the longer i'm here the more i realize that people are essentially the same everywhere. last night i was taking the bus to meet some friends. it was the number eight which never comes when you want/need it to, but last night it did.
as soon as i got on i noticed a man standing right behind the bus driver. it appeared that he was yelling at someone - i assumed it was the lady sitting next to him, since she said something back to him. he was like one of those nutters you see on the bus/metro who are just yelling for no good reason. of course, i had no idea what he was saying, so he could have been making some kind of valid point about something... but then a woman sitting a little further back in the bus piped in and said something that sounded like she was really annoyed... probably a polite way of saying shut up (i know it was shut up cause i know that in korean). then i figured he was just yelling and not at the woman just at everyone.
i could see the bus drivers frustration in the rear view mirror. the man was standing right behind him and was just rambling on and on. a few stops later the bus just pulled over and the bus driver got off the bus. just my luck, i actually get the number 8 - the fast bus - and we're going to stop until the bus driver can calm down and have a smoke or something. he disappeared behind the bus for a couple of minutes. when he came back he had a couple of police officers with him.
he got back on the bus and (i'm guessing here - language barrier) and started telling the guy he had to get off. the cops were talking to him too but he just kept yelling. he started looking around the bus for an ally - the woman in front of me ignored him, then he looked at me, and started rambling in korean... it took him about a minute to realise that he was looking at a foreigner, then he turned back to the cops. they finally coaxed him off the bus and we went on our way.
oddly enough, one of my students was actually sitting behind me and told me that the guy was really drunk. i tried to find out what he had been saying but the kids english wasn't good en ough to translate. it was just another drunk old man making trouble on the bus... i told my student not to be embarrassed - it happens everywhere.
as soon as i got on i noticed a man standing right behind the bus driver. it appeared that he was yelling at someone - i assumed it was the lady sitting next to him, since she said something back to him. he was like one of those nutters you see on the bus/metro who are just yelling for no good reason. of course, i had no idea what he was saying, so he could have been making some kind of valid point about something... but then a woman sitting a little further back in the bus piped in and said something that sounded like she was really annoyed... probably a polite way of saying shut up (i know it was shut up cause i know that in korean). then i figured he was just yelling and not at the woman just at everyone.
i could see the bus drivers frustration in the rear view mirror. the man was standing right behind him and was just rambling on and on. a few stops later the bus just pulled over and the bus driver got off the bus. just my luck, i actually get the number 8 - the fast bus - and we're going to stop until the bus driver can calm down and have a smoke or something. he disappeared behind the bus for a couple of minutes. when he came back he had a couple of police officers with him.
he got back on the bus and (i'm guessing here - language barrier) and started telling the guy he had to get off. the cops were talking to him too but he just kept yelling. he started looking around the bus for an ally - the woman in front of me ignored him, then he looked at me, and started rambling in korean... it took him about a minute to realise that he was looking at a foreigner, then he turned back to the cops. they finally coaxed him off the bus and we went on our way.
oddly enough, one of my students was actually sitting behind me and told me that the guy was really drunk. i tried to find out what he had been saying but the kids english wasn't good en ough to translate. it was just another drunk old man making trouble on the bus... i told my student not to be embarrassed - it happens everywhere.
2 comments:
Hello Liz,
I just finished reading your blog; you sure have a lot going on.
So, you're a Korean teaching English as a second language - is that correct? But you don't speak Korean yourself? I think that's very interesting. It seems many people of other origins don't speak the language associated with them, which is both intriguing, but also sad. Of course, if I've misunderstood your writings, please do forgive me; I'm merely responding to what I've read.
Anyway, I think you've got a really interesting blog going here, and I wanted to let you know. Have a nice day! :)
hi there spider! (if you ever read this) i am a canadian who is living in korea teaching for a year... but there are lots of ethnic koreans from canada/usa who are doing the same thing without speaking their native tongue... but i am not korean... not too sure what gave you that impression... sorry if there was any confusion! thanks for reading!
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