On the Subway

I would want to shake my hand too.

A few weeks ago Sarah and I were on the subway. It was around 9 am and rush hour(s) was over so the subway was not too crowded. We are standing towards the back of the car chatting when I notice a group of about 7 teenaged boys at the other end of the car. They are talking and looking over at us and slowly begin to creep down the car towards us. After some shoving and such they end up at the other end of the car a few feet behind Sarah and I. Now, in Korea it is pretty much socially acceptable to stare shamelessly at people. So I have no problem obviously staring at this group of boys through this whole interaction. I watch them play a few rounds of rock/paper/scissor (this method is used frequently to make decisions in Korea) and someone is chosen. One boy emerges from the group and walks towards us then hurries back. He is pushed out of the circle again in our direction. His friends are all in the background watching and laughing. He finally makes it up to me, eyes darting around trying to avoid contact with me, and sticks out his hand for me to shake. I oblige and shake his hand. No words come out of his mouth or mine. He quickly turns around and is welcomed back to his friends with pats to the back and hi-fives. I could not help but laugh and continue to stare at them, just to make them feel uncomfortable. It worked and they got off at the next station.

This whole situation was comical to me. They were not being rude in anyway. They were driven by shear curiosity.