This weekend I went on the hunt for art supplies. As I was making my way to the art store I saw sales rack after sales rack of super cute clothes. I am pretty cheap and hate to spend money but the sign screaming “SALE” always makes me stop. So, I stopped and grabbed about 6 items I wanted to try on. I took the clothes into the store and pointed at the dressing room. As I stood there waiting for the Ajumma to motion that I could go in, she grabbed the clothes from my hand, took 3 of the shirts and handed the other three back.
I was confused, until she pointed to the 3 she was holding and said “You no try, you big size, stretchy, no try.” None of the shirts had sizes on them so I had taken the time to hold each one up and ensure it would fit. I knew the shirts she had in her hand would fit me but I still wanted to make sure they looked good. I tried to take them back from her and she refused. So, I told a stupid lie and said the shirts were for my “thin” sister, just so she would give me the shirts back. I tried the shirts on and not only did they fit, they looked great! I justified her actions by telling myself the reason she did that was because I was bundled up with 4 layers of clothes on and she couldn’t tell what size I was. But the truth is, that’s just how things work here.
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Sporting my size medium pullover for my run
tonight… Thank you very much!! |
Tuesday on my lunch break, I headed to go get groceries. Outside of the store were racks and racks of the long sleeve workout pull overs. They had all kinds of crazy colors and they were only $7 so of course I stopped to look. I picked through the colors looking for a medium and handed two pullovers to the Korean man only to hear the words “You no medium, you big size!” He proceeded to tell me in broken English he was a medium and I am much bigger than him so I needed to buy extra large. In that moment I couldn’t wrap my head around why this man would give me such a hard time as I was trying to hand him money. It shouldn’t matter what size I am buying, it shouldn’t matter what color I am buying, if I am trying to give you money, just take it!
The standard of beauty in Korea is so ridiculous and I feel so bad for the girls living here who think they need double eye lids, a small face, white skin and blonde hair to be beautiful. I really wish they could see how beautiful they are. I am surrounded by gorgeous women every day who do everything in their power live up to what their culture tells them is beautiful and I just want to help them understand there is more to life than being thin and pretty.
So proud of you Brandy and your courage to be a light in Korea. I am so blessed by your heart and experiences your are sharing through your blog. Praying for all of God’s best on your journey!!