korea

One thing I'll miss about Korea--the cabbies. Well, some of them.
I know I'll miss the harmonica cabbie. I've had him twice. I get in for the long ride to Gupyoung Dong (about 25-30 mins). He says nothing for a while until we are deep in rush hour traffic. Then he brings out the "where are you from?" i say america. He says OH AMERICA! Number ONE! i say, thanks. Then he calls me Miss America. I say, yes, it's true. how did you know? Then silence for about 5 minutes as I go back to eating my fruits and veggies.
Then, we're at a red light. He takes out a harmonica and waves it at me. I say, harmonica. He says, america!. So that means either he got it IN america, someone brought it for him from america, it was made in america, or he thinks my name is america. He then proceeds to play home on the range, during which the light turns green, we're in a lot of traffic with a lot going on, but this doesn't deter him from playing. He finishes, I smile and say good! I'm hoping he'll put it away, we have a tricky intersection coming up. But NO! He says, America number one song and plays the star spangled banner--complete with a hendrix-esque riff in the middle. nnniiiiccceee. we arrive safely to dunkin donuts. phew.
The first time this happened I was on a shorter ride and he played 3 songs. Number one korea song and numbers one and two america songs. I remember home on the range but i can't remember the other one. I might have encouraged him this time b/c the traffic was lighter and i wasn't so pressed for time.
On a side note. The other day as I was walking I saw a kid on a bike playing a harmonica--and there was a kid on the back of his bike! This kid is either the cabbie's son or his protege.