I'm a Freak

There are some things that grab the attention of the locals here in Daegu. One is foreigners. Another is a foreign baby, especially a baby with light hair and blue eyes. Another is a man looking after a baby in public. Put all those strange, unusual things together and you have me and Cate - the most bizarre act to ever hit this huge city.

Everywhere we go, everyone stares. Men, women, children. Young, old. Everyone notices. We can't hide. Ladies gawk , school girls giggle and even old men can't help but talk gibberish to Cate. Korean gibberish.

To be honest, I do appreciate the attention. I'd never experience anything like this in Lethbridge, but being in a market and seeing a woman with rubber gloves on, who's been selling bloody fish and squid all day, just doesn't make me want to say, "Hey, you with the bloody, slimy hands; would you like to hold my first born daughter?" No. I'd rather say, "Oh, your hands have blood and slime on them. I actually don't want you holding or touching my clean one year-old."

But these are things that come with being an oddity in a foreign place where everything is different. I'm learning to deal with it, and Cate is surprisingly patient with the whole thing. And having waitresses take her to the kitchen in restaurants while Carmen and I eat is actually quite convenient, as much as it is creepy. I should mention though, that Koreans are generally very good with babies. While the attention can be annoying, it's often balanced out by the general concern for Cate's well-being shown by everyone we meet here. It helps us to realize that coming here with Cate was the right decision. Part of the reason we came was to give her a unique experience and so far, that's exactly what it's been.