My main co-teacher, Ms. Yoo, has been having a little bit of trouble staying on her feet lately. She has fallen on the stairs 2 times in the 4 days. Lucky for her no one saw her. Unfortunately, her last fall resulted in a torn ligament in her ankle. She won't be climbing any stairs for a while. Fortunately for me, she will still be coming to school. Way to tough it out, Ms Yoo!
Some good news:
Thanks to Drew Bailie, who spent a year in Korea before my arrival, I was able to find an amazing wings place in the foreigner's district Itaewon. Just as important as delicious Frank's Red Hot Sauce covered wings, they serve a good microbrew IPA. The delight on my face matches the delight in my belly! Needless to say, that is the new spot on Tuesdays for me and my friend Drake. 300 won (about 25 cents) a wing! You can't beat that even in the U.S.
Last night we made our bi-weekly trek to the RMT (Rocky Mountain Tavern). It takes about an hour by subway to get there. It's worth it. Anyway, as has been the case lately, I have been running into some really weird Koreans. Last night was no exception.
Drake and I were waiting for the number 6 train to arrive. When all the sudden, a young, tall, puffy-looking Korean boy of about 20 cuts in front of me in the Subway line. So, I give him the 'WTF do you think you're doing look?!' And he turns around with a glazed smile on his face breathing heavily like a fat kid in a bakery. From about two feet from my face he just stares at Drake and me while breating heavily through his nose. As if it couldn't get any stranger, he turns his back to me again. And he stares at me in the reflection of the glass wall separting the train track from the waiting area. I do the only thing I can think of to get rid of this guy. I give him the WTF stare. I stand up taller than him. Then I ignore him. Thank god it works. He takes off and pushes his panda looking body through another line. And he wanders the subway waiting lines aimlessly.
All the while Drake was awkwardly staring away from this guy. You know, the stare where your head is slightly turned but your eyes are still magnetically drawn to the awkward situation. And you are praying the problem just takes care of itself.
This wouldn't be the last I would see of this guy......
After we boarded the train and discussed the WTF factor of that weirdo, an older Korean man came hastily hobbling through the dense amount of passengers on crutches yelling 'Mianhamida' ('Excuse me/ Sorry' something you rarely if ever hear here) and focibly passing out fliers for something. Drake and I. We turn our backs to the passenger walkway. And we whip out our phones pretending to be busy. We've had our share of oddities already.
But Karma's a bitch. We turn around after Korean on Crutches passes. What do we see? The original oddity coming our way. I really stand out in Korea. It's bad enough that I'm tall and white. But my red North Face jacket must make me a beacon. Panda boy sees me. And he locks on. Great.
This time it's even weirder than the first. He invades our group space like he has something to say. Instead he just stands there with that same excited for cake face. And still breathing heavily through his nose. I look at him. And I give him the '...um...yes?' look. Just when I'm about to give him the awkward 'Hey.....' I see my savior. Here comes K on C pushing his way back in our direction. Panda Boy is standing smack dab in the middle of the walkway. I point in the direction of K on C right in front of Panda Boy's face. He turns and looks in that direction. I dart right behind him out the newly opened subway doors right at our stop. Perfect timing. I am trying to hold back a laugh from pulling the oldest trick in the book without having to say a single word. I'm hoping Drake followed my lead.
I turn around and see Drake. After witnessing the whole thing, he is trying not to laugh. Now, I'm dying. This is definitely one of my prouder moments in Korea.
Notes:
On Saturday I was coming up the stairs out of the underground tunnel, when I ran into a giant Korean man blocking one side of the stairwell making crazy eyes. I made the mistake of making eye contact with him. He looked like the big Chinese Criminal in 'Batman Begins' who says, 'This is hell. And I am the Devil,' to Bruce Wayne when he is in the Chinese prison. I really want to take a picture of this guy.
uh........
Am I in Mexico or Korea??? Just like in Tijuana if I go to see this Donkey show I will only leave more confused than I was when I arrived.
Don't worry, Mom. You're not going to get this joke.
P.S. Migs--- are they wearing your brand of undies???
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