And its only day two . . .

     Well the pot roast turned out to be delicious . .  . the next day. We spent the evening smoking cigarettes in the stairwell and drinking "white beer" and soju while discussing the best and worse of Korea. Apparently I have avoided a lot of the pitfalls most Americans encounter when coming to this country on an esl endeavor (english as a second language), which i must "thank my lucky stars " for.  I have heard some real horror stories about abusive hagwons (private teaching institutions) and some shocking cultural differences that can be quite traumatizing if one is not prepared. Its not that it is everywhere, I am just made to be aware from the start that we are not in Kansas anymore. The teacher I am living with shared with me a colorful story of her first and second year in South Korea. 

      It involved a wretched fight with her old boss over last months pay and a legal document they unknowingly signed claiming that if they did not complete their year contract, no matter what the circumstance, they would have to leave Korea FOREVER and never, ever come back. (dramatic, I know) They fought it, and won and are still here- six years later. The following year she was put into a nice house with her sister and they lived happily until they came to alarming conclusion that their korean welcoming party was a man who had a serious and committed ritual of masturbating out their window on a regular basis. She said she new she was sexy when she washed the dishes, but this was extreme. Apparently it got much worse when he began to, for lack of better words, expunge his bowls on their lawn whenever he was discovered by the young American women. This was not OK. They also fought for this. They called the police which replied casually "oh, it must be the heat." So they moved. The advice to be headed here is that it is best in Korea to live in large apartment buildings which are EVERYWHERE that have posted security guards which eliminate any possibility of this sort of thing happening  . . . . again I repeat they are still here, six years later. There was another story that I was told that could be best summed up with a man, a pig, a hammer, and a pick up truck and I think you can draw your own conclusions. needless to say: there are no guns in Korea with out complicated and arduous permits, which is a good thing, right? 

   I have made a shocking accidental discovery that even Oprah exists in Korea. My temporary roommate leaves the TV on 24hours a day so that when "mama's not home" her babies (dogs) have company. As I was getting ready this morning I heard here familiar voice emanating through the family room . . . is that Oprah or God? I am still unsure if I was relieved or alarmed.