And you can use your smartphone to pay for just about everything, which is convenient but also a little Brave New World for me, especially considering the rampant identity theft here. As for wireless, you can get a WiFi signal in the subway--no awkward eye contact there--everyone has their head down in their phone. Bathrooms : Korean bathrooms don't have bathtubs or shower stalls. Instead they feature tiled floors that slope down t...

I'm not sure whether I'm chagrined or relieved that 9/11 passed here in Seoul and I wasn't even aware of it, at least not until I came home in the evening and logged on to Facebook to see all the profile pictures that had been changed to honor the victims of that horrific day, the rescue workers who served heroically, and the majesty of the towers themselves. Sandy and I lived so close to the towers that we were almost too close to appreciate their grandeur. We did, however, take the subway and frequent the shopping mall beneath the towers daily. So while they were a place of work for some, and a tourist destination for others, for me they were the place where I met Sandy each night, the place where I did my banking and clothes shopping, and the place that, surprisingly, served as the backdrop for a weekly farmers' market. Only when my family came to visit the previous summer did I view the towers with the eyes of a tourist, from the observation deck atop...

Either the world turned upside down or I'm on the other side of the globe! We left JFK last Tuesday at 1:00 PM and arrived at Incheon on Wednesday at 4:00 PM, 27 hours later. We were told by the captain that the flight would take 13 hours and 40 minutes, when in fact it took 13 hours and 42 minutes. I don't know where those two minutes went, but I want them back. I could use them because my sleep cycle has still not fully acclimated to Seoul time. One of my bigger fears about coming to Korea was fortunately not realized, as the dogs passed their inspection and were not quarantined. Korea is strict about bringing pets into the country. The dogs had to go through multiple examinations and vaccinations, be microchipped, and be issued health certificates which then needed to be validated by the FDA office in central New Jersey. As if that weren't enough, they also had to be on diets because they and their carriers could not weigh more than 11 lb. if they were to ride in the c...