“Do you speak English?”
As I walked into the little store in the alley, I was greeted by an elderly gentleman with “Yeong-eo-reul ha-shil jul a-se-yo?” followed by “Do you speak English?” in English so clear and accent-free that I stopped in my tracks.
This man is probably in the 80-90 age range, tending his little little shop in Ganghwa. We talked for about 20 minutes about teaching at the school and where I live and how long I’ve been here and about Ganghwa Island and about how wonderful Korea is and the weather and President Obama and gingseng and on and on …
The woman behind the checkout counter was wildly entertained by the whole thing ~ it is probably rare that he has a chance to chat casually in English. We all burst out laughing when he called out “Take it easy!” as I left the store. I don’t know when or where he learned English, or how he maintains his fluency (since no one on the island speaks English), but it was truly a wonderful exchange.
Tags: 1
Nancy
April 27th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Sounds like you should frequent this store once or twice a day. You’ve come across people who can ACTUALLY translate for you, unlike your teacher’s aid! Incredible luck. Use it.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Well finally, someone you can “chat” with! I bet you will go back and visit very often!! I loved it when he said “take it easy” – how cute is that?? He might come in quite handy too. Hope your health is still good. Enjoy – Kathy