Amanda Takes Off...

Friday night's taekwondo class was a test. We started with a lot of running, then some poomse (I need to work on my stances) and kicking drills.

It was a good class, but when we were changing in the closet, Crybaby asked me a funny question.

"아만다, 기분이 나빠요?" Amanda, are you in a bad mood?

"아뇨. 왜?" No. Why?

"조용했어요! 말 안했어요." You were so quiet! You didn't talk at all.

"심사 했어!" We had a test!

She just laughed.

After class, Master asked if I wanted to have some dinner and soju. Master, his wife, their children, Officer and I went to the restaurant where we met Good Man. On the way there I was holding Master's Daughter's hand. A very large truck passed as and I held her close to me and hugged a car to keep from being run over. At the very last moment she yanked free from me.

Oh my. God.

She ended up hitting her head against the very back of the truck while her mother and I were both yelling at her.

Oh. My. God.

Everything happened fast and in slow motion at the same time.

I scooped her up, she started bawling, the truck stopped, Master ran to talk to the driver, I reached up to touch her head, felt for blood, his wife yelled at me, "괜찮아?" Is she OK?

I felt no blood, no cuts. I nodded, "괜찮아! 괜찮아!" I started whispering to Master's Daughter, 괜찮아, 괜찮아.

The driver came around the back of the truck and talked to us, Master's Wife and Officer checked her head while Master explained what had happened.

I felt terrible and I couldn't even explain what happened because I was so freaked out. I was just clutching her and whispering, "You're OK, you're OK" over and over.

We got to the restaurant and I took her shoes off. We sat down, Master called her to the other side of the table. Her tears were already dry, not three minutes later. I looked at her, touched my head and mouthed, "괜찮아?" She grinned and nodded.

The owners remembered us and asked a) where I was from and b) where my boyfriend was. This time Master appeased them by telling them I was American and from Minnesota. The husband pulled out a little planner with a map of the US in it and made me point to my home state. The wife drilled me about Good Man.

We ate some delicious 닭갈비 and had some soju. I think poor Officer wanted to go home and I sort of felt bad. Since Master is her boss, she was basically being subjected to a wayshik while I was just enjoying the company of my Korean family.

At one point Master and I were chatting about Korean because I'm having a heck of a time with the relative clause. He was trying to explain it and we started talking about studying Korean in general.

"관장님, 작년 만났어요. 하지만 한국어를 말 할 수없었어요. 조금 긴장 했어요?" Master, we met last year. But I didn't speak Korean. Were you a little nervous?

Master and his wife both shook their heads and spoke at the same time. "아니요." No.

"그래요?" Really?

They spread their hands apart and Master said, while his wife nodded in agreement, "많이 했어요!" I was very nervous!

I laughed because I expected him to save face a little bit, but he wasn't afraid to tell the truth. He told me that he'd never spoken to a foreigner before. I'm sure if he really meant never or if he meant he'd never made a foreign friend. I know I'm the only foreign student he's ever had.

He said that his brother had called him and warned him that I was coming, so he had about five minutes to prepare for me.

For some reason I found that terribly funny.

Master said he speaks English well when he drinks, so perhaps he should drink soju before every taekwondo class. I laughed and shook my head and tried to say in Korean, "If you drink soju every day, your wife will not like me!"

"No, my wife likes you." She nodded.

"I know," I said. "But if you drink soju ever day...I think she won't like me." She smiled and nodded.

Master said, "I like soju, you like soju. I think you drank a lot in the US."

He thinks that? I shook my head, "No, Master, I only drink soju because I practice taekwondo."

"Huh?"

"태권도 연습하나까 관장님 만났어요. 만났으나까 소주를 마셔요!" Because I practice taekwondo, I met you. Because I met you, I drink soju.

We all laughed.

But it's true!

Last week I had to go to a public school teachers' retreat. The only really interesting thing about it was a taekwondo demonstration by Yong-in University. Photos are up in the gallery.

Yong-in Taekwondo Demo

When Master told me his brother's wife was pregnant, I asked if she was having a boy or a girl.

Master's Wife said, "They don't know. In Korea, doctors can't tell because parents want boys and..." she seemed to search for a way to explain it at my level of Korean. I understood.

"Ah, I understand," I said. "But if they give a doctor money? Will they know?"

Master laughed. "Oh, Amanda! You are Korean!"

Because this is a photo-heavy post, I've split it into a few pages.

I needed to do a bank transfer today. Expecting an adventure at the bank today, I brought the printout from my last bank transfer, my contract (to prove I legally made the directly deposited money in my account), passport, ARC, and bankbook. After being shuffled from place to place, the woman only looked at my printout and bankbook. Five minutes and one signature later, the money was transfered. She didn't even look at my ID. The whole thing was done in Korean.

Wow.

I was shocked.

After that to Seoul Grand Park, which includes a zoo (better than I expected, worse than most in the US, very plain cages, etc), botanical gardens, a huge amusement park, an art museum, some other technology museum, some forests, and many walking paths.

Welcome to Seoul Grand Park's Zoo

I didn't really want to go to the zoo but it was included in the ticket. I started walking along the edge of the zoo, on a nice paved path. The weather was wonderful, a nice 50 F or so, and there weren't many people there. It was nice and peaceful. I started walking along this path, taking photos.

Birch Tree

As I took this photo...

Blue Skies

...an ajosshi started chatting with me in Korean. I didn't want to be rude, so I answered.

Never answer an ajosshi! ㅋㅋㅋ

He said, "Let's go!" The path didn't have access to the zoo. You walked in one of two directions on it, those were your only choices.

So we walked, while he chattered away at me. I got some good Korean practice, he was very concerned that I was 28 and not married.

He wasn't creepy, he wasn't scary or anything like that. He was just an old man who came to the park a lot, retired, maybe a bit lonely. Some of the other hiking/walking ajummas and ajosshis greeted him and asked who I was, so I think he may have been a regular. "She's American."

When we'd walked around the path, he said, "Let's see the tigers!" So I followed my ajosshi down a little path to the zoo.

Ajosshi

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According to the English-language Everland guide I have, you want a "Romantic Christmas with your lovers."

Wow. Korea's got a sex revolution going on. Who knew?

Christmas is Korea is not really treated as a family thing. Christmas here consists of one day off of work and going to a coffee shop with your lover(s).

Today Good Man came over around noon. I was feeling suddenly very sick and asked him to pick up my grocery list for me. I made some foil packets filled with boneless chicken breast, small potatoes, onions, a bit of cream of mushroom soup, olive oil, salt, One Shot pepper blends, and herb and garlic or red pepper blends. Roasted those for an hour and had that for dinner with kiwis for desert.

We spent the day chatting, watching downloaded shows, and just enjoying being together.

A wonderful day.

Seafood for Sale on Christmas Day