Dear Mom and Dad,
Well, more for mom and less for dad. Sorry dad, this may be a topic you are not
very interested in. It’s more for the
ladies…
I love going shopping. And I live in a town that is fortunate
enough (read: big enough) to have one of every major department store. Just one is enough. I don’t need to remember neighborhoods when
asking for Home Plus, or getting confused about which Lotte Mart someone wants
to meet at. But that’s not the story
today. Today's story is a little more personal.
I was shopping for personal feminine hygiene
products. And of course this is Korea,
the land of the helpful sales clerk. There
are two main types of sales clerks, when facing foreigners. The first and most common is the shy “I see
you, but I’m afraid to ask you anything.”
They usually smile and keep standing there until you approach them. Usually these tend to be younger women. The older women sales clerks, which are closer
to the ajumma age range, have the ajumma mentality. A little abrupt and sometimes overly helpful
in a “This is my way, so it’s going to be your way, too.” I once bought a roll of paper towels because an
older sales women stuck it in my basket for me.
I’m not sure why, she was selling mini packaged sausages…
Well like I said, I was shopping for
personal hygiene materials, which is not as easy as it sounds in a foreign
language. Luckily most products have
some kind of picture on them and you can figure things out from there. There is some trial and error involved in
that, like the one time I thought I was buying travel tissue… My first visit to a restroom without toilet
paper proved me wrong. "Ooooh-hhooo, Nooo!
Well this time I was in Home Plus, my
personal favorite for buying the occasional western food brands that are
marginally less expensive than other conveniently nearby options. I don’t like traveling long distances for
groceries, especially without a car. I
can’t cook Korean food very well, and from some of my practice results,
probably shouldn’t try until I take some lessons!
Anyway back to the story. Personal Hygiene aisle in Home Plus. Not my favorite aisle to be in, especially
when the store is busy. This time there
were not one, not two, but three clerks in the aisle. The first one was the shy one, the third one
was at the other end, and the middle one…Oh, the middle one was right where I
wanted to be! Alas, and alack! Woe is
me, I want to pick my things and be gone!
I know, generally, what I want, but I think I must’ve spent 5 seconds
too long in choosing. I couldn’t find my
usual brand, hence the hesitation.
Sales clerk approaches, and in Korean says
what I guessed was “Can I help you?” I said “No, I’m all right!” She stayed however and saw what I was
studying. She reached over to a
handy-dandy visual guide to products and brands. On a large card were actual samples of
products. Kinda handy! The first set of cards was of the
normal kinds you find in Korea. These
are usually very thin and practically useless.
I wanted something a little sturdier, so I looked at the next card she very
sincerely handed me from where I have no idea.
I cannot describe the unique mixture of
nervous astonishment and humor, horror and embarrassment, amazement and wonder, at such an
object placed before me and with such concern.
Maybe, it was because I was expecting the next card to be a logical
upgrade; slightly thicker, but still the same product. The ‘enormity’ of the
situation was perplexing, and although I understand the need for such products
and it is a serious thing for some people, the products she handed me were not
for that particular serious condition.
This was completely a woman’s product.
And the American nickel glued to the first one, I could not understand
the purpose of at all. The nickel wasn’t
used to compare anything; there was nothing it COULD be compared to. It was
just there...
There was no logical size gradient, just
thin but normal.........and massive! I don’t
think there would be room left for the person wearing them…
Anyway, I quickly chose the first package I
could reach that looked similar to my normal brand, and left. When I finally opened it, there was a seriously suspicious whiff of curry, before I had a truly vivid flashback
to my travel tissue issue… “Ohhh-hhhoooo,
Nooooo!!!!”
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