بدون

Pros and Cons

If you haven’t noticed the change on my left-hand sidebar from “Currently in Jerusalem” to “Currently in Seoul”, let me state it more directly: I’m not in Jerusalem any more and I am back, temporarily, in Seoul. Due to some circumstances, I’ve wrapped up my life in al-Quds or Yerushalayim after five months there. It’s been three days since I’ve been back in Seoul and I’ve noticed some jarring differences between the two cities. Here is the list.

Pros (of being back in Seoul):
1. Family
2. Korean food
2. Let me say it again: KOREAN FOOD
3. Not being the only Asian in town (or not being stared at or sexual obscenities screamed at me on a daily basis)
4. Amazing service. I don’t need to scream and intimidate bank tellers, shopkeepers, bureaucrats, and waitresses for services I should rightfully be getting without having to harass them.
5. Public transportation
6. Being welcomed. In Jerusalem, I’ve continually needed to justify my reason for being there. As a non-Jewish, non-Christian, and non-Muslim Asian who is not a migrant worker nursing an elderly Israeli woman, many Israelis were puzzled at my reason for being there. Because (in their logic) why would anyone who is not Jewish, Christian or Muslim want to be in Jerusalem?

Cons (of being back in Seoul):
1. Not having my friends in Jerusalem
2. The doom demanding conformity to the Korean ideal
3. Freezing weather
4. The lack of quiet only heard during Shabbat
5. Jerusalem artichokes
6. The lack of diversity. In Seoul, many neighborhoods look and feel the same, with the same franchise restaurants and coffee shops in buildings with almost identical architectural designs. In Jerusalem, there is so much richness and layered depth on every street corner, ranging from the people frequenting certain neighborhoods to the architectural nuances.