Click here to chat with me on Kik!

Click here to chat with me on Kik!

CP #10 Dana

    Our last meeting was at Black Dog Café. Hwa Won brought with her a topics sheet that she had shown me before, however we didn’t end up using. We perused through the topics and found a bunch of fun dating ones.

     We discussed how dating tends to work in the United States as opposed to South Korea. Hwa Won said that in college a lot of South Korean people go on blind dates with friends. After they meet up, the girls put their purses or an item of theirs on the table, and the boys all randomly choose one. Whoever is the owner of the item is their date for the event. It could get awkward though if you didn’t like the person who chose you and instead liked your friend’s date.

     I was amazed. I told Hwa Won that I have never gone on a blind date before and she was surprised. In South Korea they are so common. I said in the United States there are some people who do go on blind dates, but most dates happen after meeting someone who seems interesting.

     We discussed dating and love a bit more. We both agreed that a person and his or her partner should compliment one another. If the two people are too much alike they won’t get anything done. Hwa Won said that this is how she and her husband are. He always likes to be on the move, whereas she likes to stay at home and relax. Yet, her relaxation calms him down, while his activity brings her up. It works.

     After our talk of love I pulled out my set of tarot cards to show Hwa Won. Since it was so close to Halloween, I thought it would be a fun item to talk about and maybe even use. Hwa Wan thought they were beautiful and definitely wanted me to give her a reading. I’m not very skilled at using them, but I gave it a go. Luckily Hwa Won told me that they matched her question.

    It was an excellent note to end on. I very much enjoyed my conversation sessions with Hwa Won. And I hope that we will keep in touch. 

CP #9 Dana

      We were back at the library this time around. Hwa Won remembered a slight critical incident that she still falls into now and then. She told me how in South Korea you should act very humble when a person gives you a compliment. When, for example, someone compliments her children, her immediate reaction is to say, “No, no, he is not like that,” or something of that nature depending on the compliment. Even when a person insists, she still feels as though she should negate the compliment.

       I told Hwa Won that compliments are difficult. Because at times, you really do want the compliment that has just been given to you. She agreed, especially if a person compliments her children. She thinks that she should accept the compliment because she should be proud of her children even though saying so isn’t her first reaction. I said that she should accept them, people in America expect you to.

    It is however awkward when an individual compliments too much. At that point, I told Hwa Won, I start denying things. Being somewhat humble is a good thing.

    

     

CP #8 Dana

       The last time we were at Atomic I gave Hwa Won a list of what I thought were the best coffee shops in Tallahassee. Atomic of course was on there, and another that I think is pretty decent is Black Dog Café. Hwa Won was very interested in meeting there because it sits right next to Lake Ella.

    Each time I go to this particular coffee shop I ask the barista behind the bar to make me something of their choice. I enjoy the surprise! Hwa Won seems to enjoy it as well, because she asks for the same coffee as me, even when she doesn’t know what it’s going to taste like.

    Somehow our conversation turned to ice cream shops in South Korea, the United States, and Turkey. I told Hwa Won how my South Korean roommate worked at a famous Baskin Robbins in Seoul when he lived there. It was so famous that he even ended up serving ice cream to a few celebrities. She knew of the Baskin Robbins and said that they offered over 50 flavors.

     I was so surprised. It didn’t sound anything like the Baskin Robbins that I was used to in the United States. She told me that it was very different and was surprised as well when she went to a Baskin Robbins in the states for the first time. She was so excited to show her kids and was disappointed by the result. I told her if she wanted to get good ice cream she should try Lofty Pursuits in Tallahassee. They make their own ice cream along with fun sundaes and shakes. I hope she goes there with her kids. If she likes ice cream, she will love this place.

CP #7 Dana

    We were back at the library this time around, and Hwa Won wanted to talk about a critical incident that I may have experienced when I was in Turkey this summer. I was surprised actually at how well I acclimated to the culture when I was there, however there was one incident that stands out in my mind.

      I told Hwa Won how I was out at restaurant with a few American friends of mine. We were practicing Turkish words we knew, which were very limited and pretty harmless. The three of us were trying to integrate them into our normal speech just for fun. 

     Then one of my friends made a joke, and another responded with a Turkish word. This word in particular was taught to us by one of our mutual guy friends, and just so happened to be a curse word in Turkish. My friend, forgetting that everyone in the restaurant could understand this particular word, laughed and said the word in an extremely loud voice. Everyone at the restaurant stopped speaking for a moment, and the woman sitting behind her turned towards my friend and stared in disgust. It was beyond embarrassing.

      Hwa Won thought the story was amusing and informed me of some of the difficulties she went through when she first arrived in the United States. She said some of the most annoying and difficult instances were at restaurants. Servers in the United States are very friendly and want to make sure you are having an enjoyable meal.

    In this case, Hwa Won and her husband would be eating at restaurant and the server would keep coming back to speak to them. However, their English was very limited at the time and they had trouble communicating. All they wanted to do was eat without being bothered. In South Korea, she told me, servers leave you alone except to bring you food. I told her how I would sometimes prefer that. Some servers do talk too much.

CP #6 Dana

      Before we left the MOFA during our last meeting, I had told Hwa Won about one of my favorite coffee joints, Atomic Coffee. She hadn’t checked out the place yet, so we made an executive decision to meet up for coffee next time.

     I asked Hwa Won what type of coffee she usually drinks, and she said just the normal Americana. Personally, I don’t care for straight coffee, preferring to give my taste buds a change of tune, and I order the fun flavors Atomic offers. Hwa Won didn’t know you could do that at this shop, or what to choose, she asked me to order for her. I asked for two Medici lattes and picked a table. 

       I was so glad that she liked the taste of the coffee when she was able to try it, fearing that Hwa Won might find it too sweet. Luckily, orange, mocha, and cinnamon was perfect.

       We chatted about art for a bit and then jumped to amusement parks. Hwa Won told me how she takes turns with her husband whenever they go to Busch Gardens. One stays with their daughter and the other with their son. Their son loves rollercoasters and rides, as does Hwa Won and her husband. However, their daughter is extremely frightened.

    I told Hwa Won about a friend of mine who waited in line with me for a full hour, and finally, when she was right about to get on Space Mountain, freaked out and left. She was fifteen years old at the time. Hwa Won said that’s how her daughter acts. I guess some people never grow out of that fear.

            

CP #5 Dana

     Hwa Won and I decided to venture away from our regular meeting spot, and this time went to an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts on the FSU campus. Since I graduated from FSU with a studio art degree, I was very familiar with the layout of the building. It felt like going back in time a bit. Hwa Won however had never been there. When I arrived, Hwa Won was listening in on a class that was observing the work on the walls. She asked me if that was all right to do and I told her it was fine. The art teachers enjoy when the public is interested in art.

       The exhibition was by a Chinese artist named Gabrielle Wu Lee. She received her MFA at FSU but had passed away a few years back. A number of friends and family had sent bouquets of flowers for the art show, to remember her by. Hwa Won and I discussed our artistic opinions concerning the pieces, and tried to figure out how Gabrielle had managed to blend the paint. The paintings were very large and abstract. However, the viewer was still able tell whether the painting was supposed to be a wave crashing down or the sunset.

      We both enjoyed the paintings, however I enjoyed the more chaotic ones with bright contrasting colors, while Hwa Won preferred the calmer pastel pieces. The pieces she liked reminded me of her own ceramic work that she had shown me. They were simplistic with beautiful curves and calm colors.  I told her I was amazed because I can’t make anything very successful out of clay. I stick to paint, paper, ink, and photography.