My senior picture going back into school. So serious.



Hello everyone. Today was a big day for me in Korea. I got dressed up in my suit, shaved and then combed my hair. (That is different from my norm these past few weeks. I have been a t-shirt, 5oclock shadow, and gym shorts kind of guy. There is no point in sweating up good clothes unnecessarily. It has been really really hot). I got dressed up to meet the principal of my school. I had my suit dry cleaned before I left. Amazingly it did not get wrinkled in the flight. It took me a bit longer than usual to get ready. I retied my tie three times before I thought the knot was good enough. I combed my hair until I no longer looked like a ruffian, and made sure there were no wrinkles anywhere. I spritzed a little cologne and almost made it out the door when Sungjoo said "picture". I happily agreed and we struck a pose. He has never seen me dressed up before. I am either sweating as we are walking, or sweating profusely and sometimes bleeding from his training and sparring. He was amazed at how much more grown up I looked. I sort of was too.
A few minutes later I met a young man who works for my placement agency. He is really nice and I believe I struck up a friendship. I am going to dinner with him and his wife later this week. He drove me to my school in his car. I was really happy I sprayed my cologne because he was a chain smoker. When we arrived at the school I was amazed at how new, big, and clean it was. We walked in but I got yelled at to stop in the entry way. "Shoes off, I was told. This was a little bit of a surprise for me. I took off my shoes and looked for a pair of sandals that fit. As you can imagine, no such luck. All I could find in my estimate were size 9 or smaller. That is 4 sizes too small for me. I could not be late so I had to make due. Of course when I was trying to be professional looking (pressed suit, Ohio State tie, and nice new shiny shoes) I find myself getting ready to meet my boss looking like a total putz. My feet were overflowing onto the floor and I am sure I looked uncoordinated as I walked. Thank god I did not wear a sock with a hole in the toe. That would have been a complete bust. I met the principal who was very traditional. He gave me a drink and told me the only English I bet he knew "one shot". (Basically drink it all in one try or you are not a man). I downed it, and wow was it terrible. It was some sort of wheat grass, vitamin C energy drink. The principal was amused and so was my chaperon friend from the agency. I think it was somewhat of a joke and it definitely went right over my head. I then walked to my classroom and met my co teacher and some of my students. The kids shrieked and screamed at me when they found out I was their teacher. "Teacher you teach? when you start? You tall and white hair." My co teacher is younger than I expected. She is around 33 and speaks English very well. I am looking forward to working with her. I did not want to work with someone who was old, ready to retire, and angry. Over all it was a good day and I am ready to start working and get paid. School loans, your days are numbered!

One last little story. I went to a bar around my apartment on Saturday night. I went alone to scope out the scene and see what Korean nightlife was all about. I arrived a little early, had a few beers, and tried to observe how people were interacting for an hour or two. I started noticing westerners in the bar. More kept showing up. I was sort of excited. (Rhythm and Booze, check em out on Face book) I was thinking maybe I will meet someone from America. The bartenders were Korean, but spoke English. It took me a while but I finally made it into a conversation with some other Westerners. I started talking to a kid with red hair. He had been in Korea for two years and had graduated form Ohio State! I was amazed! The first person I meet over here without any previous introduction had gone to Ohio State. We did a round of Tequila and had Soju. I did not have a cell phone so I did not get his info. His girlfriend was from St Barts. She said they are there all the time. I am going to go back in a week and see if I can find my fellow Buckeye friend again. Just one of the perks that goes with having attended a huge school with a huge alumni.