Disclaimer: Reading my blog posts about Jae Ho probably gives you the impression that the hour of conversation between him and I is filled with hilarious misunderstandings, cultural faux pas, and witty banter. But let me be the first one to shoot that horse in the face (pardon the expression). Rather, our talks are more like scattered bits of sentences laced with sporadic pauses that may or may not last entire minutes. During those minutes, the coffee baristas and pastry displays become much more infatuating that a cabinet of food ever should be. That being said, do not be discouraged if the conversations with your own partner aren't smooth. The only really good thing that's smooth in this world is JIF peanut butter anyway, so don't stress.
That being said Jae Ho and I met for the fourth time today. Since we hadn't seen each other in a while, we chatted for a little bit about what we had done the past few weeks and weekends. I asked him about Halloween. Had he ever experienced it before? What did he think about our traditions? Did he pass out candy? Go to a party? Dress up? After I showed him my infamously accurate Snooki and Oompa Loompa costumes, he laughed and told me he went to a whore house for Halloween. No lies. Real talk. Sitting there in Union Grounds, he asked me if I knew what a whore house was. I do in fact know what a whore house is. But was I about to have a conversation about the happenings of whore houses with my Korean language partner? Absolutely not! Honestly, I was awkward. I was embarrassed. I was offended too. What kind of American would take a foreigner who did not know our customs to a whore house for Halloween. Tell me this. This was the first question he asked. I was fairly traumatized to say the least. A bit panicky, I guided the conversation away from the whores in the house on Halloween.
...It wasn't until approximately five hours later while starting this blog post that I realized the entire time he had been talking about a Horror House, which in case you didn't know, is extremely different than a whore house. This tends to make much more sense in the context of Halloween, obviously. So this is me apologizing to Jae Ho for judging him based on a terrible miscommunication about prostitutes on the Day of the Dead.
This post literally made me laugh out loud, Julia. Not just the whore house incident, but the peanut butter line was one that I particularly enjoyed. I also liked the abrupt asides that added sharp bits of humor!
ReplyDeleteJulia,
ReplyDeleteBravo on your post! It is hilarious and so real. I'm sorry that you could talk much to your conversation partner because of the whore house incident, but I'm sure when he realizes what you were trying to do there, he will appreciate your effort. I think it would be funnier if the person who led him to the Horror House was sitting there and you became angry with him because you thought he led your partner to a whore house on Halloween. But anyway, great job on keeping your patience and trying to maintain the conversation.