Culture Clash

I stepped into a convenience store to buy a lottery ticket the other day. I could tell by looking at the owners that they were Korean. I greeted them in Korean when I came in and they were so glad that I knew a little Korean that we conducted our transaction entirely in Korean. The old gentleman was especially pleased, as I could tell by the way he smiled and nodded so much, which is not something you would see in Korea.

An Arab woman wearing a hijab and distinctly Arab jewelry came in. The old man absolutely scowled at her and gave her the evil eye. I could hardly believe how his face turned so completely different so fast. I could see the woman take a second to survey the store as she stood just inside the door. The bell hanging from the jamb was still dinging as she looked at the old Korean guy and me, standing across the counter from each other, both looking at her. It was a very short but very awkward moment.

"Ahlan wasalan," I said, "Sabal harer."
"Saba hanoor," she replied, "Shukran."

I had my lottery ticket and started for the door. "Komap sumnida," I said to the Korean shopkeeper, "Na il mana sul go shi da," indicating that I would surely be back to collect my winnings. He was temporarily overloaded and just nodded.

The woman was taking my place at the counter. "Kayifa haleki?" I asked.

"Hala kwase, shukran," she replied, "Ma'asalaama."

"Ma'asalaama," I took my leave. As I was amazed as I listened to them both go into English to conduct their business.

I thought the whole interaction to be so surreal that I called my wife to tell her about it once I got back to my office. She laughed, pointing out that we were speaking Ashanti, and said that I had spoken every language I knew that day.

"Not yet," I told her, "A hui ho a ku'u ohana hale," I said, telling her that I would see her later at our family home. But I don't think she got it, she doesn't speak Hawaiian.