"You're Very Dirty and Smelly"

I started teaching two new kindergarten classes today. One class has three boys and the other has four girls. The kids were good for the most part, though the boys got a little out of hand toward the end. I interpreted it as a signal to wrap things up and return them to their mothers. I'm really glad to be teaching 5 days a week now.

This past weekend I went to church with my coworker Katherine and her boyfriend Mark. Their church started an English language service about 6 months ago. It's a small congregation, all of whom speak English as a second language or grew up in bilingual (Korean-Canadian, Korean-American) homes. Mark and I were the only two solely English speakers. It was a nice service, and the people were friendly and welcoming. I'll probably visit there again, though I'm hesitant to make a commitment at this point since I'm still arranging my new mission work, which might involve church responsibilities on Sundays.

So now for the dirty and smelly part . . . there is a lovely park with a mountain and trails near my apartment. Today was a beautiful day, though a bit warm and humid, so after my classes, I headed to the park to hit the trails. The map at the park entrance indicated that the trail I had chosen was about 3 kilometers long and ended near the top of the mountain. I set off up the trail. It was steep, and I'm out of shape, so it was quite a workout. The view from the top was superb. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera with me, but I'll take it with me next time. In one direction, I could see my entire city and then some. In the other direction, there was nothing but mountains for as far as I could see. It was getting to be evening, and I didn't want to get stuck up there in the dark, so I headed back down.

It was a hard climb up but an easy run down, so when the trail was safe enough (i.e., not too steep, no rocks or roots or mud to avoid, no cliffs on either side), I ran. I slipped a little on one part of the trail and ended up with mud on my legs, and I was sweating considerably. By the time I made it back to my apartment building, I was a certifiable mess. I got on the elevator with two clean, nicely dressed women. One looked me over and said, "Hello, I'm Carmen. Are you new here?"

"Yes," I answered. "I've been here about two weeks."

"You're very dirty and smelly," she said.

What could I say but "Yes, I just climbed the mountain."

"I'm clean and smell nice," she answered.

Just then the elevator stopped and the eleventh floor, so I had to excuse myself from that exciting conversation. I was kind of curious about what else she might point out: that I'm dripping with sweat, that my hair is a mess, that I have a zit on my chin, that I have a big nose? Thanks, clean, nice-smelling Carmen!

I find conversations like this pretty funny. The comments complete strangers will make never cease to astound me. It seems that Koreans are not as reserved as Westerners are when it comes to commenting on a person's appearance. I've never heard anything said maliciously, just matter-of-factly. "You're very dirty and smelly." Well, yes, I was. I can't deny it or hide it, not on an elevator at least.