A Korean guy approached me in a coffeeshop yesterday afternoon, asking if he could sit down and chat for a few minutes. With the use of a cellphone translator, we were able to have twenty minutes of conversation in broken English and bits 'n' pieces of Korean. To some, this situation would potentially seem very awkward, but I've become quite accustomed to random interactions like these in Korea... where a child or adult decides that meeting me at a bus stop, in an elevator, or on a street corner, is a great opportunity to practice their English!
The craziest part about yesterday's conversation, though, was that at the end of it, this guy confides in me that this is the first time he's ever spoken to a foreigner. He's never traveled, lives in the same town he grew up in, and works as a waiter in a local Korean restaurant. This was the very first time he's ever spoken with an individual outside of his own cultural background and ethnic descent! How cool is that? I felt so privileged that I got to be someone's first.
Do you remember the first time you spoke with someone of another ethnic background? I'm guessing that most of my readers come from such ethnically diverse societies, potentially even within their own multi-generational family histories, that such a "first" is difficult to imagine! How about the first time you attempted conversation with someone whose language was different from your own?
I took an evening bus to Jinju after work last night to experience the Namgang Lantern Festival there. It was magical! The city's waterfront was bustling until about 2am, with people wandering up and down both sides of the Namgang river, and around a large fortress above it, admiring the many floating lanterns that were reflecting their colored brilliance onto dark, oily water. The festival has historical significance to these people, dating back to a period of Japanese invasion in 1592, when a Korean general used lanterns in the sky and torches on the river to send military signals to his troops. The soldiers also used lanterns to express their safety to family and supporting forces outside the fortress. The whole place reminded me of some sort of surreal dream, although sleep deprivation may have contributed to that. The diversity of the lanterns was amazing, ranging in size from larger-than-life, Disney-esque and rather garish, to the most exquisite handmade paper ones hanging in an archway. I spent most of my time in this tunnel of light, craning my neck to examine each one. They were by far my favorites, each lantern so different in its design, expressing the unique creativity of hundreds of individuals. It was beautiful. 
