Being French

So it would seem that one is not allowed to be French in Korea. In fact, it appears to be very much frowned upon.

Everyone looks as you oddly when you try to speak the French language; they're all like "ANNYEO" (ummm, that's "no" in Korean... in case anyone was wondering.  Ya, I'm practically fluent...). Plus, they also disapprove of sitting in the French style. That is, sitting side by side as you drink your cafe, as opposed to facing one another.

Last night Caitlin and I attempted to challenge the Korean anti-French sentiment.  In a busy Starbucks we chose to sit side by side and see whether or not anyone would sit in the same manner opposite us. Well, I decided to challenge my theory; Caitlin was merely a not-so-unwilling participant in my ploy (albeit, one who got a Caramel Latte out of the whole thing), occasionally stating "Ummm, is this allowed?".  Whatever our roles, the outcome was indeed decisive--the only people who ventured to sit opposite us was a couple, the female half of which was heavily pregnant and was looking rather uncomfortable.  And, as soon as we stood to leave, the man immediately moved his seat to be opposite his wife.

So there you have it. In a not-so-scientifically-correct experiment we have concluded that Koreans would rather not be French.

We have also realized that I'm kind of missing Europe and have become rather nostalgic about my trip to Paris this past summer.

You may also have come to the conclusion that we have been consuming astronomical amounts of coffee since our Winter Holiday began.

More on that later.