佚名/Anonymous
“Tellheryougotthisespeciallyforher,”Johnsaidtomeashedrove, pointingtothebasketoffruitwrappedinclearacetatesittingonthebackseat.“Rememberwhenyougetin, , thetraditionalKoreanway, withyourhandsonyourforehead.”Ishiftedinthepassengerseatuncomfortably.“Then, she’sprobablygoingtoaskyouquestionsaboutyourancestry, whereyouwenttoschool, yourgoals……”
IwasmeetingJohn’smotherforthefirsttimethisafternoonandhewasferventlycoachingmeonhowtomakeagoodimpression.“Whileshe’stalking, ’……”JohncontinuedtolectureasIstaredblanklyoutthewindow.
IhadjuststarteddatingJohn, , , read, , ’tspeakperfectEnglish, butIfigureditwasokaybecauseIdidn’tspeakperfectKoreaneither.
, Inoticedhe’, hescheduleditwithmyfreetimesothathehadsomeonetotalkforhim, ’tspeakperfectEnglish, butwhatwasreallyfrustratingwasthathewasn’, butIthinkhewasmoreembarrassedaboutthepuzzledlookspeoplewouldgivehimwhenhetalked.
Therewouldbetimeswhenhewouldn’, Iandmyfriendswerereminiscingaboutthe80’s, thingslikeMichaelJackson, Madonna, , talkingaboutoldtimes, , butbythelookonhisfaceIcouldtellIwasn’tverysuccessful.
’,“Man……You’resobad……”JohnoverheardandrepliedinhismostperfectEnglish, tryingtobeprotectiveofmybrother,“No, heisn’tbad, he’.”, , buthejustdidn’tunderstandthelanguage.
, JohnandIalwayshadtowatchTVwiththecaptionturnedonandIhadtobecarefulnottouseanyslangthathewasn’, , tryingtolearnaboutourdifferentworldswithourlimitedvocabularies.
Don’, accept, , .
