One last leg and I’ll finally be back in the Philippines. That’s what I kept telling myself over and over as I got ready to board the plane from Seoul to Manila as my eyes were reddening and all I wanted was a bed. Unlike my last flight, I was literally the only American in eye sight and I couldn’t understand a single thing that was said pretty much the entire flight. I figured it would be a good time to shut off. Except for one little thing. Sam wanted to practice his english with me.
As soon as I sat down, Sam just had this huge smile on his face and he was just staring at me. Over the last two years, I’ve gotten used to being stared at as I come into another culture, especially the areas I’ve been to, so I just tried to put my head back and go to sleep. A few minutes later, Sam’s friend tapped me on the shoulder and tried to mime to me that he was in the seat between Sam and I. Fine by me.
It wasn’t long before Sam tapped me on the shoulder and wanted to start up a conversation. All he said was, “You American?” “Yes, I am.” “We are Korean, he only Korean, me little english.” “Great.” I’m sorry, but to be completely honest, I wasn’t at full strength to try and decipher a conversation in broken english and I was just tired. I didn’t feel like I wanted to be a jerk, but I could feel myself closing off. I felt a little bad and told myself that if he started again, I would at least try. Wouldn’t you know it. Sam tapped me on the shoulder again.
Over the next 20 minutes, I fought my way through a conversation that was pretty tough on me. Through the whole thing, Sam and his friend (who didn’t understand a thing) just had this huge smile on their faces. We didn’t really talk about anything in depth and we even repeated several questions throughout, but it was alright. They tried to teach me a few Korean phrases but after 30 hours of travel, I was hopeless. Eventually, Sam translated something to his friend and never got back to our conversation. I just laid my head back and tried to sleep during the remainder of the flight.
One phrase that keeps echoing in my head is an old one but it says, “The best sermon you’ll ever preach is not from the pulpit.” I’m seeing this ring true more and more as I continue on my journey. I love public speaking when I get the opportunity, but the conversations that come along the way are what I truly find valuable.
