I Just Want a Cuppa . . .

I now speak enough Korean so that people think I speak Korean well. This is a bad thing. I utter one or two Korean phrases and they rattle off phrases at machine-gun speed. This usually makes me feel like bursting into tears.

Case in point. Tonight, in between classes, I wanted to get a cup of coffee. I headed to the local bakery, Paris Baguette (really). I selected a bread and a Korean doughnut (a round, green, chewy, bean paste filled concoction). At the counter, “Ko-pee jushipsayo.” Cofee please. [insert very fast Korean phrase] Blank stare from me. The clerk rings up my order. I hand her a handful of 1,000 won bills. She takes two then hands the rest back to me with a smirk. I thought she said 9,000 won. My total was 1,900 won. Will I ever learn? She bags my treats and says good-bye. Ko-pee? [insert even faster Korean phrase] Another blank stare from me. The lady behind me in line says, “To go or for here?” To go, please. [insert irritated, very fast Korean phrase] “They don’t have any.” Oh.

On to the next bakery, Cake House. I am now determined to have a cup of coffee. “Ko-pee jushipsayo” and I point to the door, to go. Yayyyyyy. (Korean for yes, I understand) She pours a cup of coffee in a to-go cup. “U-hyuu jushipsayo.” Milk, please. She hands me the milk in a mini ceramic pitcher. Okay, if the coffee is to go, wouldn’t the milk be, also? She stares in horror as I pour the milk into my coffee. Where else am I going to put the milk?