2016年5月15日 星期日

Impression of Seoul

4/21 
Lyft的司機是從Mexican移民過來的。早晨4點到8點他兼職Lyft和Uber,之後正職在home shelter幫助非法移民進來的問題兒童。他在Mexican是兒童心理的老師,他說在Mexican當老師頭路不好。事實上任何職業頭路都不好,除了販毒。Breaking bad裡面演的都是真的;它沒演的,是毒梟比政府還照顧人民,蓋醫院、超市、住宅。「你住哪?」「我沒地方住」「這鑰匙給你,你以後住這。房子、地權,都是你的」

 4/22 
首爾放眼望去沒有人穿拖鞋,西裝的人很多很多。司機大叔用很爛的英文跟我解釋這裡是江南(Gangnam)。我說晚上要去東大門(Dongdaemun),寫漢字給他看,他懂。後來我真覺得名詞的音可通中文:南部(Nambu)、南大門(Namdaemun)、忠武路(Chungmuro)、板橋(Pangyo)、蔘雞湯(samgyetang)。最妙的是"真的"通台語。多數沒辦法溝通的情況下,人與人的互動單純而親切。

 4/23 
我聽說信用卡很方便,一點韓圜都沒換就上路了。(以後還是換一下,沒現金太刺激了) 第一個大問題是身上只有11k₩ (~11美元),它只能用現金儲值,我沒有現金,沒有人用paypal。後來我跟一群intern出去吃飯,我刷卡,他們付我現,20k₩入袋;跟美國同事吃飯等級就不同了,炸雞啤酒,60k₩入袋

4/24 
韓國交通很方便,即使長程如台北台中,巴士也是全天候20min一班,還有專用巴士道,很多時候比計程車快而且便宜10倍;相反的,買車是身分象徵。韓國同事說這停車場不劃線,繳錢後停車各顯神通。政府來查時,地主不承認就不繳稅。韓國稅10%。東大門不喜歡信用卡交易。

4/25 
總部派過來的我們是地方支援。地方很有自治的fu。雖然跟總部早上7點daily call安排計畫,但總總原因實際工作都只有半天以下(咦?!)能夠第一線看見自家機台是個priviledge。在總部時每台機台我們都花很多心血確保它正常運作,軟體測試過關會很開心地email大家,如數家珍報告解決了哪些bug、添增了哪裡功能。所以出貨就像嫁女兒,出差就像來看女兒。 

SangKuy
My dear friend at Maryland. Now he is back Korea, and I Bay area. What is a friend? How about hosting you 3 times in 2 weeks? An intensive way to familiarize Korea quickly is to be taken from Gyeongbokgung to MeongDong to Gangnam to Hongik University. 10 years ago when many were still imported, Korea now exports cosmetics, music, and dressing style worldwide. To me, descendants of the sun symbolizes Korean pride. Interestingly, national brands' smart phones and vehicles are more expensive domestically. Housing in Seoul is as expensive as in Taipei/San Jose. I see an ajumma, as a bus driver, drives the bus across 4 lanes in only 50 meters during traffic jam. I hear fresh undergraduates drink to death in the fraternity, the social life in the obeying culture. I see young couples dress up with their traditional suits doing selfie. I see men make up no less than women. Chicken and Beer. Kakao. This is my impression of Korea. So I realize every country has their own pride and trouble, and why do we move from one to another?