the world is our aquarium

many parents of young children are familiar with the fish tank delay- the phenomenon in which an errand involving a fish tank bearing locale takes a standard fifteen minutes longer than a comparable fish-free destination. example: wal-mart for a pack of gum. before kids: 1 minute; after kids: 26 minutes. (you forgot to add the extra 10 minutes for the fight over the gum, didn't you? who chooses the gum, what color to get, who gets to hold the gum- haven't you learned anything as a parent, don't ever buy gum with kids present!)


my original point about fish tanks is what makes the streets of south korea a difficult place to walk with kids when any kind of time constraint exists. the sidewalks are peppered with aquatic basins, each one furnished with a delightful cross section of some oceanic ecosystem. of course, the main purpose of these pint-sized environs is to serve as living menus for local eateries- a good faith display of the food's freshness. to the strolling child, however, they provide endless opportunities for delaying, tarrying, or all out filibustering of any family activity that might otherwise be planned.

the octopus was a highlight...

...until a kindly restauranteur caught the kids gazing in his tank and brought them out a sample specimen. after looking over my shoulder to make sure there were no PETA representatives present, i continued assisting in the prodding of the shark.

despite all the free entertainment we had access to, we actually did pay admission to a real aquarium at haeundae bay, although there was some discrepancy regarding the admission- although we attended on penelope's third birthday, she was still two according to the date in california where she was born. we used the younger of the ages for infant admission. dubious, perhaps, but if it puts fourteen thousand south korean won back in my pocket, i'm willing to live with the guilt.

(the korean word for aquarium, by the way, is a'-kwe-ri'-um, with the stress on the first and penultimate syllables, as opposed to the dominant second syllable in english.)