Hangook Sah-Ram Discount

Stopped by a small korean-owned grocery store yesterday to pick up some b-a-n-a . . .n-a-s, gwen stefani style. This means walking down the aisles at a medium-fast clip with longer than usual strides. Shoulders back, hips forward. I digress.

My cashier was an old korean gentleman. He had bad teeth and wore what seemed to be leg warmers on his arms. He asked me if I was korean: "You Coh-ree-hahn?" I usually don't initiate the korean assessment dialogue. However, recently, at a deli across the street from my work I got the first korean person discount since moving to New York. I was tired and thinking about something else. When she asked me if i wanted a bag, I replied in the affirmative in korean. It was a knee jerk reaction. Surprised, she waived 29 cents and I got even bills as change.

I guess this experience emboldened me because when this toothless man inquired about my ethnicity. I gave him the korean affirmative and gave him one of my stock phrases upon meeting my parents' friends. It's one of the few phrases I'm confident about because it's so routine. How's it going? Nice to meet you. Livin' la vida without the loca. One of those phrases. He gave me a big toothless smile and clucked as he said that my korean wasn't very good.

I thought that was really funny. I've lived in Northern China, bordering North Korea, for a year and his country accent was thicker than the inhabitants in Yanji. So there we were - two displaced Koreans, him, by virtue of direct immigration, me, a generation removed - judging each other's korean speaking ability. He had the last toothless laugh though. I paid full price for my b-a-n-a . . .n-a-s. And my arms got cold on the way back. Leg warmers for the arms. hmmm. maybe.