Only in Korea: Miming and Charades

When in a foreign country, we are often called upon to cross the language barrier by using body language, facial expressions and the like. It can be something simple - a quizzical smile and a shrug to say "Well, even though I said annyong haseyo to you, I still am not fluent in Korean".

There are times when, perhaps, you have forgotten your Korean-English dictionary and Korean phrasebook at home, or when you have incorrectly assumed that the person to whom you are speaking actually understands anything that you are saying. After eight and a half months, I can mime just about anything - not just words, but entire paragraphs and ideas. Most of these charades are also accompanied by random grunts, mispronounced pidgin Korean words and well enunciated English words (because if you speak slowly and loudly, everyone will understand you, right Mom?).

Cases in point:

"My cat needs one more shot before he is fixed. Can we set up an appointment now?"
"If I park my scooter in the downstairs parking garage, the gas will be siphoned. Therefore, I should park it here, where there is at least some surveillance system."
"Does this really appetizing looking, um, food, that you are putting in my cafeteria tray contain pork? shrimp? tentacles?"
"When will this envelope full of important documents arrive in Japan?"
"Is this bin for bottles or cardboard?"
"I need 200 double-sided photocopies of this worksheet."
"My scooter needs repairs, can I pick it up on Saturday?"

and my most proud moment, in celebration of my new coffee maker (thanks Helen!):

"I see that you have a coffee bean grinder here in the store. I have coffee beans at home from Canada (thanks Kelly!). If I bring in my coffee beans, can I grind them here?"

But seriously, it is sometimes a bit daunting. Like, give yourself 25 minutes to get anything done, take a deep breath, crack your knuckles, tell yourself that you can do this and.... go mail a letter at the post office! There's also the fact that "No means yes" in Korean. When you are asked a yes/no question, you agree or disagree with the statement, not the fact, in a "Yes, we have no bananas" sort of way.

It gives you a whole new respect for people who come to Canada, not speaking English or French, and try to get by. I mean, how many Korean speakers are there at your local hospital?

Looking forward to the weekend, which promises an apartment full of visitors and many fun activities in celebration of the New Year.