Get these men in Korea off me!

The last thing I wanted to do was talk to someone at a bus stop while I was waiting in vain for a friend to come visit. I wasn't sure of what time the bus would come so I ended up waiting outside for over an hour. I had a cheeta print scarf on and huge sunglasses trying to be incognito... and guess what, it didn't work.

This tiny Korean man came up to me and put out his hand for me to shake, "annonghaseyo" (shake) "annonghaseyo". I was hoping this would be the extent of our conversation but I knew that accepting the handshake meant more. I just didn't know how much. After the handshake the man went for the hug. I saw him open up his arms after I confirmed that I was American. I put my hands to his chest and pushed him back saying, "NOoooooo". He said something maybe to the effect of, "I thought Americans did this." I just said I don't hug people I don't know.

Then for the next 2 minutes (which is hell of a long time) we stood there standing and staring at each other on and off. I didn't know if I should run away. Contemplating it seemed like the right thing to do, but I was determined not to miss my friend's bus. So, I stood my ground. Luckily, or so I thought, the guy put his hand out to say goodbye. I figured he was trying to make up for his awkward beginning.

Hard feelings aside, I took his hand. I mean we're all trying to figure out where we stand in others' cultures. As soon as our hands met this guy went for the hug again. So quickly that he got one in and ran off! And this wasn't the ass-out type of hug. This was the "hey I'm really, really happy to see you" type of hug.

I stood there stunned. "What the hell was that," I muttered to myself. Deciding whether I should run after him or not, I decided that would be a bad idea. Maybe that's what he was baiting me to do. He probably would have fell down willing, letting me land on top of him.

Creepy bus station people. What am I going to do with them?