Beauty is only skin deep... or some other such cheesy notion.

My best friend here is 5'5" and weighs 105 pounds. The other day teachers at her school called her "curvy". This is what I'm up against living here in Korea.

In many ways Koreans are very superficial. When I first started here, Namyi, one of my co-teachers, told me about a former American teacher she taught with. She told me that they didn't have a lot in common because he was in his 50s and a man. On the other hand, she said we would get along well because I am "young and pretty". Now I have no idea what being pretty has to do with getting along with someone, but apparently it makes a difference.

On Friday night I went out for dinner and drinks with some friends. Before I caught a cab home, I bought some delicious walnut baked good things (I like to call them "walnut balls") from a street vendor. While I was waiting for the food, a group of college-aged Korean boys started talking to me. A couple of them spoke English so I spoke with them for a little while. They then asked me to choose who was the handsomest in the group. This is not the first time I've been asked to do that. Sometimes when my co-teachers ask me to choose a student to speak in class, they will tell me to pick the handsomest boy in class. Now in the U.S. I might get a severe talking to from a parent or principal if we decided to call on students this way.

Koreans are not afraid to comment on weight here either. Although the teachers at my school don't think I eat enough, they also make sure that I get enough exercise. They love that I'm in tae kwon do, probably because they hope I will shed a few pounds. Yesterday I was teaching my students about describing people using physical characteristics. We were going over body sizes and I was explaining to my students that we don't call people fat. Peter then tried to interject that we use a nicer word like "plump" to describe someone. I tried explaining that if they called an American that, it would still be offensive. Once again I was trying to hold back my laughter during class, because "plump" is just a funny word, and not commonly used in the U.S.

My friend Chrissy also told me about a comment made at her school. For one of her Korean English teacher classes, she reads books with them and then they discuss them. She recently read The Great Gatsby with the teachers. They were discussing the book and the fact that Tom cheats on Daisy. Chrissy asked the teachers if they would forgive their husbands if they had an affair. A 24-year-old teacher said that she would have to see the woman and if she was prettier than her she would forgive her husband.

Yes, living in Korea can often be the ego boost. Yesterday a student told me I looked like Angelina Jolie, on Saturday I was walking down the street and two girls stopped me and asked if they could take pictures with me, and a lot of my students and the other teachers tell me I'm pretty. But it also has its downfalls. Koreans aren't afraid to tell me when I look tired and sick or hint that I need more exercise. Also, I don't always feel like they're genuine to me. I think many of the teachers and students only like me because I'm American, I have blue eyes, and I'm a novelty.