Today: Fred commits a cultural faux pas.

 

 

 

Cast of characters

 

 

 

Fred

 

 

 

Mrs Won

 

 

 

Rose – the daughter of Mrs Won’s cleaning lady

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*Family Affair*

 

 

 

Mrs Won pointed toward a set of sliding doors that divided the sitting room from the kitchen.

 

 

 

Fred glanced over and could see a foggy figure faintly moving behind the doors, which were modernly-styled but resembled the old-fashioned rice paper ones you see in old pictures of traditional Korea.

 

 

 

 Fred squinted. “There’s someone else here?”

 

 

 

* Who’s the mystery person? *

 

 

 

“Wait a minute.” Won called the person in the kitchen and there was a pause in the flourish of slicing.

 

 

 

The rice paper doors slid open slightly and an attractive but shy-looking woman’s face appeared between the cracks and made brief eye contact with the ajumma, nodding ever-so-slightly and then looking away.

 

 

 

“She’s Cleaning Lady’s daughter,” Won said. “Her name is Jung-Me, which means rose. It is a suitable name for her.”

 

 

 

 

“She is very beautiful but if you get too close she is prickly!”

 

 

 

Won looked at Rose and grinned. “Maybe that’s why she is not married!”

 

 

 

“Ajumma!” Rose responded critically but also appearing somewhat ashamed.

 

 

 

Fred saw she was now blushing and she still hadn’t made eye contact with him.

 

 

 

“My Cleaning Lady is busy sometimes,” Ajumma said, “so she sends Rose here. Today she is helping us prepare for your arrival.”

 

 

 

Fred was a bit choked by the royal treatment and nodded approvingly.

 

 

 

He saw that this was a big deal for the Koreans.

 

 

 

Rose slid the doors shut and resumed her work.

 

 

 

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop …

 

 

 

* Are Korean women kitchen slaves? *

 

 

 

“Cleaning Lady and Rose help me often because I’m a nurse at a health clinic downtown and usually don’t get home until late.”

 

 

 

 

“We have known them for years. Rose’s father died from drinking too much. And loving too much – he had many mistresses.

 

 

 

“Rose has a younger brother, 19, but he is in the military service as are all Korean men his age. Rose is 27 and single.”

 

 

 

 

“Unfortunately in Korea, it is a very old age to get married.” She looked up to where Rose’s face had been and shook her head disparagingly.

 

 

 

“Maybe too late.” Rose had retreated back to the kitchen, but had left the rice paper doors cracked.

 

 

 

The flood of information Ajumma was giving Fred surprised him, as if he was a family member who’d been away for a while.

 

 

 

“What’s Rose’s job?”

 

 

 

“She is a hostess but she must get married this year.”

 

 

 

“It’s not like she’s ugly or anything. And I can already see she’s a hard worker. Should be no problem to get her married off.”

 

 

 

“Actually maybe there is a problem. She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

 

 

 

Fred snickered. “Me – single.”

 

 

 

They got talking about cross-cultural marriages and a moment later Rose entered the room through the crack in the doors, with a huge silver tray of apple slices.

 

 

 

Without making a peep and still not making eye contact (she looked down), she held the tray out, offering Fred some.

 

 

 

“Oh, no thanks,” he said unthinkingly, waving her off vigorously. “I never eat before bed.”

 

 

 

Rose disappeared into the kitchen with the tray and swiftly snapped the sliding doors closed behind her.

 

 

 

They whapped shut with a certain conclusiveness.

 

 

 

* Has Fred – perhaps unwittingly – offended Rose? *

 

 

 

Fred felt something wasn’t right, but kept babbling.

 

 

 

 

“Honestly, Mrs Won, I don’t see the problem with cross-cultural marriages, and I don’t know why there aren’t more of them. It’s common in Canada and I’m all for it.

 

 

 

“From what I’ve heard and seen about Koreans, you people stick to yourselves a lot. Why not mix more with other countries’ people?”

 

 

 

 

Ajumma waved him off. “A mixed marriage would inevitably be filled with misunderstanding.”

 

 

 

She shook her head gloomily.

 

 

 

“Like what?”

 

 

 

“Like how you just completely offended Rose.”

 

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

 

“In Korea we always offer a guest some fruit or a drink. And customarily a guest never refuses.”

 

 

 

 

“What you just did is extremely rude and callous. Rose is very disappointed and hurt now.”

 

 

 

* Fred: Canadian ambassador or cultural barbarian? *

 

 

 

The kitchen sliding doors opened again and without looking at either Ajumma or the waygook, Rose headed to the front door.

 

 

 

She had donned a light summer jacket and had a small handbag tucked under her arm.

 

 

 

She stopped briefly at the door and slipped on her slipper-like shoes, then turned around and dutifully bowed to Won, again barely making eye contact.

 

 

 

Then Rose disappeared, clicking the door shut with politeness yet finality.

 

 

 

Fred was taken aback.

 

 

 

He felt as if he was standing in front of an open walk-in freezer door.

 

 

 

The skin on his arms was all goose-bumpy. “How insensitive of me!” He chuckled but the tone of it made it clear he was laughing at himself and his own faux pas.

 

 

 

“Don’t worry,” Ajumma said, reading his shock. “She understands that you are a foreigner.”

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Fred’s day gets an early start.