7 Months Later . . .

You know you've been in Korea for a long time when . . .

You start smacking your food
You choose to use chopsticks, even if forks are available
You eat cake, fruit, cookies, and chips with chopsticks, too
You don't say "Excuse me," or "Sorry" when you run into someone or shove your way into or out of the subway
You have the ability to shove in and out of the subway at rush hour without wincing
You choose to stand in the bus or subway car for 30-45 minutes, even when seats are available, just because you're used to it
You walk for 17 km with your roommate just because you can
You bow your head to greet someone older than you or to thank someone
You hand things to people (even other foreigners) with both hands or with one hand touching your other elbow
You catch yourself correcting a student's English mistake with Konglish (Korean English)
You forget how to speak English
You speak three different languages in a single conversation
Tteokbokki is one of your favorite Korean foods--vegetarianized, of course
Jjinja becomes a regular part of your vocabulary
You enjoy eating goguma and only goguma for dinner (Korean sweet potato)
You can play PUMP
You enjoy sharing food


You know you're still a foreigner when . . .

Your landlady comes up to you on a regular basis and speaks to you for 20 minutes or more in Korean and you aren't able to get the message across to her that you don't speak Korean
You sit in silence as the church members jabber away in Korean
You play with your food while students that you went to dinner with talk in Korean and just wait for them to stop to translate for you
You go to Itaewon at least once a month for dinner and imported foods
You still don't like most Korean foods and can only eat Korean food 3 times a week
You get stared at in the subway
Random people come up to you to practice their English
You give your taxi driver the wrong directions
When you mention certain Korean place names, you get blank stares because you didn't pronounce them correctly
You don't like kimchi
You still prefer to eat cereal for breakfast
Fish markets still gross you out
Every day you travel is an adventure
You're the only one you know who can cook pasta and be praised for it
Older women pull your hair in the subway to see if your curls are real
You get told you're beautiful almost every day
You laugh at Koreans for looking in the mirror everywhere they go or for putting on makeup in public
You get frustrated by the lack of human rights that Korean employees have
You know that New York is a state and not only part of a city name
Most Koreans don't want to take a picture with you because "your face is too small"