Picture a Chinese woman. She’s about 25 years old and she’s walking down Ste-Catherine’s street downtown Montreal. She’s minding her own business, enjoying the sunshine and thinking about her day.
Across the street there’s a kid yelling “Ni hao!” (hello in Chinese), but she’s too deep in her thoughts to hear that. As she keeps walking, there’s now 5 or 6 kids staring at her and screaming “NI HAO!! NI HAO!! NI HAO!!! NI HAO!!!”
She finally turns around and waves at them. But waving is not enough. They keep shouting “NI HAO! NI HAO! NI HAO!”
Confused and surprised, she replies back. The kids just look at each other and burst into laughter. Then they run away.
How crazy does that story sound to you? Pretty weird, right? I personally have never witnessed such a thing back home. Canadians won’t yell “Hola!” to a Spaniard until he or she replies. Canadians won’t shout “Jambo Sana!” to a Kenyan until he or she replies. We can smile at them or nod our head but… screaming?
As it turns out, I am the Chinese woman. Well, I’m not Chinese, but you understand my point.
Back when I was living in Seoul, it was bearable, but now that I’m on the island of Jeju, it’s insane! Here are a few examples:
1. Walking by a school
Picture between 10 and 50 kids yelling “What’s your name??? What’s your name??? What’s your name???” and following you around. They won’t quit until you finally answer. The typical reaction is giggling or (that’s actually not bad) “Nice to meet you!”
2. Walking on the street
It’s usually a group of boys of girls hanging out together. It’s like a dare kinda game – the first one to say “Hello!!” to the foreigner is really cool. So they say it, and then burst into laughter. Once they’ve passed you, they’ll keep saying it even if you’ve already replied. On average, a foreigner walks by such a group of kids maybe 3-4 times a day.
3. Driving!
Now I have curly blond hair. So when I put my helmet on, you can still see my hair.
Well get this.
I’m driving on the street and kids are yelling at me “Where are you from??” As if I had time to reply? As if I would stop my scooter,and answer? As if I want to pull over and respond?
At a red light, it’s worse because I can’t escape them. The car next to me typically has to be filled with kids and they have to yell “Hello!! Hello! Hellooooooooooooo!” If I wave or reply, they’ll keep saying it and laughing.
4. Anywhere, really
Is a foreigner swimming in the ocean? Kids and adults come up to him and say “Hello! Hello! Hello!” If you keep swimming, they’ll follow ya. It can actually be quite scary at times.
Is a foreigner shopping at the supermarket? Koreans stare at him/her and of course some of them throw in a “Hello! Nice to meet you! Where are you from? Where are you from? Where are you from? WHERE ARE YOU FROM?”
Is a foreigner eating out in a restaurant (especially McDonald’s)? That one is dead on. Kids STARE at him/her (last time there were 12 middle school kids staring at Bill and I) and even if you say “Hi!”, they’ll keep staring at you while you eat, whispering stuff to each other and giggling. If you ignore them and go on with your conversation, they’ll imitate whichever sound they hear.
Last week I was sick, and I looked sick. I obviously wasn’t all smiles and cheery! Well it happened like 3 times. I had the biggest headache and they were yelling “Hello!!!!!!” until I finally replied and then they looked at each other, said “Oh!!” and laughed.
The thing is that I love those kids! My students are sweet, cute and adorable! They run around in their socks and their smile brightens up the room! And I’m always impressed when they make the effort to speak English – either in class, or on the street. But they throw those words at you and don’t care about the answer and I wonder why, then, do they do this?
Is it an obsession? If I did that back home to a Japanese dude, I would feel like I’m being the biggest dumbass on the planet.
And I understand Koreans don’t see much White people, but… is this actually true? I see a lot of foreigners around and Jeju is a tourist island. I don't know... it's just… weird!
