The Ajima

in Korea, there is great respect for the elderly.....there are particular customs for how to behave in front of the elderly, proper codes of conduct for eating and drinking with them, etc.....there is also a term in Korean called 'ajima'.....'ajima' means 'old woman', but i have noticed that it also must mean crazy.....very crazy.....although the word itself doesn't seem to imply this, it is actually very true.....'ajima' references particular behavioural characteristics in older Korean women, and not just the fact that one is older and female

there are a group of ajima at the gym i go to.....they come in a pack, decked out in ridiculous-looking warm-up suits, and then proceed to sit on the floor.....in the middle of the floor.....and unpack a lunch or breakfast of some kind.....then they eat it.....sitting in the middle of the floor in the gym.....then they pretend to go exercise, and stand at a machine that straps a belt to the waist and jiggles furiously.....then they take a break after all that work and sit down and put their feet on a jumbo-sized foot massager.....they all take turns.....and then they have a group huddle and go home