Foreign Relations
Up to this point I have only discussed some of the negative aspects of living in Seoul as an outsider - I think it is time a brighten this blog up and share some of the upsides of being a foreigner.
Yesterday morning, I woke up and checked my e-mail, put on some tunes and got ready to face the day when suddenly there was a knock on my door. I walked the five feet across my apartment and opened the door to find a woman about my age standing there with a smile. She was a warm woman who seemed like she wanted to tell me something. She muttered some words in Korean and smiled. I smiled back and said, "I speak English. I don't know what you are saying." She reached into her bag and pulled out a Bible. I realized that she wanted to spread the good Word. As much as I wanted to invite her in for a coffee and a talk about why I'm going to hell, the language barrier meant this could never happen. I pointed to her Bible and gave a thumbs up. She was still smiling and expecting me to see the light, so I quoted one of the premier bands of the 70's and 80's, the Doobie Brothers and said, "Jesus is just all right with me," and closed the door in her face. Being foreign isn't always bad.
You know those people on the street that hand out flyers. Allow me to quote the late great Mitch Hedberg: "When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying, 'here, you throw this away.'" There are tons of these flyer-hander-outers in Seoul. I saw two women the other day pretty much guarding the subway exit forcing every person that walked by to take one. As I approached, they both looked at the ground and pretended like I wasn't there. No one ever gives me flyers. I don't know if they assume I won't be able to understand it or it's just bad publicity to have your flyer seen in the hands of a foreigner, but I never have to deal with it. I am immune to the street advertisement guerillas. Good thing too, because there aren't very many trash cans in Seoul.
Life is good for a foreigner here in Seoul. Sure, there are times where I wish I understood my surroundings a little better and wish I was more in the "in" crowd, but I don't think there is anything wrong with finding the benefits of being an outsider and exploiting them. Now I've just got to find a Korean woman who can't resist my exotic Kansas accent...
Love from Seoul
Yesterday morning, I woke up and checked my e-mail, put on some tunes and got ready to face the day when suddenly there was a knock on my door. I walked the five feet across my apartment and opened the door to find a woman about my age standing there with a smile. She was a warm woman who seemed like she wanted to tell me something. She muttered some words in Korean and smiled. I smiled back and said, "I speak English. I don't know what you are saying." She reached into her bag and pulled out a Bible. I realized that she wanted to spread the good Word. As much as I wanted to invite her in for a coffee and a talk about why I'm going to hell, the language barrier meant this could never happen. I pointed to her Bible and gave a thumbs up. She was still smiling and expecting me to see the light, so I quoted one of the premier bands of the 70's and 80's, the Doobie Brothers and said, "Jesus is just all right with me," and closed the door in her face. Being foreign isn't always bad.
You know those people on the street that hand out flyers. Allow me to quote the late great Mitch Hedberg: "When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying, 'here, you throw this away.'" There are tons of these flyer-hander-outers in Seoul. I saw two women the other day pretty much guarding the subway exit forcing every person that walked by to take one. As I approached, they both looked at the ground and pretended like I wasn't there. No one ever gives me flyers. I don't know if they assume I won't be able to understand it or it's just bad publicity to have your flyer seen in the hands of a foreigner, but I never have to deal with it. I am immune to the street advertisement guerillas. Good thing too, because there aren't very many trash cans in Seoul.
Life is good for a foreigner here in Seoul. Sure, there are times where I wish I understood my surroundings a little better and wish I was more in the "in" crowd, but I don't think there is anything wrong with finding the benefits of being an outsider and exploiting them. Now I've just got to find a Korean woman who can't resist my exotic Kansas accent...
Love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 4:14 AM
1 Comments:
I kind of feel like your groupie. Cool.
Good luck with the ladies!
Post a Comment
<< Home