laugh of the day!

I had quite an adventure today, I rode in a police car! No, I didn't commit any crime. It happened because I was looking for a certain store. And because everything was written in hangul and there seemed to be no building address numbers at all, I decided to seek police help to make things easier.

It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, since we've asked police for help once before. That was when we went to Seoul, and we got lost. The person we asked for directions lead us to the police station. With their town map, the police were able to point us in the right direction. The guy I talked to on the phone said that their store was somewhere around town, so I was thinking the police might be able to point me to the exact location without any hassle.

Well, after a few inquiries, I was escorted by two policemen and found myself sitting in the back of the squad car. I almost backed out, as riding in their car was not part of my plans! It was my first time riding in a patrol car and it was not exciting. It was not a high and mighty experience, if anything it was very uncomfortable. The policemen were nice though, trying to make conversation with a few english words that they knew. Anyway, after a two mile drive we found the "store", it was in the middle of a rusty industrial construction site. To make a long story short, I ended up going along with the store keeper and policemen's conversation, since they couldn't understand my explanation as to why I was there. It was funny because the store keeper seemed very nervous and attentive around the police. It ended with a word from the clerk that he would call me, for whatever reason I don't know.

In the end I was thankful that the policemen were there because otherwise I'd be taking a taxi back. As I told L about my adventure today, I had mixed emotions and felt like bursting out laughing or crying. He then said that it was quite a story and a misadventure.

Yes I have had lots of experiences and a number of misadventures here in Korea! Hopefully soon things will change and all of them will just be a memory....