Yep, it’s true, I’m tan in Korea! I remember one time while working at CPS, one of my coworkers was teaching her daughter how to say the colors in Spanish. I don’t know why, but we challenged her to tell us the color of our skin. My coworker who’s actually Hispanic, but gets mistaken for being Asian was quickly referred to as “amarillo” and as the littler girl pointed to me she shouted “rojo.”
I tell you that story because Saturday on my 6 hour walking adventure, I went into a cosmetic store to buy makeup. I don’t wear makeup very often, only when I’m going out with friends and shortly before I left to come here, I ran out of the little powder I had left and forgot to buy some. I don’t know if it’s the aftermath of the jet lag or the fact that I’m getting older, but I have dark circles under my eyes and I’ve been in desperate need of concealer and powder. In my attempt to communicate with the girl at the store who insisted on helping me (even though I’m sure I would have been much better off without her help) she picked a powder and I laughed inside thinking “Seriously, that is way too light, can’t you see my face.” After exchanging several different hand signals to try to tell her I needed a darker color, three shades later we got something that looked like it might work.
I used the concealer and powder the next day before church only to realize it was not even close to the color I need. But, I’ve learned something about the women here in Korea, they desire to be shades lighter than their actual skin color. So, for the time being (and because I am cheap and don’t want to spend more money on make-up) I will join the light faced club and wear the powder that is too light for my skin.
Here are some other interesting things I’m sure you would love to know about the country I currently call home… enjoy! 😀
– Whitener is put in face moisturizer, to achieve the lighter skin look I was just referring too.
– No one where’s sunglasses. The sun shines just as bright in Korea as it does in Texas but I’m the only person walking around with bug eyed sunglasses.
– Koreans are fascinated with foreigners. Everywhere I walk people are staring and random men laugh and say hello in English 3 times as they pass you looking back.
– When taking a picture, instead of saying “cheese” you say “kimchi” and the picture would not be complete without someone putting up the peace sign.
– If a Korean says the word “spicy” it is code for “You crazy American girl, this is too hot for you!”
– And finally, I would like to thank Stephanie so very much. For without her, I would have bought the laundry detergent that was not actually laundry detergent, but bleach, and I would have a very bland wardrobe.
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