Birdseed Shirt

"...there are so many times when you need to make a quick escape, but humans don't have their own wings, or not yet, anyway, so what about a birdseed shirt?" - Oskar Schell

When you're blond and in Korea, people automatically assume you're either (a) an English teacher or (b) a Russian prostitute. I think I might have recently been mistaken for the latter. It must have been my sweat pants, t-shirt, tennis shoes, and tussle of hair pulled behind my head.....Next Saturday night out I'll go for the high heels, mini skirt with fishnet stockings and the bright red lipstick, and maybe I'll avoid weird encounters with older men.

I am unsure of the reason so don't bother asking, but apparently there is a rather large, or exclusive, Russian population here, and for another unsure reason the women have a reputation for being prostitutes. I heard the stories not long after I got here to be aware if someone inquires about being Russian as that usually indicates that dude is looking for, well, you know what. I was roaming around in a shopping mall in a subway station when a guy from Africa approached me and asked if we could get something to drink. This is not uncommon; people are generally pretty excited when they speak English and meet someone who also speaks English. So I obliged, and even though he wanted to trek across town I insisted on finding a place right there because people were plenty and I'm not stupid. I was thinking coffee, but we ended up at a fried chicken place right by the subway where he asked me where I was from. I found out nearly an hour later that my U.S.A. sounded like U.S.S.R. which quickly explained why he was making me uncomfortable. Buddy, get rid of any ideas you have right now. Oh, no, I didn't know where you were from when I first asked you. Right, except for the fact that I have an American accent. He offered to pay for dinner and we ended up talking about teaching and Africa for a bit, but he soon went back to making me uncomfortable. So rather than give him my phone number when he asked, I lied and told him I didn't have a phone and had to meet friends for a movie. So back off and bye-bye. It's all good and I was never in any danger (so don't panic parents), but I kinda wish I had picked his pocket or........hit 'im.