All Eyes on Me

Back in March, I started at a new job. On my first day, I shadowed the teacher I was replacing, Hannah. In one class, a kid sneezed and everyone turned to look at me with anticipation in their eyes. I said “Bless you!” and the kids all looked amazed and then turned to Hannah who said “I told you that’s what she’d say!”

I’m the first and only foreigner to work at my language school. For many of my students and coworkers, I’m the only foreigner they have any regular contact with. Naturally, this led to some curiosity about me. Before I started, Hannah got a lot of questions about what I would be like. While she didn’t know me personally, she did know that I’m American and she herself lived in the US for 7 years. So, Hannah decided to share one particular custom that foreigners have that Koreans don’t: saying “Bless you” (or anything really) after someone sneezes.

While I’ve lived in Korea before, I never noticed it but Koreans don’t say anything when someone sneezes. They just ignore it and go about their business. I looked this up and it turns out that the China and Japan also don’t have sneeze related sayings but most other countries do.

It’s been five months and everyone still turns to look at me when someone sneezes. I wish I could stay quiet but it’s so ingrained in me that I always reflexively say “Bless you” and everyone giggles. I kinda wish Hannah had kept this nugget of cultural information to herself. 

This is how I feel when someone sneezes at work

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