Yiu chin shu

As we went through the subway station with Korean Mother she pointed out some discarded cuttings of a '돈나무' (donnamu) plant to me, with the word "money". The Chinese sometimes call these 'money trees' (or jade trees) - I'd inherited them from a former girlfriend who'd emphasised that their successful growth would lead to success in my own financial fortunes. It seems that the the Koreans think the same way, and so I mistakenly related to Korean mother how it was that I had two of these plants back in England to protect my financial karma (with a very limited vocabulary, extensive use of body language and the word '주식' (shares) - sadly one of the first Korean words I ever learnt.

I say my decision was unfortunate because Korean Mother then took it upon herself to dash back up the subway steps, returning shortly afterwards with a handful of cuttings. Despite my protestations, she then proceeded - in the infinitely practical way of Korean Mothers - to find a discarded newspaper and fashion a makeshift wrapping for the assembled branches. She couldn't be talked out of it and so it travelled with us on our trip - although at least later she bought something and then had a plastic bag to put the package into.

When we got home we bought a nice pot from a local store, which the owner helpfully filled and planted our cuttings into, all for 4,000 won (about £2.15), insisting it would take root despite my reservations. So now we have our first plant in Korea, and hopefully one that will see an improvement in our financial fortunes.

In another plant-related development, Korean mother's 'luck tree' has finally flowered, creating a theoretically pleasant - but in practice overpowering - aroma in her apartment.