Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, fly boy.

Helen brought to my attention that my blog is too negative and serious. So before I start complaining again; I got something lighter.

Helen comes from a more traditional family where she should live at home until she gets married for example. One of the nights when I was visiting Helen, she was talking to her mom. Since they speak Korean, I didn't know if Helen told her I was there. If she did, I wanted to greet her from the background.  I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote, "Can I say hi to your mom?" 

I showed Helen. As I showed her, I noticed it kind of sounded like I wanted to talk to her mom on the phone. Which I did not feel like we were at the point yet. I quickly took the paper back. I scribbled how I don’t want to talk on the phone, but simply want to greet her from the background. I was not in time. Helen read my new note and looked shocked.

"You do not want to talk to her?" Helen said as she covered the phone.

"No," I said no.

"I already told her you wanted to!" Helen said.

"Okay, give me the phone." 

I stepped up. After handing the phone back to Helen I felt like it was a good conversation. Helen's mom asked me some questions about Tete and Helen. I told Mrs. Yang that Helen's house was nice, her school was nice, her students are very nice, and how everything is very nice. Over the next couple minutes all I hear is Korean and laughter. I wondered what they could be laughing about??? Me of course, haha. Helen already told her parents that I was a Marine, who are commonly known as jarheads. Helen was laughing because her mom made a comment about my overuse of the adjective "nice." I kind of confirmed, minus the kind of, my jarhead stereotype in that short conversation.