Village elders...
Today, on our trek out and about we visited our typical 'playground'--where the kids get a chance to burn off some nervous energy on the toys before we continue on our way. I get a chance to 'surf' on the see saws--balancing in the middle, attempting to achieve various yoga positions while mid-span of the teeter totter. Korea's cool in that they STILL have see saws in public parks. Definitely a boost for my surfing skills! ;)
Today, as with all the other days we visit, a handful of village elder gentlemen are hanging about the park--many playing paduk (the strategy game similar to chess/othello combined), others just hanging out. Our appearance on the scene usually solicits the similar response from these men--a brief exchange of Annyonghasseyo and Hello--American? That sort of thing. I think underlying all this courtesy, they're really thinking, "Here comes that crazy American woman with her two hyper children!"
One gentleman, in particular, sought us out and wanted to say hello and that he remembered us from a previous visit several months back. He asked if we remembered him--yes, and he was amazed--but then I'm a people person and remember faces (rarely names) rather often. He continues to ask us questions--many of the other elders gather around (much like the schoolchildren did on previous days) and are mesmerized by our answers--regardless of how unimpressive our responses prove to be. Why do you visit Korea? We love it. How old are the children? Where are you from? America. Where do you live? Washington. Oh, President Bush's Washington. No, not HIS Washington--we live in the state of Washington on the other side of the country. Then, as I often do, I pull out my hand and start to point to my palm as if it were the map of the United States--pointing to the tip of my index finger as Washington DC, marking New York, Los Angeles (as most Koreans have relatives or know SOMEBODY who lives in LA) and San Francisco--in sort of a mid-air 'weatherman' pantomime. Eventually, I get to Washington State.
Instead of studying my 'palm map of the US' the eldest of the elders takes my hand and proceeds to read my palm--which I found quite amusing. He proceeded to tell me all sorts of things he could somehow 'divine' by just looking at my hand. Hmmm....the first thing he said was that I was 'artistic'. If he'd only seen my first attempts at carving signature stamps for letterboxing! That certainly would refute that assessment!!! My reply to his suggestion that I tended to the artistic side was that I was more 'scientifically' minded. He said art/science fall under the same section of the brain. Ok, so maybe science dominated in my neural networks. ;) Hmmm....then he continued to study my hands. He said I was active, healthy and inquisitive. All of these things seem to be the case (apart from my 3 unexpected surgeries last year). He added kind-hearted, as well. Hmmm...wonder if my kids would agree with that? ;) He continued to reveal various characteristics my hands supposedly conveyed to the 'wise' ones who were able to 'read' such things. Funny, as he was 'revealing' all of this info a thought popped into my head. How often would a palm-reader actually suggest something negative about somebody whose hand they were studying? Wouldn't that be bad for business? Perhaps my inquisitive tendency could look into that a bit more...
Today, as with all the other days we visit, a handful of village elder gentlemen are hanging about the park--many playing paduk (the strategy game similar to chess/othello combined), others just hanging out. Our appearance on the scene usually solicits the similar response from these men--a brief exchange of Annyonghasseyo and Hello--American? That sort of thing. I think underlying all this courtesy, they're really thinking, "Here comes that crazy American woman with her two hyper children!"
One gentleman, in particular, sought us out and wanted to say hello and that he remembered us from a previous visit several months back. He asked if we remembered him--yes, and he was amazed--but then I'm a people person and remember faces (rarely names) rather often. He continues to ask us questions--many of the other elders gather around (much like the schoolchildren did on previous days) and are mesmerized by our answers--regardless of how unimpressive our responses prove to be. Why do you visit Korea? We love it. How old are the children? Where are you from? America. Where do you live? Washington. Oh, President Bush's Washington. No, not HIS Washington--we live in the state of Washington on the other side of the country. Then, as I often do, I pull out my hand and start to point to my palm as if it were the map of the United States--pointing to the tip of my index finger as Washington DC, marking New York, Los Angeles (as most Koreans have relatives or know SOMEBODY who lives in LA) and San Francisco--in sort of a mid-air 'weatherman' pantomime. Eventually, I get to Washington State.
Instead of studying my 'palm map of the US' the eldest of the elders takes my hand and proceeds to read my palm--which I found quite amusing. He proceeded to tell me all sorts of things he could somehow 'divine' by just looking at my hand. Hmmm....the first thing he said was that I was 'artistic'. If he'd only seen my first attempts at carving signature stamps for letterboxing! That certainly would refute that assessment!!! My reply to his suggestion that I tended to the artistic side was that I was more 'scientifically' minded. He said art/science fall under the same section of the brain. Ok, so maybe science dominated in my neural networks. ;) Hmmm....then he continued to study my hands. He said I was active, healthy and inquisitive. All of these things seem to be the case (apart from my 3 unexpected surgeries last year). He added kind-hearted, as well. Hmmm...wonder if my kids would agree with that? ;) He continued to reveal various characteristics my hands supposedly conveyed to the 'wise' ones who were able to 'read' such things. Funny, as he was 'revealing' all of this info a thought popped into my head. How often would a palm-reader actually suggest something negative about somebody whose hand they were studying? Wouldn't that be bad for business? Perhaps my inquisitive tendency could look into that a bit more...
posted by Adventure Seeker | 1:13 AM
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