(no subject)
Hmmm. I think my roommate has found himself in a dispute with some local neighborhood community group. Old school guys. Maybe kind of a gang.
Yesterday, I answered the door to a confused-looking duo of goons. They both were surprised, I said 'hey, what's up?'. They seemed to have the wrong apartment, from the looks on their faces, so I slowly closed the door on them, locked it, and went back to bed. Then an hour later, there was louder knocking at the door. And some yelling in korean. I got a phone call from my roommate asking me if I was okay. Huh? Then he told me "never answer the door". How did he know? Was this something about the zoning inspectors again?
I went to sleep thinking it was silly. My roommate got home at around 4am with his friend, a tv producer who is staying in the apartment this week.
Today, my roommate told me about the situation. I guess a neighborhood thug (basically just an old traditional guy who thinks that respect must be paid for age, time in the community, etc.) has been threatening him for the past few days. My roommate, since he does not really live in town, has not attended some neighborhood meetings, or something. And this has brought anger and threats from said old-school thug. So last night, my roommate met with his friend at the prosecutor's office and got some info on this character. This afternoon, my roommate made calls to some organizations, resulting, I hear, in some punishment to the offending harasser.
I told my roommate after hearing this that it would surely have one of two effects.
Well, it turns out to be the second one. My roommate just got a message from an unlisted number telling him to 'come home early'. I'm at work right now with him, still. I might convince him to call for a police escort or something. The more I hear about the situation, the more I don't want to walk home alone.
I seriously doubt I will come to actual harm. But I started thinking about the situation in reverse. If I was from some foreign country and went to work in America, and was faced with a similar situation, it would be pretty darned scary. There's vulnerability, I realize it now. Especially without full command of the language. Even if I called the police, could I tell them what happened? Could I tell them where I am? If I went missing who could find me? Most of my fears are based in this strange zone, where I combine images I've seen on The Sopranos with the images of drunken guys fighting in the streets I've seen here.
Worst case, maybe I'll get a nice pummeling. I mean, there's basically no guns here, thank goodness, so I'm safe there. And I don't really expect to be knifed either, but probably just because I've never seen a knifing before. Moreover, even if I do get pummeled, there's a great hospital within crawling distance.
Oh, but when I did answer the door yesterday, the look of confusion on the goons' faces was pretty priceless. If I were a little more intimidating, perhaps I could take advantage of my status as a creepy alien. Yell at them in english, or something. I could threaten to call in my nonexistent GI buddies. Sadly, whatever element of surprise I once had is gone now, since they know about me.
We shall see what happens tonight! Wish me survival! =)
Yesterday, I answered the door to a confused-looking duo of goons. They both were surprised, I said 'hey, what's up?'. They seemed to have the wrong apartment, from the looks on their faces, so I slowly closed the door on them, locked it, and went back to bed. Then an hour later, there was louder knocking at the door. And some yelling in korean. I got a phone call from my roommate asking me if I was okay. Huh? Then he told me "never answer the door". How did he know? Was this something about the zoning inspectors again?
I went to sleep thinking it was silly. My roommate got home at around 4am with his friend, a tv producer who is staying in the apartment this week.
Today, my roommate told me about the situation. I guess a neighborhood thug (basically just an old traditional guy who thinks that respect must be paid for age, time in the community, etc.) has been threatening him for the past few days. My roommate, since he does not really live in town, has not attended some neighborhood meetings, or something. And this has brought anger and threats from said old-school thug. So last night, my roommate met with his friend at the prosecutor's office and got some info on this character. This afternoon, my roommate made calls to some organizations, resulting, I hear, in some punishment to the offending harasser.
I told my roommate after hearing this that it would surely have one of two effects.
Well, it turns out to be the second one. My roommate just got a message from an unlisted number telling him to 'come home early'. I'm at work right now with him, still. I might convince him to call for a police escort or something. The more I hear about the situation, the more I don't want to walk home alone.
I seriously doubt I will come to actual harm. But I started thinking about the situation in reverse. If I was from some foreign country and went to work in America, and was faced with a similar situation, it would be pretty darned scary. There's vulnerability, I realize it now. Especially without full command of the language. Even if I called the police, could I tell them what happened? Could I tell them where I am? If I went missing who could find me? Most of my fears are based in this strange zone, where I combine images I've seen on The Sopranos with the images of drunken guys fighting in the streets I've seen here.
Worst case, maybe I'll get a nice pummeling. I mean, there's basically no guns here, thank goodness, so I'm safe there. And I don't really expect to be knifed either, but probably just because I've never seen a knifing before. Moreover, even if I do get pummeled, there's a great hospital within crawling distance.
Oh, but when I did answer the door yesterday, the look of confusion on the goons' faces was pretty priceless. If I were a little more intimidating, perhaps I could take advantage of my status as a creepy alien. Yell at them in english, or something. I could threaten to call in my nonexistent GI buddies. Sadly, whatever element of surprise I once had is gone now, since they know about me.
We shall see what happens tonight! Wish me survival! =)