Drift Reality > South Korea > Jinie 2

A strange and wonderful thing happened at that point in time. I turned towards Justin and told him that I was thinking about speaking with the girl but I wasn't sure. He glanced at her, and then glanced back towards the stage and said, "Go for it man."

For some reason, his nonchalant attitude drifted over my head, just long enough for me to swivel my chair so that I was facing the girl and ask her if she wanted a drink. To my absolute delight, she offered me a dimpled smile and a twinkle of the eye: it was all the confidence I needed to pull my chair close to their table and introduce myself.

"Hi, my name is Jiyan," I said.

She smiled deliciously back at me but then proceeded to shake her head and tell me, "I am Jinie. No English."

Fortunately, her friend spoke a little bit more English than she did, and introduced the two of them.

"This is Jinie, I am Yu-Jin."

"Well, hello there Jinie and Yu-Jin, my name is Jiyan and this," I turned towards Justin who was placidly staring at the stage with his back to us, "this is Justin."

Justin slowly swiveled his head around, smiled, waved, and then preceded to turn back towards the stage. I found myself alone, facing two Korean girls who spoke very little English.

During my first month in Korea, I had developed the notion that it was absolutely impossible to interact with Korean girls. This opinion was the inevitable result of getting into numerous bar conversations that resembled the following example:

Jiyan: Hi there, my name is Jiyan.
Korean Girl: Hi. (giggles, covers her mouth and turns away)
Jiyan: Wait! What is your name?
Korean Girl: (shakes head) No English.
Jiyan: What?
Korean Girl: No. Nothing.
Jiyan: So, what's your name?
Korean Girl: Oh Hyun Joo
Jiyan: Ohyunsu?
Korean Girl: Oh Hyun Joo.
Jiyan: Say that again?
Korean Girl: Bye!

At this point, the girl would rapidly depart the premises, not turning back for fear of making eye contact with me. This type of situation had occurred with consistent frequency and I had just given up the whole though of trying to communicate with Korean girls.

As usual, Gordon had offered his perspective on the situation, explaining that precise semantic comprehension was not a prerequisite for flirting with a girl. Apparently, an individual was capable of communicating through a variety of different mediums, including facial expressions, sign language, symbolic drawing, and Gordon's favorite - getting drunk and trying to make out with the girl. Of course, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about at the time, but on that particular night, inspired by a muse of epic beauty, I made my grand leap into the world of non-verbal communication.

Pointing to my eyes and then pointing to her, I managed to convey my appreciation for her beauty. She smiled and then made a similar gesture, offering reciprocity for my compliment.

After a while, I extended my index finger and my little finger, and held them to my ear while offering her a questioning glance. She got the message, smiled and shook her head vigorously. I responded by shrugging my shoulders and placing a hurt look into my eyes.

She duplicated my "phone" gesture and feigned speaking into the mouthpiece. She then shrugged her shoulders and looked confusedly at the phone. The two words that she uttered, "no understand," enlightened me as to her dilemma: she did not feel as though we would be able to communicate adequately.

After making the "pen" gesture by clenching the tips of my fingers together and then pretending to write over an imaginary sheet of paper, she got the message and fished a pen out of her handbag. I then proceeded to write the following message on a napkin:

"I will learn Korean so that I can speak with you."

She understood my message and her acknowledging smile was all the response I needed. We were two mimes in love.

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