TIGER MAN
Wednesday, September 9, 2009Seoul, Korea
At a subway station an elderly man was selling hand painted tigers, which cost thirty dollars apiece. I quizzically waved my Ten U.S. Dollars as he painfully explained the Korean Won equivalent. This went on for a while and I pretended to be more confused. In exasperation, he took my money, rolled the tiger print and handed it over to me. I smiled broadly saying kamsahamnida (Korean Thank You). He mumbled something in Korean, but I guess I know what he meant: “Forget the thank you wise guy. You can have the tiger at a bargain price.”
That’s My Meat
Seoul
It was dinnertime. I was seated in the same table with one who had strong convictions on not eating pork, and another who absolutely shun beef. Both meat are prohibited by the edict of their respective religions. The awkward thing is that, both pork and beef dishes were cooked in the same sizzling hot plate on opposite sides. My eyes shifted back and forth between the two diners. Quite expectedly, both tried to avoid eating meat close to the middle of the pan, but ate with more gusto as the chopsticks hit middle ground!
Hey Sexy Girl
Seoul, Korea
I was sitting on a bench in a park one afternoon when an elderly woman approached and asked in broken English where I was from. I said “Philippines”. She nodded and said “Oh Filipin.” Later, I saw an empty bench vacated by a couple. Since the old lady kept looking at me, I wanted her to know that I was moving on that sunny bench. I smiled, pointed at the bench, then drew my arms to my chest to signal cold. Her face was suddenly contorted in disgust. She totally misunderstood. She thought I was suggesting something else!
