Ah, the weekend

My Monday morning drenching. Oh, weekend, how I miss ye.

It was one great weekend, too.

I'm gonna warn you straight up. I am writing this post half asleep after a long Monday. So, excuse my lack of sentence structure in some paragraphs.

Friday, I finished my second full week of teaching. I headed straight out to dinner and beers after work with several native teachers. Those kids wear you down like tread running over roadkill. You need a beer or a nap or both after a week with any large group of children. To all those preschool and any teachers reading this CHEERS. This one's for you. I felt bad for teachers before I got here. Now, I really feel sorry for you. For those of you who don't drink more power to ya. To my mom: Now, I know why you are popping open those little sutter house bottles once or twice a week. Plus, you're a tiny lady. If you opened a bottle you might drown in it. :D (A little potshot for ya, Ma)
Saturday morning I had to get up early for English Conversation class at the school. So, I turned in early on Friday night.

I was sour at that time. But they turned out to be a blast.



For waking up early on a sacred Saturday it wasn't all that bad. They are a pretty fun group. I had a pretty good time playing English games with all the advanced students. I played all sorts of games with them from pictionary to a scavenger hunt (yeah, I made them find me) to 'English only questions' Jenga.



The perfect Jenga tower. Not one block left to pull without losing its balance. Too bad I was on the losing end of this one.

A Lesson in Bartering

After work Saturday, my two permanent co-teachers, Ms. Yoo and Mi Sun, took me to eat and shop in Seoul's foreigner district, Itaewan. I picked up some pretty ridiculous shoes and a few pairs of 'real' NBA socks. The shop keeper stated they were real NBA socks. But I've never seen a pair of white NBA socks with a baby blue logo background. Still, for 5000 won I thought they were a steal for me. It's tough enough to find shoes and shirts but socks big enough for me are a rare find. (Soccer socks don't count) The best part about shopping in Itaewan is you can bargain with anyone.

I love suits. Love 'em. I'm always trying to find a good, less expensive suit to add to my closet especially when it's a ridiculous Korean suit that looks like something out of a 70s or 80s Bond flick. This suit shop caught my eye. And when I stepped in two older guys greeted me, "Hi, how are you, sir?'

'I'm well thank you. How are you two today?' I expected some hackneyed response like 'I am fine, sir, thank you.' Instead I got a nice surprise. 'We are both doing alright today. The real question is what kind of suit are you looking for?'

Wait? What? I took a step back. A pair of old Korean swindlers who speak English right before my eyes. 'Well, what do you have in the way of material?'

And we go back and forth. They are showing me all the materials, naming off all the colors, telling me about how excellent these 'hand stitched' suits are. 'You can find these for about 2500 US in New York City. But I'll cut you a deal. How many suits are you looking for?'

'Hm, 2 or 3?'

'I'll cut you a deal.' He breaks out the calculator and does the exchange rate math on around 700,000 won. 'I'll give you 2 suits for 580 US.'

'No, that's a little too much for me. Thanks though.'

'Ok, ok. How about 260?'

'Ooo, that's better but I'd really prefer to look around.'

'That's a good deal I'm offering you. These are the best quality of hand stitched suits around. I wouldn't lie. Look at me! I'm an old man. And I've never told a lie in my life.'

Without looking at my teachers I can tell they are smiling with snickered grins.

I'm staring at him. I look away at a suit, 'You never lie? I think you are telling me a lie just by saying that.' I laugh. This old man is swindling me.

'What would it take for you to walk out of here with a suit, today?'

'225 USD.'

'Whoa. That's way too cheap. How about I make you a deal? We sold a suit to a gentleman today for 300,000 won. That's about 250 US. How about I sell you that?'

Now, I'm thinking how low can I go? 'Ok, let me take a look.' He shows me the order form with the material attached. 'Hm, that's tempting. But I can't. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to think about it. I'll come back another time.'

'You say that. But whenever someone says that they never return.'

'Well, you've cut me a decent deal but I'm going to have to look around.' I turn to walk out.

And he caves. 'Ok, 230!'

Now, I'm thinking I've got the guy on the ropes. I know I can get him to go lower than 230 or even my previous low price 225. So, I take off. 'See ya! I'll be back (maybe).' I'm thinking I could get him to go 175 if I buy 3 or 4 tailored suits. But I might be able to get cheaper, possibly better suits at the Suit Exchange in Seattle. But bartering sure is fun. Especially, when it's two old Korean salemen who speak English.

Least to say of all this was that both my co-teachers were shocked. They didn't even know you could do that. Did I cross some cultural boundary? No. I just tapped into standard international business practice. Everyone knows if you're a foreigner in a marketplace you're getting ripped off. I'm a big, white target. I would rip me off, too.



Notes:

I made quite a few U.S. phone calls this weekend after the win. Expect more phone calls as I signed up for unlimited calls in the U.S.

Plus, I was really jealous and tired after watching us beat USC. I hope everyone is savoring this win! I am! I want to go gloat about it in Korea. I can't imagine how good it must feel to be back on the map in Seattle.