Have Another

The other night, I had a student walk in late to class. Well, actually he stumbled in an hour late and ran into my desk where he knocked everything over. His face was bright red and his eyes were watery. He was SMASHED!!!

He is normally one of my best students in my Intermediate Business class. He is in his 40s and always wears a suit to class.

The other students were laughing at his pathetic state. He then decided he wanted to make a speech and stood up in front of the classroom to explain his company and their products. He stumbled over his words but his English was surprisingly good considering his situation. Ten minutes later, he took a seat and was ready for me to continue class. The rest of class was still laughing and making fun of him. As I attempted to continue class, he continued to giggle at everything I said. I don't think most teachers have to deal with this problem.

Wedding Bells

We attended our first Korean wedding. It started somewhat normal with the groom in a suit and then the bride in a big white dress walking down the aisle. After that, it became interesting. No one in the audience really paid attention to what was going on. There were lots of conversations going on and people walking around and walking in and out of the room. The groom read a poem that he wrote and then the parents gave them advice. A lady kept going up to the bride to pat her forehead but the bride kept turning her head away and looked pissed off about it. There wasn't a minister but there was a guy with a microphone to the side. Then there was some live music. Afterwards, the guy with microphone told the groom to kiss the bride. The bride refused the kiss and then they were married. We were ushered into a big cafeteria with tons of food and beer (It was 11am). The bride and the groom changed into their traditional clothes, han bok, and greeted their guests while we ate. By noon, everything was over and it was time to leave.

My best friend, Megan, is getting married in 3 months in the U.S. I think I'll enjoy that wedding A LOT more.

Yeah . . . I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday

I felt like Peter in Office Space this week. I had this horrible feeling all week that my director was going to tell me I have to work Saturdays this month. So I tried to avoid him all week and spend as little time near him as possible. I thought it was working until I walked into work on Friday afternoon and my name was on the Saturday schedule. Apparently, no speaking was required.

I keep telling him to hire more business teachers but maybe the English isn't translating well.

Ryan Bought Me Flowers!

They came from an old lady in the subway. He haggled her down to almost nothing. She didn't know what hit her.

A New Breed of Bums

Earlier this week, Ryan and I walked by a beggar on the street. We've grown quite accustomed to this in the busy areas of the city. He was dressed in the shabby clothes with his face partially hidden. There was nothing out of the ordinary until his cell phone started to ring. When he pulled out his cell phone to answer the call, we noticed that his phone was nicer than our phone. No doubt he had a camera, MP3 player, games and television on his state-of-the-art phone. I wondered how he paid for the phone or the monthly bill. He must be doing pretty well as a bum. I half expected him to suddenly pull out the automatic remote to his BMW to unlock the doors and head home after his busy day at work.

Achoo! Blahhhhhhh!

The flu has been going around the teachers at YBM. Unfortunately, our management is not smart enough to give us sick days. If we are sick, they deduct pay from our salary. Therefore, everyone who is sick still comes to work to share their symptoms. What started as one person with the flu has affected the entire office.

The flu hit me on Monday. I missed my first class but I was too hard-headed to miss more. So I went to class, dizzy, light-headed, with a fever and a stomachache. Part of me hopes the flu hits the management or at least the students complain about their near-dead teachers pathetically attempting to teach as they curl up in a ball under the desk. Would it be so much to ask for a few sick days?

What Are the Chances?

Since I've known Ryan, there have been two concerts that he endlessly talks about. The first one is the Garth Brooks concert. One of his goals is to see Garth in concert again which is difficult because Garth had retired from traveling and performing. Coincidentally, less than a month after we left Missouri, Garth announced a concert in Kansas City, MO. Ryan just stopped sulking about not going to see Garth when another concert was announced in Missouri: Jimmy Buffett.

Ryan talks about Jimmy Buffett concerts with such love and admiration. I even had the opportunity to go a Buffett concert with Ryan a few years ago in Chicago. He was counting down the days again until Jimmy's next concert. We were just informed recently that Buffett is performing in St. Louis in April. What are the chances? Ryan's two favorite performers come to Missouri within a few months when we're in Korea.