It was the oddest sight to see another man of South Asian heritage on the small bus that I take from Elena's neighborhood to the subway. Usually, only Koreans, and mostly older Koreans or teenagers, are on this bus in the morning. The man immediately said hello to me when I boarded the bus, and, a little caught off-guard, I said hello back but sat about two seats back from the guy. I'm never quite sure how to react to other foreigners when I see them around in Seoul. On the one hand, there aren't that many foreigners around in certain neighborhoods, so I want to be friendly. On the other hand, living in a city for awhile like New York or Oakland, I learned that it was sometimes better to avoid conversations with other people, because you would never know what trouble it might invite.
But the man seemed nice enough, and we exchanged business cards. He works for a textile company not too far from the university where I teach. He is originally from Pakistan, but he has been living in Korea for the past five years. I tried feebly to make conversation, asking questions like where are you from? what do you think of Korea? while, in turn, he asked me what part of the US I was from and how long did I think I would live in Korea. He commented that the Korean textile business is not good, and I agreed, since that probably made sense, since Chinese labor is cheaper (read: child labor) and their capacity for production makes it difficult for Koreans to compete with. I mentioned that a lot of Korean kimchi is actually made in China.
The conversation took a stranger turn, when, somehow, in the middle of this conversation, he told me that he was on the way to meet his girlfriend at the doctor's office. He seriously informed me that facial hair was a problem for his girlfriend, gesturing toward his chin, and that he knew a doctor that could remove some of this unsightly hair for his girlfriend. As a man of South Asian descent, he must have assumed that I had some personal experience with unsightly facial hair, which I do, plucking the area between my eyebrows like crazy to create the illusion of having two distinct brows. Still, I wondered why he had seen the need to share this private information with me, or how we had even got on the subject. He then asserted that spicy foods like kimchi can make your hair grow quickly, which is something I have heard before, but I'm not sure whether it's an urban legend that I believe. I nodded my agreement, probably unconvincingly. I'm sure that plenty of people can eat spicy food and not worry about hair appearing in places they don't want.
Soon the ten-minute bus ride was at an end, and I transferred to the subway, bidding goodbye to the man, who seemed altogether friendly, although he definitely has a unique way of making conversation.
But the man seemed nice enough, and we exchanged business cards. He works for a textile company not too far from the university where I teach. He is originally from Pakistan, but he has been living in Korea for the past five years. I tried feebly to make conversation, asking questions like where are you from? what do you think of Korea? while, in turn, he asked me what part of the US I was from and how long did I think I would live in Korea. He commented that the Korean textile business is not good, and I agreed, since that probably made sense, since Chinese labor is cheaper (read: child labor) and their capacity for production makes it difficult for Koreans to compete with. I mentioned that a lot of Korean kimchi is actually made in China.
The conversation took a stranger turn, when, somehow, in the middle of this conversation, he told me that he was on the way to meet his girlfriend at the doctor's office. He seriously informed me that facial hair was a problem for his girlfriend, gesturing toward his chin, and that he knew a doctor that could remove some of this unsightly hair for his girlfriend. As a man of South Asian descent, he must have assumed that I had some personal experience with unsightly facial hair, which I do, plucking the area between my eyebrows like crazy to create the illusion of having two distinct brows. Still, I wondered why he had seen the need to share this private information with me, or how we had even got on the subject. He then asserted that spicy foods like kimchi can make your hair grow quickly, which is something I have heard before, but I'm not sure whether it's an urban legend that I believe. I nodded my agreement, probably unconvincingly. I'm sure that plenty of people can eat spicy food and not worry about hair appearing in places they don't want.
Soon the ten-minute bus ride was at an end, and I transferred to the subway, bidding goodbye to the man, who seemed altogether friendly, although he definitely has a unique way of making conversation.
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