3.03.2009

Green-Eyed Monster

I had heard of these people. Americans. I would be living among them soon. I heard they had pink skin. Some had yellow hair. And orange. Their eyes could be blue, or even green. I tried to picture them in my 6-year old mind, only half believing my grown cousin who told me this. After all, people have black hair and brown eyes. PERIOD.

Then, I saw one. Clack-clack-clack. Another trip with my mom to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Seoul. 1966. And there she was. The tallest human being I'd ever seen in my entire little life. She had cottony, orange hair and skin so pink she looked like a dime-store doll. She leaned down to me, parted her big red lips and said "Wpoarr arrrttarirr riryrrir!"

She scared the hell outta me.

*

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

i bet you where scared. Are you still scared?

Musings of a Housewife said...

I don't know which is funnier. This post or gpieacake's comment. HA!

Grace, I love your writing.

blackbelt said...

gpieacake, you are sneaky funny

Lora said...

I'm scared of redheads. to the point where that is how they sound to me too.

true story

Anonymous said...

Was the embassy lady Eve Arden?

Anonymous said...

Hello! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, by! This iz fuddy.

rosemary said...

What a great post! At the orphanage where I work I am always having to remind visitors not to scare our new kids who usually haven't seen ferangs before. I am constantly amazed at their inability to understand that they are scary to small children who have only seen Asians!