Offline, I'm not always so courteous...
The Accolade
Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922)
(Image from Wikipedia)
Yesterday afternoon, our two children were scheduled to exhibit their piano skills in a mini-concert set up by their piano teacher. All of her various young pupils would be participating, so this was a big affair for Sa-Rah and En-Uk, both of whom were excited about their upcoming performance.
En-Uk started jabbering about it in his enthusiasm:
En-Uk started jabbering about it in his enthusiasm:
"Daddy! You are not sick, so you can go today. If you were sick, you would have to stay home. People have to stay home when they're sick. But you are not sick, so you can go today."
En-Uk is only 7 and barely out of first grade, so he's allowed to jabberwock at the mouth if he wants to, but since I also take take my role as Teacher-Of-English-And-Clear-Thinking very seriously, I joshingly retorted:
"But En-Uk, that's banal. Everybody knows that. You don't even need to say it."
En-Uk stared at me, wondering about the suspicious word "banal," but had no opportunity to inquire, for my wife, Sun-Ae, cut in to set me straight!
"He means he's happy that you can go today," she said.
"Why didn't he just say so?" I asked.
"Because he's very Korean," she pointed out. "He says things in a deeper way. That's Korean culture, and you are supposed to look for the deeper meaning."
I thought about this for a few seconds before responding:
"I see," I mused. "You're saying that in Korean culture, people find a convoluted way to express something that could have been said much more simply except that everyone would then realize how simple it is. Right?"
Sun-Ae stared at me in a deeply Korean way but again proved her great love by allowing me to go on living...
Labels: Family
posted by Horace Jeffery Hodges @ 3:47 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
seems to me that if you're occupied trying to be convolutely polite it leaves less time for beheadings and such.
Couldn't find an email...pls. go over to comments and read the directions for posting on the mini meme. In fact, the image of being dubbed one of the nominees rather fits. You could re-use that one!
Hope you nominate Mav. Philosopher. Do you think he'd do it or pass? I tried to pick those I was pretty sure were game enough to keep it going. And I left MP for your list.
Yeah ... that might explain why I'm still living.
I'll look at the comments on GoV.
Jeffery Hodges
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Whew! You dodged a bullet. If you didn't spend any time in the doghouse for that remark, then Sun-Ae deserves a special treat (the Korean equivalent of flowers).
It's much more fun here in the US teaching Koreans how to be Americans. Just table manners alone can provide lots of entertainment, since you know the "pupils" are not enjoying what must seem like uncivilized behavior. Of course it helps not to be married to any of them, so you don't have to spend the night out back howling at the moon with Rover.
I don't want to be 'in the doghouse' here in Korea. I might be mistaken for a delicacy!
Just kidding.
(Wonder if I'll survive this time...)
Jeffery Hodges
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Geez, I walked right into that one.
Woof.
Well, you've got to watch your step around a doghouse.
Jeffery Hodges
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