Last night (Tuesday) I watched a TV program called "English Cafe." Primetime TV show, and what are the hosts doing? Learning the difference between "See you later!" and "See you around!" and why "See you!" is sometimes truncated to "See ya!" Furthermore, the English teacher showed the Korean "students" (the hosts) the three-point method of shaking hands in America: 1. straighten up (as opposed to the customary bow in Korea); 2. smile; and 3. stick your hand out. And have a firm grip, lest people get the impression you're less than honest.

I don't think I could explain the difference between "See you around" and "See you later." But the "students" asked, "Oh, so if you worked in a broadcasting station, and you were ending a conversation with your coworker, you'd say 'See you around,' because you'll be in the same location when you meet again, but if you were parting from a friend from a cafe, you would say 'See you later.'"

Americans, I think, might just say whatever came to mind; there's not much difference between the two, if you ask me. But that's the level of subtlety that this show went into.

This country is crazy for learning English. I've often wondered what people think when they turn to stare, even if just briefly, at me or my friends who are speaking English on the subway. I thought maybe there was a certain amount of hostility born of that anti-American sentiment that is so high just now. My dad and work friend Myung-soo both said that they stare out of jealousy, because they want to speak English fluently too.

My dad's theory is that because Korea is a peninsula, historically hanging off of and between much more powerful countries, Koreans learned how to adapt quickly to whatever winds were prevailing at the time. (He was talking about the popularity of Christianity, which he thinks might become less popular over time, but this can be extrapolated to cover the desire to learn English.)

From Japanese classmates, I learned that they don't often have the chance to practice their Korean in Japan because even though many Koreans have moved to Japan and work there, the Koreans are much better at Japanese. My friend Maiko is often greeted in Japanese by store clerks in Korea (who can somehow just tell that she's Japanese); I saw this myself when we went to the Korean folk village together.

Adaptability.

Mutability.

Interesting.

Possible.

Necessary.

Koreans, man. They've got staying power. Like kimchee.
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So my Miss Korea cousin, Yoon-Gyung, is good church friends with a colleague of mine from work, and I just talked to that colleague today, and she saw Yoon-Gyung's older brother on Sunday, who asked her, "Do you know someone named Kim Sokran?" and of course she didn't, because I'm known as "Helen Kim" here at the office, but then we cleared it up today and decided it was quite a small world after all.
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Last small item: Today in class, in order to practice a grammar pattern, we asked each other's advice on things we were worried about, and so I asked a couple people whether I should go to law school.

Lewis, the New Zealand guy, suggested I flip a coin (I told him I did that already); Shyam, the Indian guy, suggested I talk to lawyers and then, when I said I'd done that, suggested I talk to an education counselor; and Gyung-li, one of the Chinese girls in my class (she was born in 1980!), said "Ah, just go."

But my teacher, a 36-year-old stunningly beautiful sprite, took my worry quite seriously, and said some very sensible things. Nothing I haven't heard before, from various people, but somehow... I don't know, maybe hearing it in a different language, from someone who grew up in a different culture, made things seem wonderfully simple and clear.

Unexpected lessons from unexpected places.