The Jong

I'd like to introduce to you a new character in my life, Jong pronounced Joang (In Mollyworld phonetics that is). I met Jong one dark and windy night at a boxing club in downtown Daccurri, because of where I live, if I want to do things like, box, I have to leave the sanctity of my prized, yet tiny, neighborhood and venture into the larger world of Masan or Changwon. I went to this class hoping that I would fall in love with boxing and be able to destress with a little skull bashing. Sadly, a week after I discovered this gym and it's wonderful boxing, the gym closed down, the owner moved to China, and that was the end of that. The boxing may have ended at this point, but Jong, aka Puma, was inserted into my life with a finality and stickiness that I never could have forseen.

Jong has black eyes, the blackest eyes i've ever seen, black hair, he's as tall as me, and weighs half as much. He used to hold the Asian 110lb boxing title when he was young but a tragic bout with a Phillipino knocked his brain askew inside his head (most unpleasant) and also took his boxing title. Years of boxing, dodging, and striking have caused him to move like a cat, couple this with his only being 110lbs, and the black hair and eyes and you'll understand why Emily teacher has dubbed him "Puma".

Puma does a variety of things in his spare time from being a full time electrician and  teaching uncoordinated English teachers boxing, he also beat boxes, yes beat boxes, plays the guitar, and practices slight of hand magic tricks. The magic tricks are a perplexing phenomena to me, who does that anymore?! Anyway, Puma and I decided one evening that we should have dinner together! He came and picked me up (in his vibrant yellow car, of course) and off we went! We arrived at this really cute little restaurant that serves Japanese/Korean fusion food and located in a really quaint alleyway (aka dark, smelly, and full of puddles but endearing nonetheless). We had a delicious dinner of Shabu Shabu, which is a giant pot of boiling broth loaded with green vegetables and mushrooms. You take the thinnest pieces of raw sliced beef and drop them into the broth then devour when hot and juicy aaaaahhhhhh. After all the beef is gone you add noodles and then slurp up the spicy and steeming deliciousness that is called soup. My favorite meal by far in Korealand.

After dinner, we were both sitting happily engorged when he said, "I work on trick, watch." I smiled politely and looked at him expectantly; he straightened up in his chair and placed both his hands in front of him. I smiled, he smiled back, and then he began flourishing his hands about, slowly and methodically opening and closing them. A coin appeared in the left hand, transferred to the right hand and then disappeared, and in its sted was a gold and gem glittering band. I clapped and he handed me the golden item, it was an attachment for a phone (in Korealand it's all the rage to have innumerable shit dangling off the side of your phone). On the front side were little golden tiles, and on the tiles were the letters M-O-L-L-Y. Attached to the front was a tiny golden crown and inside the crown was a tiny diamond. I had to firmly berate my smile for threatening to become a giggle. I exclaimed loudly about how lovely the present was and how sweet Jong was while he beemed at me from across the table.

There are many things that I love about Korealand, they are too inumerous to name at this juncture but I will say this, Korean men are very sweet, a little behind in terms of womens rights at times, and most definitely drunks on the whole, but sweet nontheless. I have never been given a gift by slight of hand trick, i'm certain I will never, ever, forget that.

Anyeong!