If Your Keeping Track, I'm Pretty sure this is 103 Crazy Korean Man Magnet Encounters...

Chalk another one up to to me for being the best crazy Korean man magnet AGAIN! I never aspired to this. Why me? I just want to know WHY ME!!!!

Here's what happened...

I was meeting up with the Olsons, the Crews and JB (Jessica Becker) at a coffee shop today after school. And, as I was making my way down some stairs, I passed this older man who was preparing to sit on this random couch that was sitting near the escalator. When I walked by him, he said to me, in Korean... "Anjo!" This means sit down.

He was very insistent. I ignored him the first time but he repeated himself and said, in English this time, "Sit down."

I said, "Aniyo!" This means no.

He wouldn't leave me alone though. Here is how the rest of the conversation went:

"Sit down."
"No, thank you."
"Sit down, please."
"No. I'm leaving." This time I bowed to him and said some things in Korean trying to appease him.
"Five minutes. Only five minutes" He held up four fingers to signal his meaning... yeah, four fingers!

So, I stopped. He asked me if I was a student. I said no, I was a teacher. He asked me where I was from. I said America. He asked me how old I was. I said 25 (in Korea, I am considered 25). He asked me how old I thought he was... this is always a tricky question...

Now, in reality, I thought he was probably near 60 years old, his hair was completely white and he was a little stooped, but he still had broad shoulders and a solid frame... so I told him I thought he was probably 55 and hoped that he wasn't younger than that.

"Oh, thank you. Very good. I am 73! Very strong still!"

I really was surprised. Good lookin', sturdy, old 73 year old! Then he wanted me to give him my phone number in America... he whipped out a pad of paper and flipped to a blank page and then handed me the notepad and insisted that I write my phone number and name on it.

Now, at this point, I'm just trying to get away from him, so I think the quickest thing for me to do is to.... give him a number. So, I write my name down... (in hind sight, I think I should have given myself a false last name) and I write down a phone number... I don't really know if this phone number exists in America... but whatever.

So, he's happy! He asks if he goes to America if he can call me... I say sure... I mean... whatever... I'm beginning to thing he's drunk, I can smell soju on him even though it's only 6:30 in the evening... and, to the best of my knowledge, the number I gave him could be to a hotel in Rhode Island... who knows! I say yes so that I can just leave him... but then he wants to shake my hand.

Ok. He can shake my hand. That's fine.

So, he shakes my hand, then twists his hand around in mine so that we're holding hands as if we're going to arm wrestle... ok weird... but whatever, maybe he's seen westerners do this... we do sometimes....

And then he rubs my hand against his cheek....

Yes. He rubs MY hand agaisnt HIS cheek! That's my hand being wiped all over his face.....

WHAT AM I??? I am NOT a PLAY TOY!!! You CANNOT TREAT ME AS IF I am your DOLL!

WHO DOES THIS??? I am TIRED of people treating me as if I am a PUPPET for them to HANDLE!!!

It's getting to the point for me where... I don't care if I am a novelty anymore. I'm still a human being and human beings do not go up to other human beings that they have never seen before and do not have a relationship with and insist that they;

1. Sit down and talk to them
2. Ask for their phone number in ANOTHER COUNTRY
3. TOUCH THEM!

At first I thought it was funny when stuff like this would happen to me.... part of me can still find humor in the situations... but for the most part I'm just utterly sick of it.

I need to be around people who are aware of where they are in the midst of their surroundings... I'm tired of people being so unaware of anyone but themselves that I am constantly dodging people as I walk down the sidewalk. I'm tired of not being able to move because people are blocking my way and they could care less about getting out of my way so I have to SHOVE through them. I'm tired of people standing so close to where I'm sitting that I can't see anything but their crotch or butt in my face! I'm just tired.

And, I'd like to see grass.

And I'd like to drive again.

*Sigh* Pray for me. I need more patience and love!


Trying to live in Him who created and loves all people...

Hil