I DARE YOU (^_^)

Last night I was in a convenience store with my friend when a Korean couple walked by. The guy turned to me, and took in a deep breath of air before uttering one syllable: "Hi."

He immediately hunched over into an embarassed giggle, as did his girlfriend, and they scampered out of the store, clearly experiencing an adrenaline rush over the audacity of his actions. When this happens, I always say hi back, in the event that it's someone I actually have been introduced to and might have forgotten - to save face, mi gente! But this was a clear case of them having planned to say hi. The conversation might have gone something like this:

-I dare you to say hi to those foreigners!

-No - you do it!

-Ok! What should I say?

-Just say hi! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (korean laughing that sounds like static)

Having people randomly come up to you and say "hi" in English is quite common. And I get that someone wants to say hi to you, start a conversation, be friendly, practice their English. But why have an obnoxiously loud conversation as you walk by? Yeah. I have been walking downtown when a group of Koreans might be walking towards me from the other direction. One time, I heard a guy say to his friend, "Hi, how are you?"

His friend replied, "I'm FINE thank you.... how are you?" all at a volume that was clearly intended for listeners outside the group, and an exchange that only started right before they passed us.

Then they took off, ㅋ!ㅋ!ㅋ! - all the way home.

If you aren't in Korea, it might be hard for you to imagine why speaking to a foreigner is such a big deal, especially when so many young Koreans have an excellent command of English. But look at the category: foreigner. Do we even use vocabulary like that to refer to immigrants in Canada? I've met people that freak out when I ask a question in English. If they don't understand, they often don't give me a second chance to re-phrase or repeat. They are too embarassed and often exit the conversation. Busting out one's heavily-accented Korean usually helps.

And of course this whole "omg it's a foreigner!" attitude also affects dating. Currently, an American friend of mine and her Korean boyfriend want to set me up with one of his friends for a double-date. He has a nice guy in mind, who speaks English. But, this nice guy wasn't sure he wanted to meet a foreigner. Why? He claims he is scared. I'll keep you posted. All I ask of the world is that the next time someone sets me up on a Korean-style blind date, that they inform/ask me first.... ㅋㅋㅋ!