short legs, rambo and a korean rule of three

After an exhausting day of classes and an almost full paycheck I went out to celebrate. Finally getting some stuff to make my flat a little more homey, I am also getting new shoes, a basketball, a boken, and I am on a quest for escrima sticks. Found the Koran of Korean/English dictionaries and it's being held for me in Itaewan. So about my strange cultural adventure. I found a little hole in the wall pub close to the flat and went in. Arum the bartender speaks passable english but she and Mira from Nimbus bar correct my pronunciation. Anywho I was sitting alone in the bar a pile of dictionaries and notebooks when two gentlmen enter. One saw me and fell over. Geuss a western giant is kind of shocking. He said "Weygookin" ( foreigner ) so without missing a beat I said in a frightened, paniced voice and looked around "Odeo!"(Where !!) That got them all laughing. The ice was officially broken. The two men, one name translated into Short Legs, and he was short so it made sense. The second man was built like a barrel, He told me his English name was Rambo. I figured best to leave that one alone.


So later in the night between dictionaries. Arum ( English meaning Beautiful ) Taught me the Korean rule of three. When you get complimented.

First Compliment said earnestly

First Reponse Ani Yo ( No )

Second compliment said reassuringly with different phrasing and a little insistence

Second Response Ani Yo ( No ) but said more coyly

Third Compliment, reinforcing the previous two compliments if there was any question of sanity or veracity, and making it completely clear that this compliment was here to stay and an immutable fact of the cosmos.

Third Response Kan Sam Nida ( Thank you ) said graciously

Gotta love culture shock.