After a sleepless nine-hour flight, I finally set foot in Incheon. Arrival card and passport in hand, I was ready to figure everything out by myself. The only other thing on my mind was trying to impress the airport worker – the person that was supposed to accompany me – by greeting her in Korean. When I did, I couldn’t tell if she was surprised or indifferent. She patronizingly compared the data in my passport, a piece of paper from a country she had never heard of, to what I had written on the card. I tried again: “Today is my birthday! I’m sixteen!” I knew for sure I would pronounce that correctly. I did not get a reaction. She rushed me through immigration, I retrieved my luggage, and she finally asked in a slightly worried tone: “Are your parents coming to pick you up?”
Numbers, Cake, and Past Selves
Numbers, Cake, and Past Selves
Numbers, Cake, and Past Selves
After a sleepless nine-hour flight, I finally set foot in Incheon. Arrival card and passport in hand, I was ready to figure everything out by myself. The only other thing on my mind was trying to impress the airport worker – the person that was supposed to accompany me – by greeting her in Korean. When I did, I couldn’t tell if she was surprised or indifferent. She patronizingly compared the data in my passport, a piece of paper from a country she had never heard of, to what I had written on the card. I tried again: “Today is my birthday! I’m sixteen!” I knew for sure I would pronounce that correctly. I did not get a reaction. She rushed me through immigration, I retrieved my luggage, and she finally asked in a slightly worried tone: “Are your parents coming to pick you up?”