Lost for words
There were two odd things happening today. When I waited for the subway, an elderly Korean woman started talking to me (in Korean) showing me some news (also in Korean) about a culture event (in Korea). I said (in English and some gestures) that I can’t understand her. Which didn’t stop her still continuing talking in Korean! It was like she assumed that if you continue talking in Korean, a switch in the foreigner’s brain will suddenly turn on and he/she will start understanding (and talking) in Korean. Now that would be scary! I calmed her down by writing down the web address on my iPod…
Later that day, when I was sitting in line 3 back to my hotel, a young woman sat down on the seat opposite to me. Guess what she did? Yup, she started talking enthusiastically to me in Korean! I could tell her in four different languages that I don’t know what she is talking about, but Korean is not among them. Fortunately, she left early. Phew!
