Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Elephant in the Room: Part 2

With the exception of Jesus himself, King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived.  And even he made mistakes with women.  He had over 400 wives, and many of them being pagan gentiles who unwisely influenced King Solomon in decisions regarding the Kingdom of Israel.  Even the wisest man in the history of the world made unwise decisions regarding women, and suffered the consequences regarding them.  It says a lot about the power of a beautiful woman.

I decided to take Tae Hee out to dinner at a restaurant that serves Kalbi, deliciously grilled Korean pork, on a Friday night after work.  I had eaten at this restaurant before, and decided that it would be a great place to take a date.  I took Tae Hee there, and it went as well as it could have gone.  She looked amazing.  She wore this dress unique to the sense of style of Korean Women.  It was classy, modern, and looked good on her.  Most of the date consisted her making fun of the way I talk.  She showed me her sense of humor, as she is a hilarious mimic.   

Tae Hee and I live near each other, and both of our homes are roughly a kilometer from the restaurant.  It was a rainy night as it had been doing so all day.  She wouldn't allow me to see exactly where she lived, so during our walks home on every meeting, she would stop me at a certain point and say "I am near my home,"  and she would insist on going the rest of the way alone.  On the walk home that night, arm holding progressed to hand holding.  We came to the point where she would proceed to the house alone.  We stopped in the pouring down rain under my umbrella while holding hands.  I asked her, "Is it ok if I kissed you?"  She nodded, as the 'elephant' was still 'in the room.'

Every day, I finish work at around 10pm.  We sort of developed a habit of meeting at around 11.  We would meet at a particular place in our neighborhood, then proceed to Pungam Lake.  

On one particular meeting, she took me to a pagoda where we sat, and enjoyed the amazing view of the mountains, and high rise apartments on a full moon night.  She said to me, "Chrisu, I have known since I was young girl that American man think Korean girl are easy."

"I don't see you that way at all.  I see you as a beautiful, kind, intelligent lady with a great sense of humor.  I enjoy being with you."

She blushed, then took out her smart phone, and opened her translator app, entered various Korean characters, which were translated into the word, conservative.  "Chrisu, how do you pronounce?"

"Conservative."  

"I am conservative girl, and I wonder of your intention."

I reassured her in the best way that I possibly could.  I told her, "I am not like other guys.  You will see that when we get to know each other more."  

 "Chrisu, you are good man."

She mentioned in her broken English that she had been thinking about the future regarding the two of us, and while listening, I couldn't help but think of 'the elephant in the room.'  I felt like I was obligated to mention it to her.  I finally mustered the courage to bring it up.  "I have a concern."  I paused, then proceeded, "You are Buddhist, and I'm a Christian." 

She seemed almost surprised that I brought it up.  She forgot that she even mentioned it to me (If she didn't, she acted as if she did).  And I reminded her of the time she told me that she "trusted Buddha."  She, once again, took out her telephone, opened the translator app, entered various Korean characters, that translated into the word, barrier.

"Chrisu, we have two barrier."  She pronounced the word, barrier, incorrectly.  I smiled because of her endearing broken English, and corrected her mispronunciation.  We talked previously of the first barrier, communication, which was difficult, but we were able to overcome it, and still thoroughly enjoy each other's company.  The difference in religion was a considerably larger barrier.  

She said again,  "Chrisu, you are good man, but this must be last time we meet.  We have two barrier."

I didn't take what she said seriously, as our meeting proceeded as if the conversation didn't happen.  We were probably around two kilometers from her house.  As we walked home, we did so slowly.  When it came time for her to proceed to her home by herself, she stopped and said, "Chrisu, do you remember our conversation?"  I played dumb.  "We have two barrier.  This must be last time we meet."  

I don't know what came over me.  Despite the fact that I also knew that the difference in views was indeed a huge barrier, and especially knowing that one, or even both of the parties were adamant in their views, I protested.  "The chemistry that the two of us have is rare.  You can't simply turn it off like a switch."  She nodded, as I proceeded.  "It will be difficult…  for both of us."

While holding her, I protested once more.  "You can't simply turn it off.  It's going to be difficult."  We kissed one last time, and went our separate ways. 

2 comments:

  1. PLEASE tell me there is a part 3! And PLEASE do not make us wait so long for the next post ;)

    ReplyDelete