topherjdsn: How I learned to Accept I am a Foreigner

TopherJDSN (

topherjdsn) wrote,
@ 2008-12-13 00:28:00

Current location:	Seoul, South Korea
Current mood:	cheerful
Current music:	Smurfs Season 1 Episodes
Entry tags:	language, subway

How I learned to Accept I am a Foreigner
Okay, so, I've been busy. But I have time to write tonight. So, what can I talk about...well, okay, lots of things. Seriously though, I want to give a quick shout out to a blog I've been reading Really...Really...Seriously... a blog about music and other such things.

Right, so, what to say. Well, I'm learning some interesting things, honestly I am a foreigner here. I stand out. Okay, yeah, I'm a white guy living in Korea. When I am on the subway, chances are I'm the only white guy on the subway. Though it comes out in other ways. People watch you. Sometimes with interest, sometimes with hate, and sometimes of curiousity. It comes out in other ways, such as today, when I was on the subway and an extremely drunk young man came up to me and started speaking in Korean to me. What was I doing to warrant this? I was listening to music on my mp3 player. It was like he had never seen a white person with an mp3 player and this was some sort of spiritual drunken moment for him. (Side note:Every cellphone is an mp3 player here). He kept talking to me, so, I said politely in Korean, "I'm sorry, I don't speak alot of Korean." He continued to speak with me so I switched to English. "Sir, I don't speak Korean. I can't understand you." The man proceded to speak to me for a good ten minutes. Finally, I got off the subway, and my stalker followed after me. I finally lost him in the subway using skills I learned from hours of Metal Gear Solid. This was not the first time this happened and it won't be the last. Seriously, the funny thing about public transport is watching crazy drunken old men on the subway. Well, mostly it is entertaining but sometimes it can be a pain in the frakking ass.

There are other funny things about being a foriegner like hearing English suddenly thrown into a conversation. Sort of the way we throw Spanish into what we are doing. For example I heard a conversation today that was in full speed Korean when I heard a, "Ok, ok, come on." thrown into the conversation. This was not a situation in which these were students learning English, this is English getting borrowed into Korean. If you are from North America have you ever said, "Hola." or "Hasta manana." Yeah, it is happening here and it is odd to be on the other side of the coin.

If you are curious as to how I am? I am doing well, still working all the time. However, things are looking to change for me soon in a most positive way...but I can't say more for now. Though the future is looking good.

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	(Anonymous) 2008-12-17 03:46 pm UTC (link)
	So by "using skills you picked up from Metal Gear Solid" does this mean you found a convenient cardboard box and stealthily made your way around the subway station. Even if it wasn't this is image I want to maintain. Collin (Reply to this) (Thread)

	topherjdsn 2008-12-17 05:02 pm UTC (link)
	yeah, it was all about hiding in the box till someone spoted me for moving...then I had to run in the box through the streets until the radar went clear. (Reply to this) (Parent)