A Hero's Welcome, clapping included ...

Finally, I got my first Hero's Welcome. I had read about this phenomenon occurring to foreigners in Korea ... and it finally happened to me on Saturday.

I attended a church family picnic somewhere in Deoksoo. In attendance were members from all the 'dinner and church' social groups. (The 'dinner and church' group I attend on Friday nights is apparently 1 of 3 groups that were created by the same person. When the group gets too big it splits off into an independent group I was told.) So there were about 60 people at this picnic, kids included. Some of the activities included badminton, 족구 (jokgu, which literally translates to 'foot ball' but in reality the sport is a hybrid of soccer, tennis and volleyball) and kite flying, and socializing over lunch and snacks and fun.

The lunch was delicious. On the menu: samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup with rice and juju beads) and dakdoritang (spicy chicken stew with potatoes) - two of my favorites Korean dishes! It is popular practice in Korea to serve snacks after lunch or dinner consisting of fresh cut fruit such as apples, Asian pears, oranges, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, lychee, and so on. This doesn't happen at all restaurants but if you ever find yourself lucky enough to be invited to a home-cooked Korean meal then you will experience this after-meal delight.

Anyway, getting to the point, after lunch and snacks I was then treated to a hero's welcome. Lucky for me, I was the only foreigner there and therefore didn't have to share the limelight. Every girl in attendance aged between 8 and 12 surrounded me (literally) to stare with wonderment and ask me a series of questions including:

1. Where are you from?
2. How long have you been here?
3. Where do you live?
4. What is your name?
5. How old are you?
6. Do you like boys?
7. What is your favorite color?
8. What church do you attend?
9. What kind of food do you like?
10. Do you have a boyfriend? (ugh!)
11. What is your goal in life? (double ugh!)

I was a superstar; the object of all their attention; even the ones that couldn't speak or (presumably) understand English very well listened and watched intently as I interacted with the vocal ones. They all wanted to be near me, talk to me, sit next to me, touch the same things I touched. I felt very special.

I asked my own series of questions including:

1. What is your name? (Without a pen and paper there is NO HOPE that I can remember new Korean names.)
2. How often do you go to church? (2x / week; Friday night social and Sunday worship)
3. What do you like to do? (play piano, play internet games, draw, play soccer, play hoola-hoop)
4. What is your goal in life? (to be a doctor, to be a teacher, to be a musician, I don't know)

When the question and answer session ran its course the girls begged me to play badminton with them. Little did they know that I welcomed the invitation; without them I would have had nothing else to do! I only knew a handful of people and most of them were too busy having fun, catching up on gossip and telling stories to be babysitting 'the foreigner'!

The highlight of the day came when I learned how to play a Korean children's clapping game. In this game (usually two) people (usually girls) sit in front of each other and clap their hands together in a complex combination while they sing or chant a song. As the clapping progresses it usually becomes faster and harder. I loved to play clapping games when I was a young girl.

Clapping games are like music and mathematics - unspoken languages that can cross borders seamlessly. By my third try I had the series of clapping combinations memorized - I was so proud. (As for the accompanying chant, well that was a lesson for another day!) Helen - the expert clapper of the group - and I had a five minute clap off. She showed little tolerance for errors but my delivery was nearly as flawless as hers. It was like having a five minute conversation with a Korean, without Korean or English, and it was awesome.

Welcome to Korea.