Korean Cosmetics: Fear of Aging and Residual Culture Shock/Cosméticos coreanos: medo de envelhecer e choque cultural

I am quickly running out of patience for this country and everyone in it. Joel and I got into a spat on Monday over the issue, actually. Lately, I have taken to snapping at people who shove past me, cut me in line, or generally lack courtesy or respect for social order. These types of things are very common here; Koreans don't give a second thought to be being shoved past or cut in front of, since the shortages after the Korean war have left a very strong "take everything you can" philosophy in the national psyche. I thought I had grown accustomed to it, but apparently I have reached the end of my fuse. Anyway, Joel brought up the fact that I have been short with strangers and generally very agitated, so we got into an argument which ended in me dissolving into tears and wailing about how I just wanted to finish our contracts so we could go home.

Culture shock is a funny thing. When we first arrived, we watched a video on it as part of our "training," in which the presenter explained that some models show people having recurring episodes of it, rather than just going through it once at the beginning. After my first major bout, I have mostly done fine (and my Korean proficiency has definitely helped), but everyone once in a while I will still be foiled and come home extremely frustrated. Case in point: on Monday morning I tried (and failed) to get packing boxes from the post office, after the attendant talked my ear off in Konglish about different shipping rates for about ten minutes. I eventually chose two boxes and tried to buy them - only to be foiled because I tried to pay with my debit card, and they would only accept cash.

I never realized how much I would come to miss home, especially my mother. I have never had trouble with that in the past, but I have never been away from home for this long - by the time I finally land in Houston, it will have been two years since I have seen her. When I called her on Skype for her birthday, she and I talked at length about how much she missed me; she jokingly told me that she was glad that Joel would be arriving two weeks after me, so she wouldn't have to kick him out of my bed. Living here has actually given me a lot of perspective on what she went through when moving from Brazil to America, and the fact that she always intended her move to be permanent.

On the flip side, I am so not looking forward to the re-entry shock. Perhaps it is better for Joel to be away from me during that time.

I suppose, though, that I will experience culture shock in one form or another until I readjust to life back home. Case in point number two: today, a Korean woman at my yoga studio with practically no English ability tried to chat me up - while we were in the shower.
Nice Naked Lady: Where are you from? Koreans unfailingly begin these types of conversations by just plunging in - there is rarely any kind of greeting.
Naked Me: Texas. America.
NNL: You, ah, you, m-m-marry?
Me: Yes. At this point, I switch to Korean and show her my wedding ring. I have been married for five years.
NNL: Oh?! You...no baby?
Me: No.
NNL: Me too marry. Nampyeon (husband) is doctor.
Me: Ah. At this point I am scrubbing myself frantically, trying to finish as quickly as possible.
NNL: English teacher?
Me: Yes.
NNL: Ah - sorry. I am...no English.
Me: It's okay. Shower finished! I grab my stuff, bow slightly, and high-tail it outta there.
I have mastered the art of being comfortable while naked around other people - heck, I can go to the jjimjilbang with no issue - but it gets a little weird for me when strangers try to talk to you while you are both naked.

On the way back from the studio, I stopped into a cosmetics shop to pick up a replacement for my facial moisturizer. I have been trying to navigate the labrynthine market of skincare products for post-university-age women, and I am still not convinced that any product that claims to firm skin, rejuvenate skin tone, or "reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles" actually does what it says it does. However, since I have noticed the aforementioned beginning to appear on my face (and yes, Babushka, they are in fact on my face), I have begun to wade hesitantly into the fray.

When we came here, I brought two or three bottles of Oil of Olay, but that ran out before we finished our first year. I managed to get another bottle from a friend who is stationed in Osan, and then another very generous high school friend from back home sent me another bottle, but eventually all my stores ran out. Korea is well-known regionally for excellent-quality skin care products, though, so I figured that I couldn't go wrong picking up something Korean. So, after my awkward naked Konglish conversation, I walked into Aritaum and told the sales rep that I was looking for a frangrance-free face cream. "Anti-age?" she asked, and I nodded as I began to wonder if my age was somehow showing. She brought me over to the Iope section and let me sample a delightful gold bottle that read Super Vital Cream Bio Intensive (Bioscience Formula). It was nice and light, with only a slight fragrance, so I reached into my backpack for my wallet and asked for the price. "Sip-man won," she cheerfully informed me. W100,000 - or just under $100.

I balked, and then began to wonder if I was being reasonable. Sure, I can pick up a bottle of Oil of Olay for about $20 or $30 back home, but is it enough? Is there perhaps something to all of the women who spend hundreds of dollars on Lancôme or Estée Lauder or Clinique to battle age, that constant specter that haunts women? I reasoned that although it was overpriced, I wasn't going to keep putting hand lotion on my face, so I decided to use my birthday money from my mother-in-law and just go for it. I was pleasantly surprised to see the sales rep include a sampler set of five products from the same line and ten samples of other products with my 50 ml bottle of Super Vital Cream Bio Intensive. I walked back to the apartment feeling (more) like I got my money's worth. And then I got home and opened the boxes.

Do all five of these go on my face at the same time?

The product I actually purchased.

Free samples to make me feel worse about myself. Yay!

Joel sat with me and the laptop as I sorted through everything. What is the difference between cream and eye cream? Why do I need a softener, and does it come before or after the serum? Emulsion was a term I had only heard in chemistry class. I suppressed my rising panic as I picked up each item and tried to make sense of the Korean on the small packages. Joel's approach seemed more simple. "I think it goes on your face."
"Yes, but in what order?"
"Does it matter? Just put it on your face!"
"But the order might be important! Look it up."
Together we Googled the product line. "It says here the softener goes first, then the emulsion, then the serum, then the cream," he read. "So basically just follow the order they are in the box."
"What about the eye cream?"
"That probably goes on your eyes." I sighed as I fingered the miniature bags. "It's simple. Just put it on your face!"

We laughed as we got ready for work, but since then I have become more contemplative. As my birthday approached last week, one of my coworkers and I were joking that as we have gotten into our later twenties, we have noticed (painfully) that things catch up with us a lot faster physically. I can't stuff my face with cake without consequences anymore; in a few days it will be noticeably present on my waistline. If I lapse in working out regularly, I notice the difference. I tire more easily and can no longer function well on very little sleep. Illness is a lot harsher and takes longer to kick. Yes, I am aware that I am only 28, but my hyper-perceptive self-image has seized on these things as time creeps forward. I am now at the point where I seriously asking myself such ridiculous questions as whether or not I need to drop $100 on a skincare regimen to stay beautiful.

At least we finally got some real snow tonight.