The Joys of Being a Waygook

Waygooks

The Korean word for foreigner is waygook. Being a waygook isn't something that's easy to forget, but if perchance one does forget this fact for a brief moment, there are many friendly little reminders...

• Friendly Little Reminder #1: You will hear yourself being talked about, which goes something like this, "Korean korean korean korean waygook korean korean korean!"
• FLR #2: If you're caucasian, you will stand out like a sore thumb. If you're a 5'10" caucasian female (like Yours Truly), well, you stand out like Godzilla in the heart of Tokyo. Good thing there are plenty of skyscrapers here for me to climb.
• FLR #3: You find yourself miming everything, even when you're talking with other waygooks. (Seriously, I've only been here for 2 1/2 weeks and I can rock some International Charades!!)
• FLR #4: You find yourself shocked by 9/10 of what you eat. Most of this is self-inflicted due to sheer ignorance at the grocery store. You will find yourself asking such questions as, "Why does this baguette have a creamy center?", "Is that really edible?" and "Why do my noodles have eyes?"
• FLR #5: You forget to take a number at the post office, bank or other place of official business and, though you waited in what appeared to be a line, get chastised for trying to butt in line without taking a number. "Way to go, waygook."

There are many other Friendly Little Reminders that I will write about later. For now, it's time for this waygook to scale a large building and swat angrily at biplanes.