... Like an egg on 비빔밥 [part 2]

[/cliffhanger]

Yes we did. But this next bit is so special that it needs a post of its own. So we’re walking through the station at Sindang, I believe, and this old man comes up alongside us. I’m playing with my awesome new ball, and he sidles up alongside:
GUY: Can I see?
ME: No.
GUY: What is it? A ball?
ME: …
HIM: [takes my ball]
ME: Um…
GUY: Ooh! [gives it back]
ME: Yeah…
GUY: American?
US: Canadian.
GUY: Vancouver or Toronto?
BREE: Nova Scotia.
GUY: I went to Vancouver. I have a PhD, I was a professor.
US: [feigned excitement]
GUY: Are you married?
ME: Of course. / BREE: God no.
ME: We’re lovers.
BREE: We are not!
GUY.: Naughty boy! You’re a liar!
ME: K…
GUY.: Naughty. How old are you?
ME: I’m 22.
GUY: No. You’re 37. My son is your age. I don’t have a son, but if I was married, and had a son, he’d be your age. I was in the LAPD.
US: Oh?
GUY: Then I became a monk, so now I’m a panhandler, I stand on the street and ask people for money. I’m 57.
ME: I’m 22…
GUY: I take care of myself you know. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink alcoholic. I don’t have intercourse with ladies—

I’m sure there was more, but at this point I was trying SO hard not to laugh at him that I couldn’t really pay attention. WTF is the deal with old men on the subway here?! Seriously! Anyway, after this amazing interlude, we just laughed our way to Cheyongyangni (I still don’t know how to spell it, but I’m fairly sure that’s not right) to have what Bree Teacher calls meat-on-a-leaf, but what a smart person might call 삼겹살. It was amazing, and we ordered it ourselves and everything. We figure we’re pretty much Korean now. ^^


Sunday afternoon, Bree Teacher and I met in Insa-Dong for another movie. I found a really interesting Art House theatre online called Cinematheque that was showing a French film called Va Savoir (Who Knows?) in their series “Autumn Tale”. I got very excited by finding this theatre, they have really different and good selections: their September series is “Fritz Lang in America” and October is “Contes d’amour d’apres Eric Rohmer” (both of which would thrill no one but me). And I was so sure that I saw on the Cinematheque website that all the movies had English subtitles, so we were prepared to finally understand a French movie. But, of course, when we got our tickets, she told us “No English.” Oh well, they had an awesome snack bar, so we stocked up, only to find on the way into the theatre a big sign that said “NO FOOD.” Let me ask, Cinematheque: if you’re a movie theatre, what’s the point in having a snack bar if you CAN’T TAKE IT IN THE THEATRE!?

Whatev. We got even BETTER food somewhere else to make up for it. So take THAT, Cinematheque. PS – I love you, don’t ever change. We went to the world’s smallest restaurant, which had seating for 8, and had 돈까스 and sushi. Then we finished our meal at our favorite establishment… The Coffee Bean, and we went to Kyobo books to shop the night away…

[Personal note to Bree Teacher Brown: I just want you to know that my blog is better than you’re because I’ve been writing for about 45 years, so a little bit longer than you, and I invented English, so I’m pretty good at it, and I have a lot of things to write about because I go to a lot of parties, so I’ve had a lot of hors d’oeuvres and I’ve lived in Korea for like 3 years, too, and they flew me out first class, so my blog is just a little bit better than yours, so…]