No Wonder the Koreans Stare!

I write this lying in the crab grass outside the training center. I'll probably regret it later, but there's no grass to be found in Seoul, and I don't know when I'll get another opportunity. Besides, its so warm out, and the air so fresh, how can I resist?

The middle school girls walk by squealing and pointing, "Eensectuh!" I shrug and smile, "Oh well." Though this assumed nonchalance seems to reassure the girls, I myself am a wee bit jumpy. The 'eensectuh's here are really grotesque. Most of what I've seeing in the grass are only one or two inch long beetle looking things, though, and not some great horned, fanged, wingless creature, so my laziness overcomes my hesitation, and I continue to lie in the grass.

Right now, the teens have two hours of 'Quiet & Reflection', a time equivalent to 'Silence & Solitude' back at the Mansion. One girl, perhaps 14 years old, sits about 5 feet away, sketching me (Koreans are fantastically artistic). What 'quiet reflections' I provoke I cannot guess. But it pleases me to be as universally accepted and loved among these middle and high schoolers as I was among the kindergarten and grade schoolers. Though it took the older ones some little time to get over their shyness.

Perhaps this reserve could be credited to my appearance. In Korea I stand out like a sore thumb. Not only do I tower over everyone, but of course, my hair/eye/skin color is conspicuous as well. My hair is quite long, compared to every other girl's stylishly short cut. I've become as accustomed to people reaching out to finger my hair, as I have to the wide eyed stares that follow me down the street. Both are equally amusing to me. As was one girl's shy remark, 'Your face is pretty, but your nose tips up. It is very big.' No vocal observation of another's blemishes is taboo, be it acne, or obesity, or (heaven forbid!) big, tipped up noses. I confess, I have been embarrassed a time or two by this startling bluntness. However, I found this girl's comment merely amusing. And, looking about me at all the Asian button-noses, I am compelled to admit the truth of the matter: my nose is extraordinarily long. No wonder the Koreans stare!