The problem with moving to a new country is the utter helplessness you experience as you adjust. It's not just culture shock in my case -- which is a factor for sure.
What is really getting to me is the inability to do anything on my own, and not because I don't want to be Miss Independent. I'd like to have my own cell phone and bank account and even Home Plus family card. The only reason I have internet is because my kind neighbors have unsecured networks.
I also need to stop bitching about not knowing Korean and get my ass in gear.
Korea has some seemingly strange laws regarding cell phones, their contracts, etc. I cannot buy a cell phone until I get my alien registration card (ARC) and upon getting my ARC, I am not likely to be lucky enough to score a year-long contract. What's worse, or just a pain, is that I am not likely to get a fancy, technologically-savvy Asian cell phone without the contract.
It might be easier to buy an iPhone from the States, ship it here, then jailbreak it, then visit a vendor rather than waiting the estimated four weeks remaining, then hoping I can even get a cell phone.
But - my saving grace has been having an old cell phone registered to an American back in America that can receive free calls or texts. As I've started to make friends, it's been a big help in arranging gatherings.
However, the only way I can initiate communication is by one of the following: borrowing another phone, Facebook messaging a new friend to text the other new friend to call me, staring at Facebook chat, or staring at the phone, willing it to ring. (Hey, it worked tonight!)
I have never spent so much time on Facebook chat -- or Facebook itself for that matter.
I know that it's horribly annoying, but all of my new friends have been wonderfully accommodating and understanding of the situation. Most people are just amazed that I have access to a phone! ("You already have a phone?" they ask. No, not quite.) One of these friends explained it as my being the younger sister who needs constant checking up on.
I wish it weren't true.
I need directions everywhere still, help telling a taxi where to take me, help hopping in the sauna with other naked ladies (for another day), help ordering in a restaurant, help playing darts in a bar.
But what really got me today, and nearly resulted in a total utter breakdown in the Daejeon metro, was the overbearing and unnecessary attention when simply going on my daily commute to work. It seems ridiculous and pointless, and possibly complete ingratitude on my part, but charging a metro card is one of the few things I can do without my hand held.
I know how subway systems work. Buses, I'll admit, I'm rubbish. MARTA's damn near useless, but I had no trouble in Seoul, I had no trouble in Prague, I had no trouble in Newcastle (other than making sure I never got caught without paying), and I certainly had no trouble in London. I admit to having trouble in Budapest, but I paid my fine, learned my lesson, and spent most of my time there walking instead. Daejeon's metro is a walk in the park: one line, no varying fees, signs and recharging machines in English. Cake.
So when I took my It's Daejeon T-Money card with me to the turnstile and it didn't greet me with "kamsahamnida," I only got confused when the red arrow turned to the blue circle. But as the guard just looked angry, not helpful, I walked back to the recharging machine. I put my card under the reader, and then the old station guard started helping me. But he started pressing buttons in Korean. I pressed the English button with an apologetic smile, as the old man called over the original guard. Who then took my card to the window, kept talking to me in Korean, and insisted that I charge my card at the window. I had everything under control myself. I just didn't realize I had only W300 left. He took my money, took way too long confirming that yes, I did want my entire manwon (W10,000 -- $10) on the card.
I missed my train by seconds.
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