Motivation to Learn Korean

It has been a long time since my last blog post.  But it has been quite the crazy adventure so far.  And during these adventures I have been able to see similarities and truths in the videos and the articles I read about Korea before arriving.

All the blogs I have read and video blogs I have watched have joked about Korean cars wanting to kill you.  They have joked that if you are not a Christian, you become one in a Korean taxi.  And until recently I laughed along with these jokes and even made them myself, though I didn't really feel any sort of danger.

But a week or so ago, that changed.

The stress of studying so often gets to me, but de-stressing is rather easy.  Back home I would simply take a walk and listen to some good music.  I figured: hey! Even though I am in Korea I still have legs and I still have music!  I can do this!

Before I left for my walk my roommate and I discussed our own personal horror stories about going out late at night.  Always a good idea before trekking into the dark!  "I'm just going to stay nearby," I promised, "And I will be back in twenty minutes."

Rather than going to the nearby park to circle it a bit, as the stories had scared me away from places devoid of lights-posts, I walked up some stairs, around the back of the building, and then back down to where I started, never allowing the dorms to leave my sight.

Head back?  I wondered after it had been just about twenty minutes.  Nah...I'll make one more loop.

I waited patiently to cross the street until there wasn't a car in sight.  Doubling checking once more, I stepped into the street.

I loud noise met my eyes.  What on earth?  It sounded so close and so ominous.  Silver took up half of my vision and it wasn't until I stumbled backwards onto the curb, heart pounding and knees shaking, that I realized the sound I had heard was my body bouncing off the hood of the car.

It what seemed to be slow motion, I watched cars driving by, the street suddenly busy once more.  The security office across the street came in and out of view as the cars rushed by, the light inside the office cast shadows across the street.

What and awful dream...I thought to myself.  What a strangely realistic dream...

But it wasn't.  The car that had hit me slowly moved down the street, questioning as to whether or not it should stop.  He eventually did.

My back went week and I placed my hands on my knees for support, breathing hard and trying to process what exactly had happened.

No one got out of the car.

With as much composure as I could muster I tried to wave the man on, terrified to be yelled at after having been hit by a car.  He got out of the car anyway.

"It's okay.  It's okay..." I said in Korean, shaking my hand back and forth.

"You're okay?" He asked, stepping up onto the sidewalk to meet me.

Cars continued to rush past us despite the fact that it was a campus and not thirty seconds away from the dorm rooms.

I nodded to him after a few deep breath.  "I'm okay..."

"Where are you going?"

"Dorms..."  I probably knew how to make that into a full sentence, but instead I just pointed and said a single world.

He nodded and said some incredible long sentence to me in Korean.

That was the point that I had to start fighting back the tears.  "I don't understand Korean."  I shook both my hands at him defensively, physically moving back a full pace.

"Ahh..." he said in understanding.  "You are a student here?"

"Yes," I said, but all I could think was: Please just leave.  Let me go home.

"You are okay?" he asked.

"Yea..." my brain gave up on Korean and English came out for the first time during our conversation.  "Just scared..."  I put my hands over my heart to show what I was saying, but felt my heart racing against my rib cage.

He laughed uncomfortably.  "I was scared too."

I don't recall exactly how we finally separated.  But I turned away quickly and crossed the street cautiously.  I hurried back to the dorms and made it to the elevator before I realized the pain in my knee, though I made it all the way back to my room before I started crying.

People have told me over and over again that I should have gotten his information.  I know that I should have.  But at that moment, I wouldn't have been able to ask for his information in English, let alone in Korean.  And that got me thinking: in the States, I wouldn't have to.  In the States the pedestrians who had been on the other side of the street would have stopped.  At least some of the passing cars would have stopped.  Those in the security office sure as hell would have come out.  I wouldn't have had to ask for anyone's information.  I've seen it a million times with fender benders.  My friends have had it personally happen to them, and there is always some third party stopping to get involved.

My roommate and I have had lengthy conversations on this topic since.  I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Korea.  I love it here.  But a large portion of the Korean population does not want to get involved.  They will walk by people passed out on the streets, or people fighting, or a girl who just got hit by a car.  It is part of their culture to mind their own business, whereas in the Pacific Northwest, we make it a point for everything to be our business.  Both of these things can be good and they can be bad.

Please, if you plan to go to another country, at least learn the things you need to say in such circumstances.  It isn't what they teach in guidebooks, textbooks, or even classes, but try to make it a point to know how to ask for someone's information in case you are calm enough to remember to ask.

As for crossing the street in Korea, that deserves it's own freaking blog post...