Miss Jins hamburgers

“Annyeong Haseyo!”-she said cheerfully as every customer opened her shops door chiming those Korean bells attached with the door frame.

“A cheese burger please”-said Hoon selecting the least priced burger available.

Tired of aimlessly walking almost 1500 meters from his office trying to cut himself off from the daily schedule he entered this small shop with an aim to find nothing but silence. He was hungry too but the thirst of tranquility had to be quenched first.

“mol won hae? Set?” she asked with that effervescent smile which seemed to have been her companion for a long time.

As for Hoon, he could not interpret her Korean words as he came from a land unknown speaking a language which no one in a thousand kilometer radius understood. Probably he was frustrated because of a language barrier or was it the work load only he knows.

His confused expression cleared it out to her that he was far from understanding anything and so she pointed it out on the menu and asked “Du yu wont a set?”

And that’s when he realized she was asking him whether he wanted the burger single or with coke and french-fries which she called it a set. He saw it costs another 1800 won and although he was hungry decided to stick with the single burger and said slowly “n---o .....s---e---t”

He was deep into his thoughts to observe the colourful restaurant with a perfect luminance to create an atmosphere for a hungry man to eat his lunch peacefully. The traditional Korean handicrafts and painting hung on the walls gave the German-American burger joint a Korean authenticity.

“Cheese burger” she said cheerfully and served it on the loners table. With the first bite Hoon time travelled into the past imagining himself sitting in his mother’s kitchen on the kitchen table which seemed to have been the only place where he was genuinely happy.

“Wow!” he exclaimed like a callow child.

“Aww….Kasahamnida” she said with her eyes glittering with joy just the way his mother’s did.

He paused for a moment and suddenly he could see reality painting in his mind making him aware of those colourful walls and his taste buds imagining his mother sitting on the opposite chair looking at him and smiling like always when he had food.

He took as long as he could with the burger and after taking that last bite and further bits of the last bite he paid her the trifle 3000 won in exchange of a priceless feeling.

It’s been a week and he walks everyday those 1500 meters twice which seems a very small distance for his journey back to his mother’s kitchen-The only place where he was genuinely happy.

Saranghaeyo Korea!! First 4 hours!

Okay firstly got to mention that after reading my seniors blog about Korea, who happens to be having his internship in KAIST, Daejeon as well, gave me a huge inferiority complex as to what I could write about Korea which he couldn’t and anyways it’s awesome. Turning out to be a huge blessing in disguise my introspection and retrospection levels are on an all-time high making me recollect those sub-consciously registered moments which my trip to Korea exclusively offered me!

It began for me with bidding khudahafiz (byebye) to Daulat-Al-Kuwait which is all together another story for me to pen down sometime later. 

Flying through Jet-Airways International was the best plane experience so far. Good entertainment facility I must say, a library of movies and soaps to choose from and to my surprise an internal chat facility with your other mates who couldn’t get the honour of sitting next to you. Of course I personally consider it insane to chat to your neighbor via text msgs on “Jet airways international” but well you can try that too if you want.

 The long tiring journey took its toll by the time I was in the connecting flight from Hong Kong in Asiana Airlines. It had already been 16 hours from Kuwait with a 12 hour stop at Delhi and I was least interested in roaming about the Hong Kong airport. Least interested to do anything but unfortunately attend nature’s sweet call! If it would’ve been the easy job I would have been more than happy with Hong Kong but seriously for the greater task you give me tissue papers instead of water? Oh man! It was a live troll and lol scene! Anyway my respect for Bisleri has never been greater. With that note I sat in Asiana airlines where I got a sneak peak of what Korea is all about. As soon as the flight begins the flight attendants graciously and warmly welcome you. For a pot belly like me it was herculean to bend down to respect someone else like that! It was nice to have a cute Korean girl sit next to you and tell tales about her life and culture of Korea. My energy was all coming back with the “time left to reach destination” sign flashing on the screen. With the successful landing (I still get nightmares of dying in a plane crash) it was annyeong haseyo to a reality of THE dream rising from the ashes of a hope burned by tension and anticipation. The “Welcome to Korea” sign accelerated my heart, widened my smile and activated my 1 diopter weak eyes into fully functional mode as I began to look at everything everywhere. Me being Bollywood-ish it was an awesome feeling to step on another land (no matter even if I’d been to Kuwait first) with the nasik dhol (Indian music) playing in my head. I was ecstatic and I can’t confine this feeling in my wall of words or for that matter in this dumb analogy.THIS was my foreign internship!! With me knowing no one I felt independent and lonely at the same time! Mixed feelings given this situation were quite natural I guess.

 Incheon International Airport claimed to be the world’s no.1 for me felt awesome just because I knew it was no.1. Rest, yeah it was big, awesome, and supreme blah blah. I straight away headed for the outside as it was gonna be another 4 hour journey by bus to Daejeon after being looted at the foreign exchange ofcourse, but what can one do when he is stupid enough not to get some Korean currency at better rates in his own country. Oh yeah and the exchange! Man you feel rich! This feeling goes no sooner than when you pay for the limousine bus ticket. 23k Won for Incheon to Daejeon!! Wasn’t gonna stay “rich” after all. With respect to India Korea is literally 10 times more expensive but well I didn’t care. At the bus station found a Korean girl studying in Australia (I guess humanities..u get the point right?) who herself asked if I needed help ( even if I didn’t I would have said yes ) she told me she knew the place well so there wasn’t much to worry about. She also found a lady and her daughter going to the same station as I was to help me further from there. So this is Korea I thought! People with their simplicity (using not so simple devices though) and down to earth nature can win your heart in moments.

The bus with its pin drop silence couldn’t help but force me to keep comparing India with Korea. I was prepared for Korea to be technologically advanced but not for the code of conduct of each and every individual that I came across. The fast Indian pace and the growing population have made us lose some basic respect we ought to give to every fellow human being. It’s not that we don’t it’s just that our datum begins from a very different level. This isn’t cultural difference this is something else. Probably the twist of our natural consensus when there is competition every single second. Anyways, I was absolutely vigilant to not miss my stop. The bus stopped somewhere and the lady asked me to get down. As soon as I got down I was asking her whether this is the correct stop. Meanwhile the bus left! The bus left!!!!!!! With my luggage! Crap all of a sudden I was out of my dreamland saga and it took I guess a minute for me to sink in the fact that the luggage was gone! That lady felt so bad she ran after the bus seconds after it left. So the scene was, me sinking in the fact that I was in deep shit with my legs welded to the ground, the lady running for me behind the bus on the freeway with cars moving at the speed of light and some Koreans trying to console me. That was one hell of a moment to put up with. I guess I was just lucky that the signal went red and the bus stopped for the lady to catch up. Stopped but after good 700 meters of displacement from the stop. I have never had any of my relatives run for me like that in worse situations! She yelled in Korean and the bus took aside and I procured my 60 seconds lost luggage. Man those 60 seconds! What an adventure with me being hardly for 4 hours in this country. The lady took me to her residence and told me she will drop me to Hwaam Dormitory herself! For a moment I thought I was being abducted by a lady who strangely runs for me and then tells me I can avoid the 4000 won taxi! Too good to be true isn’t it? Well too good to be true in India I guess. I was already in love with this country. 4 hours of Korea and this! Imagine the 2 months stay I thought.

Well I reached Hwaam at about 11pm…and a whole new story begins from there…I guess it will take a whole new blog for that…as for now sitting in my office during lunch hour and finishing with this blog …. Anneyeong haseyo…and kamsahamnida if u reached the end….