Maybe simple is not best?

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I really need to learn korean fast.... here's why...

I'm to leave seok-il's house and ride the subway to Lotte World. All good, I know how to do this easily. I'm to go meet Hee-seok's mother and Dong-won there, but since I forgot my cellphone, I have the crude direction of "1st basement, lotte department, and fountain underlined (that being the meeting place). I was given a phone card too, just in case I couldn't find the people.

Now I get off Jamsil station, get to the 1st basement, AND find the water fountain... but no ones there... no, there are people, like 500 people in this large area, but no Dong-won or ajumma. Okay, I'll just use my phone card then I find a phone booth and stick the card into its respective slot. Jammed... stuck... I dont know, maybe I was supposed to do a secret handshake with the telephone receiver, but bashing the keypad nor reading the fabulous picture instructions availed. I check the phone booth to my right, thinking the last one was simply malfunctioning... stuck again, I check another, and, yet again, stuck.

A bit stressed with no one being found at the water fountain nor the phone card working, I look at the meeting instructions again and think maybe they were supposed to meet me at the lotte department store instead. I head towards there, but my oh my, there's ANOTHER water fountain. Sure, okay, maybe they were referring to this water fountain instead. The problem with this fountain is, is that there's clothing racks surrounding the entire part of it jampacked shoulder-to-shoulder with people. I think that they could not possibly consider this a meeting place, for christ sakes, it doesn't take much thought that a meeting place like this would be pretty ridiculously .... aghh... But I check around, looking at hundreds of faces in this area, but find not the two faces I am unfortunately having to find.

The department store is situated right next to the fountain with the people and clothing racks, so I check inside the building for a couple moments before realizing there wasn't a third water fountain inside. I head back to the first fountain, and sit for a couple moments thinking how it would have been much better to just relax at seok-il's place talking about the benefits of particular nutritions. I head to the phone booth for round two, checking a different phone booth model. This one, thankfully, didn't have a metal shutter to block out the card though. I put the phone to my ears and hear korean followed by a most welcomed english translation of "stick the card in". I stick the card in, the next translation comes out as "Withdraw the card". Okay, I withdraw my card... Now here's the problem... the next translation comes out as "stick the card in"...... ... I stick the card in, withdraw the card, stick it in.... and on and on... no difference. After the fourth or fifth try at this confusing game of "stick the card in/withdraw the card", I head back to the first fountain again for some further contemplation of how cruddy plans can go.

After having enlightened myself to not leave the familiar ever again, I find some stairs to sit next to the second fountain. I glance to my left to see a grandma. She has a cellphone, which she stares at... I glumly sigh and look out distantly getting ever more stressed at these WONDERFUL directions of "fountain". I look at the grandma again, and I take my time to recollect all the korean I can to ask for her cellphone. Unfortunately, I have very little speaking knowledge of korean, so I started with this wonderful conversation to be with "Halmonee!" (grandma). She glances at me, and I make my move. "Halmonee, uhh handphone use? Can I use?" Even though I knew she wouldn't know english, I said it out automatically. She speaks to me in korean, and I interject with a "handphone... handphone use" while viciously put a stabbing finger at her cellphone. I think she got afraid, cause she backed away from me telling me to ask someone else. I wouldn't settle for that ... no... it was hard enough for me to talk to some random stranger, so I pushed on. Unfortunately, my tactics remained the same, the vicious pointing and the similar english speak. She finally said if I wanted to use her cellphone, which I graciously replied with a furious nod.

Everything after that eventually fell into place, not by the phone call to dong-won, but ajuma stumbling on me while I was talking to dong-won. I found out their meeting place just happened to be in the middle of the jampacked clothing lines shopping area. Yes, having been quite stressed out from hee-seoks mother giving me these horrid directions and them actually wanting to meet at this all too "discreet" location, I wanted to loose all my stress on her, telling her how two fountains were here and that if we were to meet, to make it somewhere where I would have a fighting chance of finding her. But no, I smiled that all too often fake smile "happy" to see them.

Then there was this "error 44" complaint from the subway machine... not fun... nooo... Flippers that automatically pop out to hinder my escape. Another story, another time.

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Comments

[madmatterminer]

Find Waldo!! (no .. I mean my son)
Gaaash! This sounds like a horrifying experience. I mean from the POOR gandma's perspective. Just imagine this young man who is ready attack her prized cellular phone, most likely received as a gift from her favorite grand-child, and would not back off the poor old lady. Oh boy~ Oh boy~ I can see that she was just a second away from screaming for the help. I hope you did not have a quick drink before heading out to Lotte and did not wear a raggy cloth resembling a drunk homeless on street. Wha-ha-ha, that would been an experience to remember for the life time. Kidding aside, I am glad to hear that you had a courage to ask the grandma for the help (hopfully you will do that in Korean next time). I am also thankful to Heesuk's mom for granting you the opportunity to experiece the beautiful moment. Enjoy... Now I need to sit back and breath deep (in and out) to collect myself from LOL.

[madmatterminer]

Me TOO
I had the similar experience at the Seoul subway station... I figured that entering into the subway station after sticking the ticket to the gate machine is all I need to worry about...... I mean if you enter with the correct fared ticket then you are done with it (at least that was what I thought.) SO.... I threw away the ticket after getting on to the train. When I try to exit the subway station I realized that everyone is sticking that old ticket to the same gate machine to get the permission to exit the gate. MY ticket was already long gone by that time. SO.... after watching the crowd exiting out the gate in caotic manner I figure I got to do something because I can't just stay there forever. Yes, I did JUMPED over the gate and RAN. HeeWoa.