Charpie's Travels

My parents are here!! I feel like a tourist now... 7 months late. It's kinda cool though; it's a different perspective of the city than usual. And it's quite nice to have family around to be touristy with you.  I took the subway home tonight and decided to get off at a different station. I NEVER get of there. But I figured, by the time I caught the transfer and walked home, I'd arrive about the same time. Plus, getting off at a different stop meant a change of scenery.  As I was passing a line-up of street food vendors, a lady tapped my shoulder. She pointed somewhere across the street and asked, "Hae-aw een lau-buh?" I quickly put on my puzzled face as I removed my headphones and replied, "What?" "Hae-aw een lau-buh," she repeated.  Ahh.  I nodded, thrilled and relieved that I understood. My last haircut was at the salon across the street. It's got a stellar Konglish name. (Look back at what the lady said to me and read it quickly....

Holly and I set out to find Aveda today. It took a while, since the one for which we had directions didn't seem to exist anymore. But Holly knows everything and, a few subway stops later, we were at a different Aveda. I know I'm in Korea. I know that. But my brain still has this notion that, at a place like Aveda, people will speak English. Not so, my friend. However, these non-English speakers were fabulous. They brought us tea, loaded us up with fashion books and hair color samples, and whisked away Holly's purse to be locked in a safe place. I think they thought I was just accompanying Holly. So while while they started with her, I got a free foot massage. Korea is full of wonderful free stuff. Aveda has an online aide for Korean/English conversations. However, this didn't prove useful enough for Jae Young, the poor guy who was trying to figure out what in the world I wanted done with my hair. After an extended period of confusing questions and confusing answers an...