I think I'm becoming an ajoshi

For those not in the know, an ajoshi is an older married Korean man who is deserving of respect because he can pass out drunk on soju on the sidewalk, force his way to the front of any line, and treat the world and his supposed inferiors with contempt. Apparently.



Anyway, I say this not because I long ago abandoned any pretense of courtesy and any notion of kindness to strangers and started elbowing my way through teeming throngs of eldery Korean grandmothers with the best of them. Nor do I say this because public drinking out in front of the convenience store has long been an unquestioned habit for me here in Korea. Nor is it because on the way home a few nights ago I crashed my bike (I was completely wasted at the time - riding my bike home for a few miles seemed like a good idea at the time) and made a complete ass outta myself and fucked up my knee a little bit, check it out:

No, I say this because today I was walking home from work. The wind was blowing. It was cool, but not uncomfortable. My mind was on something else. I'd had a pizza the night before, and a few Cass to wash it down. So without even thinking about it, way out there in the middle of the public arena, I let fly a rip roarin fart.

I didn't even realize what I'd done until it was over. A woman walking nearby totally heard it, and probably caught a whiff of it, too. She gave me a surprised, not shocked, and an offended, but by no means appalled, look. Sure, she's heard ajoshis fart in public all the time, but never a waygookin, still, there was something about this one that made it so it wasn't ALL wrong. I suppose I almost looked the part, I do after all carry a stately paunch around with me most everywhere I go.

But what was really enlightening about the whole incident, and what made me realize I was approaching a higher level of ajoshi consciousness, was that I just didn't care. It didn't bother me what this woman thought...fuck it, if I wanted to fart who was she to question me? Who cares if she has to be exposed to my noxious drafts? I've got that right, haven't I?

I suppose there are worse fates.