Last Sunday night, Aaron and I took a little scooter ride over to see our favorite neighborhood dog, Serry, before having dinner in Nampodong! As we were scooting there, Aaron said, "We should get Serry's mom something. She always gives us free drinks when we come to see Serry." So, I had him drop me off at the local outdoor market, so I could go in search of the perfect gift! ... which ended up being a ginormous watermelon! Korean women don't really care for flowers (which is always my go-to-gift when thanking someone), but would rather be given fresh fruit! It ended up being the perfect gift, because...
All 3 of her sisters AND her son were in town for their yearly visit! When I gave her the "sang-mool" (watermelon present), she refused to accept it (they all do this!), and then said "Serry sang-mool?" which means, Is it a gift for Serry? haha... I said, "Yes!" and she accepted it with a big smile! She immediately took out a knife, started cutting the watermelon, and motioned for Aaron and I to gather around the table in her teeny tiny shop, introducing us to each of her sisters (in Korean, of course) as she arranged the watermelon on some plates! Her son snapped this picture on his cell phone, hence the crappy quality, as we were getting ready to head out! He took about 5 pictures and texted a bunch to me later that night! FYI: I have no idea what's up with the rat nest on the left side of my hair! Eeekkk!
We chatted a long time in Korean (small talk mostly, like the English equivalent of: "This watermelon is yummy, right? Where are you from in Korea? When are you driving back home? Do you like watermelon? Who is the oldest sister?" They got a big kick out of hanging with Aaron and I, and watching us speak Korean... and the oldest sister kept saying how fun the watermelon party was, which sounded something along the lines of, "Soo-bak pah-tii jey-me-so-yo!"
I can not tell you how much I love getting to know my neighbors in this way! Not just waving, or bowing when we see each other... but really sitting down and trying to communicate a little. It makes living in a foreign country just that much better! Tonight, after my private lesson with Mike, I stopped by to see Serry, and Serry's mom invited me to sit down and have dinner with her two really old friends who were visiting her in her shop! We all split a couple bowls of some sort of noodle soup! I had a moment, while sitting there, that I was in complete awe that this is my life! It's the little things, I guess!
