Yesterday I was going through a box in my storage locker, when I stumbled across this pretty little gift box. During my last few hot, humid, hectic, harried days in Korea, I vaguely remember the lovely gym teacher at my school giving me a farewell gift but I seem to recall being more “Good grief! Not something else to pack!” than “How lovely, I’ll treasure it forever!” I hope I said ‘thank you’.
It’s not often I am rendered speechless. 99% of the time, I have something to say. Usually more than is probably necessary. But not yesterday. Inside the pretty little box was:
a set of lacquer-ware inlaid with mother-of-pearl nail clippers. And a dangling lady in traditional Korean dress.
But that’s not all they were! Hidden inside the pretty, delicate nail clippers was:
a bottle opener. For those times I feel the need to drink and trim? If only there was a magnet on the back so I could hang it on my fridge. I’d be ready for anything!
As I stared in bemusement at my new … thing, I noticed that not only was it a handy-dandy nail clipper- bottle opener- nail file- dangling lady, but it was approved by the UN.
Both the Asian Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (the name doesn’t seem to match the acronym for some reason) AND the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific approved of my new nail clipper- bottle opener. Wow. Does Ban Ki Moon have one?
And when I read the little pamphlet enclosed in the gift box, I decided I couldn’t re-gift this gift. Ever.
Because nothing says international cultural exchange and instantaneous everlasting love like a mother-of-pearl nail clipper-bottle opener.
ihatecockroaches 