Whiskey Business

"The task of a modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."
- C.S. Lewis -

My principal is someone I can describe as the Godfather of our high school. He's somewhat stalwart in appearance and quick to command attention. He walks with a certain pride as if giving credence to his power. Without uttering a word, his presence alone demands anyone in his path to halt and bow. And it isn't just a bow one would use casually, but rather a deep bow to show homage to a much higher authority. He is, after all, "the Don". His office is five times bigger than my apartment, his car is much shinier than any other teachers, and his voice even more commanding than the opera teacher's.

So, imagine what went through my head when he told me he loved me.

And it was accompanied with one of those looks like if I didn't say I loved him back, he'd snap his fingers and flying ninjas would start flying down from trees and start attacking me with swords and bows and arrows.

The other teachers have commented about how much the Principal likes me. They say I'm lucky and I should feel blessed. And I do, don't get me wrong. He invites me to drink soju with him on random nights, pays for extravagant dinners (read: $200 Korean barbecue dinners), and personally makes sure my health is good by sending staff to check on me if I'm sick. When I tell other foreign teachers this, they are flabbergasted. They ask what I did to win my principal over, since many of them have really bad relationships with their own principals. There is no answer to this, as I've not done anything special in my five months in Korea. I've been myself. I don't take myself too seriously.

I feel blessed that my time here has brought fruition to some of the best experiences in my life. While the other foreign teachers bitch about not getting along with the school staff or just wanting to leave Korea, I feel happy and very satisfied. I think their complaints are legitimate, but on the other hand it's just a matter of culture clashing. I find that if you accept the culture rather than fight it, the positive aspects of Korean hospitality will present itself. I also learned that if you let God take control of the things that you cannot, faith has a way of alleviating the anxiety.

Korea's great. Dynamic, even. The people are good people.

If you ever want to know what soju looks like, I found a dancing soju bottle in the streets as pictured above. If you ever want to know what soju tastes like, just mix whiskey, some lemon juice, and battery acid together and oui la.

Pretty lanterns near the train station.

Due to cutbacks, sweatshops are now forcing children to sell the products that they've made. I'm just kidding. There were no cutbacks.
People watching, contrary to what some may say, is not creepy.

There was a rumor that a Filipino restaurant existed in this metropolis. I finally had time to check it out yesterday with Alex and it was awesome.
I ordered Beef Steak with white rice and calamansi juice. Alex had chicken adobo, rice, and guava juice.

You can't experience Filipino food without Karaoke.
Like, you can't experiencce KFC without having diarrhea 5 minutes after eating it. And after months of being KFC-less, I finally walked into one only to be denied gravy. They told me they didn't know what "brown gravy" was. How does one eat Kentucky Fried Chicken without gravy? It's like going to Wal-Mart and not running into a single person with a mullet. It's just not right.