Promises In South Korea

I don’t know much about promises and commitment. Because I cannot even commit to myself.

My former colleague arrived in Seoul earlier on Monday. We said we would skype on the weekend. I am quite curious on how she find Seoul. Last year she invited me for her PhD defense.

She waited for me online for 30 minutes — — my bad, I didn’t know there’s an hour difference in our time zones. “It’s alright, I checked online that there’s one hour of hour difference. So I waited.”

She never mentioned her origin precisely. But I know she’s from France. She’d just call me randomly for a hike, or grab some dinner, celebrate new year, and her colleagues became my friends.

I asked her if she’d notice how people are using phones crazily anywhere, anytime. When I was in EU, I could just live without phones.

“Yeah, I do. And we need some spaces, an apartment of our own, so that when face the outer world, we are well-prepared.”

“I agree.”

When I am talking to someone, I am just really talking to someone. When I am doing something, I am just really doing that thing. I just cannot multi-tasking. Or being in the crowd for too long.

“Oh me too. I need to live in a quiet place. That’s kind of hard to find a place of my own here. ”

When Marta said she’ll find me an apartment in Barcelona, introduced me to her best friends, or a stranger paid me for the bus ticket because I didn’t have any changes in my pocket — — and I invited the stranger for dinner as a remercier — — we mean it. When I say yes, it’s a yes. When I say no, it’s a no.

I think I was born like that. I don’t know.

“I think one day we should meet somewhere to hike together again.”

“Totally.”