How I Got Beat -- Korean Style

Greetings and Salutations to you all!

I don't know how I forgot to mention this lil interesting adventure that I had along the way in the Namdaemun market. As you know, I was pretty excited to be in the market, and as per usual was clicking away with the digital cam. There are soooo many things to see here that are so different from home. Although I can be pretty descriptive, descriptions alone will not do some of these things justice. Therefore, I continue to click away!

As previously mentioned, I was quite interested in seeing the silk worms. I found them of course after a while. But that wasn't all I found. There were lots of mobile carts throughout the market, where mainly little old Korean women were selling edible goods. One such cart, I noticed was quite different from the rest. This particular woman was selling several different types of homemade treats (at least that is what I think they were). Additionally, she was selling tea. As you know, tea seems to be the beverage of choice here in Korea & many other Asian countries. But one thing that caught my attention, was on the end of her little cart, she actually had a lil teapot serving the customers tea. It was so cute and authentic looking!!!

See the little tea pot? How authentic

Therefore, I had to do what a normal tourist would do...right? Yes, I took out my camera and begin to snap shots immediately. Click-Click-Click! After I got my shot, I continued to stand in the same spot with my friend, Ajenai, to determine our next steps. While talking, our attention was immediately drawn to the "cute lil cart" where the vendor was all of a sudden quite visibly angry & screaming. Since I am less then a novice in the Korean language, I had no clue what or who she was speaking to.....until, she walked over to us and continued to yell at the top of her lungs. Was she really yelling at me? For what? What happened in the last 60 seconds that caused such an outburst? I was befuddled, I had ABSOLUTELY no clue what was going on...well, I'll put it to you like this, even though you may not understand everything a person says in another language, BODY language is universal.....THAT LADY WAS CURSING ME OUT!!!!

I just could not believe it! Ajenai & I just looked at each other, I don't know who was more perplexed by this spectacle. So what was I to do? Should I walk away now? I hadn't done anything wrong, ..right? But that is when it happened...this little old Korean lady haled off & HIT ME!! WHAT!!! Now she was really trippin! At that point, I just was overcome with emotion...what was I supposed to do...beat down the little old lady like she had stolen something from me?

I could see it in the paper now,

My mother would surely die of embarrassment and worry!
But the facts were certain...., she had crossed the line & hit me!

So, what did I do? I did what any good christian and tourist would do who did not want to start an international incident....I laughed at the woman, YES, I mean I got really tickled! This vendor lady did not at all seem to happy with my response. It actually seemed to infuriate her even more, so I stopped laughing long enough to give her one of those looks...you know that look that your mother could give you as a child from a mile away that would cause you to straighten up. I gave her "the look" that told her "don't even think about trying that again!"

It has been a little while since that episode transpired, but I still don't understand it any more today then I did on the day that it occurred. On that day, I figured that I had performed some forbidden tourist act out of ignorance and somehow deserved to be scolded (...not hit but scolded). In an effort to get some clarity regarding the situation, I discussed it with my Korean colleagues. To my surprise, they were even more perplexed then I! At the end of the discussion, we collectively agreed that the lady was just crazy! Oh well, as it is said "It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round!"

That day taught me something about myself, and the power in a look. If someone would have provided me with a similar situation in the US, my first reaction would have been to tell this lady a few things about her improper behavior or even threaten to hit her back (I say threaten cause she was a little old lady, I do have morals). In this situation, I did not have the power of words to communicate my feelings, rather a still small look that said MORE than any words I could have mustered at the time. This "look" let the vendor lady know that I was highly displeased by her reaction. Even though I did not receive an apology from this lady, I know that she will think twice before hitting another black girl from Detroit!

Obviously, crazy is not something that is reserved for the US, there are crazies everywhere!

Until Next Time,

Take Care

K!