Abs Abroad

I didn’t know what to expect from my handsome gym stranger. Would he text? He did, about thirty minutes after I got home. I looked at his profile, a photo of him on stage, and his background, a photo of him and his family, and promptly burst into tears. Deep down I had expected him to be another catfish, or another weirdo, or another narcissistic playboy looking to “experience” a foreign woman, and the unexpected relief made me cry. Dating in Korea has done a number on me. We texted back and forth and I learned that he was a musical theater actor. He lived with his family and had…

On a low-key Saturday evening, I finished up at the gym and threw on my clothes: baggy cargo pants and a men’s denim jacket. I headed to the gym doors but suddenly spotted a handsome stranger at the water fountain. He was tall with big, expressive eyes and we made eye contact over his water bottle in what felt like an electric moment. Well, that was nice, but nothing will come from it because this is Korea, I concluded, leaving and crossing the street. Until I heard a voice in Korean say, “Excuse me.” I turned around. It was him. He must have set down his water bottle and rushed…

After weeks of pesky insomnia, I vowed to lie down early. Just as I had finished my nightly routine and turned out all the lights, I heard a commotion on the street below. “Come out!” came a woman’s voice. The area where I live is not particularly famous for its safety so I assumed this woman was calling out someone to fight. I’ve seen stranger things in my neighborhood. But the rustling and yelling continued so I grudgingly wiggled off my fold-out mattress to peep out the window. I was shocked to see that everyone in my apartment building had gathered in their pajamas in the street. Is this… is…

SNU, Seoul National University, is lauded as the top university in Korea. For those outside of East Asia, it’s hard to convey the intensity of competition here. Students spend their entire lives trying to get into SNU, and if not, Korea University or Yonsei. With the name of a SKY university behind them, they can earn a spot at one of the huge conglomerates with a guaranteed high salary or they can even become president. The perceived gap between SKY and other universities is so large, however, that many employers won’t even look at a resume if it’s not from SKY. Going to a fifth-ranked school is about the same…

In a CU near downtown Ulsan as I was juggling a protein drink and several granola bars, a preschool boy ran past the floor to ceiling windows. He stopped and looked at me on one side of the glass. I stopped and looked at him from the other. After a moment, I smiled at him with an over-exaggerated, teeth-revealing, silly expression. He did the same back to me and then ran away. I stood laughing to myself in between packets of crackers and bags of chips. After purchasing my breakfast items, I exited through the side door, curious as to where my little friend went. I assumed that he was…

Every hike I’ve ever done in Korea has ended with me wondering in despair if I have irreparably damaged my knee cartilage. As I struggled through another hike in an attempt to touch grass and see some green in the concrete jungle, I thought about how these trails parallel Korean society. There are no walking mountain trails in Korea. All go in a straight grueling line directly to the highest point. Hikers are expected to endure the grinding of their patellas as they crawl to the top. Suffering is not optional, it’s required. The first time I went on a hike here I was distraught, not only because I was…