Mother Heather

There is something that I don't understand.  The Koreans in my neighborhood seem to think I am the other teachers' mother.

When I first came to work, the students at the school and the man at the convenience store thought I was the mother of the teacher I replaced.  We told them, that no, I wasn't her mother.  The English speaking teachers know we don't even look alike.  Also, Cassie was from Canada and I am from the US.  That isn't too far apart I guess, but I would have had to be very young when she was born.

Last week I stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant very near my apartment.  The waiters kept asking me something.  I tried to use my Google translate, but it didn't make any sense.  Then a cook who could speak English came out and said they wanted to know where my daughter was.  They had seen me walking with Ulandi, the girl from South Africa and assumed she was my daughter.  I said she wasn't my daughter, just a friend.  They apologized profusely and I said there was no need.  I said I was from the US and she is from Africa.  ( I was trying to say that we are from opposite sides of the world so relationship would be distant at best.)  The waiter said, "I sorry!  I sorry!  I love you!"  It made me laugh.

I guess all non Asians look alike to some Koreans.  They can't tell when there is no resemblance between us at all.

I told the story at work to see if I do look like Ulandi or Cassie's mother but the Korean teachers there thought there was no resemblance either.  Now, one of the teachers has taken to teasing me by calling me mother.  She giggles every time.