The little engine that could: A barrel of monkeys!

The greatest difficulty of living in Korea is the language barrier. I repeatedly find myself in a predicament where I cannot tell someone what I am thinking or what I need. In such cases, my friends and I rely on actions and sound effects. Even though our grunts are an effective way to communicate, they have also become an ongoing joke between Cordia, Mitch and me. We often ask one another, “how would you achieve this goal using caveman?” Then we make up a series of noises and movements that make us giggle like children.

In October, the three of us went to a mask festival in Hahoe. Half way through the performance, the foreigners in the audience were summoned to dance on stage. With little time to think, we independently decided it was a good idea to dance like cavemen. We flailed our arms, hunched our backs and paraded around while the audience clapped. It took me hours to stop laughing.

What kind of impression have we been giving Koreans about English people? Have we been damaging our reputation with our ape-like behavior? It’s possible, but I am sure they also notice how much fun we are having. It turns out, sometimes saying less is more.

Here are some pictures of our dance moves in Hahoe:

Discussing our skills