With the recent amount of rain we have been having, it seems only sensible to put up a post regarding umbrella etiquette (or lack thereof). I do believe in previous posts that I mentioned not owning an umbrella while in Idaho because they really were not all that necessary. Within 20 minutes or so, most weather was over with.
Definitely not the case here. One merely does not stop at owning just one umbrella. It seems many of us have garnered quite the collection over our stay in Korea. Many factors are involved. We all seem to have a lightweight travel one for those emergency purposes. The go up from there to the nearly tent size double decker (I wish I had a picture of that to show you), models that do just about everything but fly you to your destination like Mary Poppins. One thing most of us can agree on is that owning a clear plastic one with a white handle seems to be a one use only item. They are the most common ones found abandoned and inside out on the street corners.
All of this begs the question. In a place with so many people and so many umbrellas, what is one to do when passing by, going into a store and so forth. I cannot begin to know all the answers but I have made some observations.
1. When passing on a sidewalk..who should lift their umbrella higher so as not to have a collision? Is it the taller person, the older person. Is it more of a sideways movement or straight up and down?
I do know that if you come upon a couple, they will not divert said umbrella for anything so it is up to you to move it.
2. What is the prime angle to hold your umbrella? Is it vertical or more at an angle? Some days I am nice and dry and some days my backpack is soaked, no matter the umbrella size.
3. Here they have plastic umbrella bags in front of almost every single building. You put your umbrella in it to take it in the store, restaurant, school, or what have you. At some point though it needs to dry out. When and where is it appropriate to take it out of the bag?
4. When walking behind small children, use caution. They usually keep the umbrella down over their face and cannot see where they are going. Dangerous weaving can and does occur for them but they will not be satisfied with a simple hooded jacket.
5. Is there ever a good reason for a jousting or thrusting maneuver? Just curious because that might be fun.
Well until I can observe and find answers for these and other questions, I am waiting for this umbrella model to hit Korea...it should be along soon.
