Sweaty Kids, Fanny Packs, and a Cultural Difference I Can't Wrap My Head Around

This entry is going to be three short things, and then an explanation that COMPLETELY bamboozles me.

1) Ryan is the sweatiest kid I've ever seen in my LIFE.  It's actually kind of funny, but every day during gym he gets so into the games that by the end of the lesson (which is only 30 minutes) he is absolutely pouring sweat.  From about two minutes after stretches end you can see the beads of sweat start to slowly make their bid for freedom from his temples.  But he's so joyful that somehow it isn't even a little bit gross.  I don't know how to explain it.  Today in gym they played robot dance and musical chairs (yeah, that counts as gym-- sad) which is always great to watch.  Dancing to kids the world over seems to be nothing more than jumping up and down and flailing.  Not that it's much more than that with most adults, but still.  Steve is the funniest kid at this, because he just does the robot the whole time, and then some stuff that looks like low-rent karate followed by a little air guitar, all the while with the hugest grin I've ever seen plastered on his face.  Cutest kid in history.  Anyway, Ryan.  He gets so concentrated and into gym.  He's so intense about it that I actually start to worry about him, until he wins a game and breaks out into cheers and falls onto his knees and leans back, closing his eyes and holding up his two fists screaming "Ole!"  which, oddly, is a phrase commonly used by both Korean children and adults due to a funny commercial that featured it.  

2) We found a hookah bar last weekend, which I forgot to write about.  They only had beer or red wine and a bunch of food.  We got a fruit plate, which was FULL of fresh pineapple, Asian pears, honeydew, cherry tomatoes, Korean grapes, and several other fruits which were all perfectly ripe.  It was really good.  They had only one flavor of hookah (blueberry, which isn't a particularly great flavor), but still, it was great to be there.  The decor was really awesome too.  I'll be posting pictures on Facebook.  I'm thinking about getting an account on a photo website for those of you who are Facebook-less.  Thoughts?

3) Cal (in my Grade 2 class) wore a fanny pack today.  It had multiple pockets and cartoon characters on it.  For some reason it reminded me of my dad.  Maybe because he wears fanny packs even when we tell him not to, and whenever we steal or hide them he magically manages to find more as if it's 1992 and they spontaneously sprout from the walls.  Who knows why.

Now, the cultural lesson of the day.

Dating in Korea is extremely strange to me, coming from the Western perspective.  First, the only way to start a relationship with someone is to be set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.  If you like them, you keep seeing them for a few more dates.  Then, if you still like them, you become boyfriend and girlfriend.  Then, and only then, do you kiss for the first time.  There is no kissing frogs to find your prince, no stupid drunken mistakes, NO sex with someone who isn't your partner, no friends with benefits.  There is also no intimate contact of any kind with people who are not your significant other, even if you are single.  Meaning there is no cuddling at the movies with a friend of the opposite sex, no walking with your arms around each other, nothing like that.  You are either together and allowed to touch or you just don't touch at all.  Many of the women in my Korean group are in their late 20s and early 30s and have never really had a boyfriend because none of their blind dates went particularly well.  Can you imagine that?  One of the women is 29 and hasn't gone on a date in 6 YEARS!  She only went on six or seven blind dates in her life, and they never really went beyond seeing each other once or twice.  I'm being polite and haven't asked (I asked her about dating in Korea and she told me all this) but that probably means she is 29 years old and has never been kissed.  I don't understand that at all.  Even if you randomly meet someone and get along well and there's a spark, you don't really exchange numbers and meet up again.  You just have to pray that a mutual friend comes out of the woodwork and sets the two of you up, I guess.  She said sometimes it happens, but not often.   How does anyone ever end up meeting someone they really love?  How does anyone ever end up meeting anyone at all?  Friends and family, I love you but I don't trust you enough to find the love of my life for me.  Sorry.