my life never quits being embarrassing.

so today, i splurged and bought a doughnut on my way to the grocery store. it was delicious. not as good as the banbury cross chocolate cake ones you can get in utah, but pretty damn close. interesting huh? okay, okay, it's boring i agree. but it will all make sense soon. chillax.

living in korea and especially in the boonies means that there aren't a lot of whities. (whitey = foreigner. i know that this is not politically correct, but i've become attached to the term and use it frequently. and i mostly only get weird looks when i call korean americans or black people whiteys. which also happens more often than you would think). annnyways. in korea there are not very many whities. so naturally koreans look at me thinking, "what the hale is this whitey girl doing out in freakin goseong, south korea? and why is she talking to herself and dancing in the elevators?" it happens all the time. I'm standing at the bus stop and 95% of people in passing cars take a long glance at me as they pass. some even wave. every other person that i pass on the street makes eye contact.  kids point and give me the nicest compliments in korean. (i cannot understand korean). i notice ajumas staring at me on the bus. when i first got here i used to think people would look at me because my clothes were a hot mess, or i had freaky reverse blonde roots, or i spilled kimchi juice on myself. but nope, it's just cause of my freaky eyes and pasty skin.

so today I'm walking down the street (a maybe 5 minute walk) from the bus stop to the grocery store and people are looking at me left and right. okay, normal. they always look at me like I'm a weirdie. but people are looking at me longer than usual. and focusing on my face. dah HALE? what is going on? i start to give them weird looks back. a creepy smile with eyebrows raised. this does not deter them. i think everybody else is being so weird until i walk up to the e-mart glass doors and see my reflection. chocolate frosting. on my face.

for once, koreans looked past my cultural and biological differences to stare at my real, normally embarrassing self. and it felt good. :)