This Is Why I Love So-Yae…

The 6 retired Korean men I take Chinese calligraphy lessons with have become my friends. I look forward to having coffee and lessons with them each day, even though I rarely speak. I just sit there, listening to them talk back and forth. Occasionally I will understand a phrase here, a word there, and follow along. Sometimes Mr. Lee will translate a general idea.

This morning, I had finished my first scroll of the first stroke. (I have progressed from lines to boxes to circles to stars and now I’m learning the basic strokes – there are 5). “Co-pee time!” one shouted, followed by bouts of laughter. They always make me sit in the middle of the couch, patting the seat as I walk into the room, “Miss Lori, Miss Lori.” Khamsa hamnidaaaaaaaaaa.

As we sipped our cups of coffee, they talked about a morning talk show. I’ve never seen it, so I listened quietly, gazing from speaker to speaker. Then one man began to tell a story that lasted for about 10 minutes. This is what I understood: It was cold outside so he put his jacket on backwards. He was walking, or maybe driving, and got hit by a car. Then the room erupted in laughter. I sat there. Hmmm. I must have missed the punch line.

My classmate motioned to Mr. Lee. “Miss Lori. Tell! Tell!” Mr. Lee turned to me to translate. Here’s what really happened: My classmate’s friend had to run an errand. It was cold outside so he put his coat on backwards. He got on his motorbike to ride to the store. Somehow he hit a tree and fell off his motorbike. He was laying face down on the ground. Remember, though, his coat was on backwards so the buttons on the coat were actually on his back, facing upward. A woman saw the accident and ran over to the man to see if he was okay. She saw him laying face down, but his coat was face up. She thought his head had twisted off. Screaming, she reached down and tried to twist his head around. He was still in a daze from falling off his bike and couldn’t tell her to stop. She continued screaming and tugging until he finally came to enough to make her stop.

At this point I am laughing so hard I’m in danger of spewing my coffee. “True story! True story!” all my classmates exclaim. I can’t stop laughing, which produces another bout of laughter from the old men. I love these guys…