We safely returned to Camp Bonifas. The U.N. showed us Panmunjom with their bus before then. We changed our bus to our original bus here. One of the military police officers and our guide were checking the number of people in our party. Though they were doing the same thing at every point, if even one of us were left in Panmunjom alone, it would be a big problem. That's why their faces were tense in the first picture.
By the way, my daughter Eri didn't have a fearful bone in her body. She was asking him to come into the same picture with her at the observatory of Freedom House which was facing the North and was a very tense place. He rejected her proposal at a glance, saying grimly that he was doing a job . It was natural, and I scolded her. "Understand the situation and behave yourself."
To tell the truth, she was aware of his personality, because she could understand the conversation between the officers. When we were waiting for the last permission for visiting Panmunjom from the U.N. after the briefing, he and his American co-workers (also military police officers) were talking cheerfully in English. He sometimes talked to our guide in Korean. Eri could fully understand both conversations. She thought that these officers must have been the same age as her. They must have the same feelings as her.
She was asking him again in the second picture, and finally he said yes. A nice smile appeared on his face in the last picture. I didn't have his permission for posting this picture in the blog, but it can be considered to be a part of his job. If he found this picture and sent me an e-mail, I'd be happy.
After he finishes his military service, I hope I'd enjoy chatting with him over makgoli.
At the end, he was being asked to pose for a photo with other people just like he was a famous man. He couldn't refuse them due to the precedent set by my daughter. His bashful face was impressive to me. If there wasn't such a silly MDL and he could use his present precious time to learn something, which would be far better not only for him but for all over the world.
(Vocabulary)
Eri is without [doesn't have] a fearful bone in her body.
～は怖いもの知らずだ。
fearless 怖いもの知らずの
grimly 厳しい表情で
makgoli マッコリ (韓国のどぶろく)
pose 1 (写真・絵画で) ポーズをとる
pose for something/somebody
(人・写真など) のためにポーズをとる, のモデルになる
The bride and groom posed for photographs.
～は写真を撮るためにポーズをとった。
2 (人)にポーズをとらせる, (写真)をポーズをとらせて撮る
armistice line / military demarcation line (MDL) 軍事境界線
日本語も英語もきれいな発音だった。使う単語から判断してもいわゆるエリートに属する学生だろう。Eriが写真を一緒に撮る気になったのもうなずける。
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