There have also been days when I am not the unexpected guest, but instead a stranger who would brighten my day through the most peculiar things.
The Taxi Driver
After a long and exhausting day at school, I walk to the university area to catch a cab. The lessons had been going well, but repeating this particular lesson during which students ran around screaming at each other (as part of the lesson) has been extremely draining.
The gorgeous October sun and autumn leaves help my mood, but do little to alleviate the apathy that has settled within. I open the cab door and tell the taxi driver where I have to go, and just slump down lazily, happy to have something catch me as I resign to gravity without hope. I ready both my mind and body to just ooze into the seat as silently as if it would become one with the cab. I start to open my bag to put on my headphones and get back to the billboard topper Love the Way by Eminem ft. Rihanna when curiosity catches my ear.
I begin to hear a familiar voice seep into me. As the piano chords, riding cymbal and funky bassline come into form, the image of the voice swaying his head aimlessly in front of the mic, with his moustache and sunglasses meandering to the harmonies he creates jump instantly to my mind.
So boogie on reggae woman, what is wrong with you...
Is this really happening? I'm in a taxi near the southern exit of Jeonju University, one of three universities in what is known as the bastion of traditional Korean culture, listening to Stevie Wonder's 1974 single 'Boogie On Reggae Woman'?! Are you serious?!
Granted, Stevie Wonder is very popular in Korea anyway. But for some reason, it all took me back a bit. I have this biased view of Korean taxi drivers listening only to very traditional Korean music, or the Korean equivalent of the '60s and '70s classics (which, for those of you who don't know, require an acquired taste...at least for me).
I felt more comfortable in my surprise when the next song began with a bass drum, high hat, off to a fast marching beat in that classic '70s rock style...the electric coming in four bars later with three pairs of notes, twanging...then a harsh, inspired voice in a pitched yell, "Some folks are born to wave the flag, ooh, they're red white and blue..."
'Fortunate Son' by CCR? Are you kidding me?
I talked to the taxi driver, and he had downloaded these songs onto his MP3 which was plugged into the car radio.
Impressive.
Among the countless memories I have already made here in Korea, this remains one of the most unforgettable. I'm not completely sure why, but here is my guess.
First, the sheer shock value.
Second, the subversion of expectations.
Third, the comfort I found in the music of old, especially during that time of stress and fatigue.
It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.
Sometimes you're not the uninvited. In any singular moment, your mood and your situation inform the expectations you have about the world. They form a kind of guest list of things and events you assume will happen in the coming moments, hours, days. Some of those guests make appearances as expected, and some of them don't but you don't cry over their absence.
And sometimes you have the uninvited, who admittedly can sometimes be the unwelcome inebriated vice, but can also be a delightful and most welcome surprise.
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