On the way back from the Lantern Festival, my husband and I encountered a woman in the Seoul subway station hocking adorable, sweet, fuzzy baby bunnies! We hesitated for a moment (well, I might have grabbed one and started envisioning our life together), and we decided this was another presentation of our recent desire to add to the family and left before we could do anything rash. It seems many couples who have this desire fill it by having babies, but just we tend to talk about getting dogs, cats, baby snow leopards, orangutans, koalas... and I guess bunnies.
About three subway stops later, we started to discuss why a bunny would actually be a great option for a pet-- shedding less than a cat, lower maintenance than anything but fish, still cuddly, and we could take it home in my ever-present big bag of crazy and name him Mr. Snuffles and live happily ever after! About four subway stops later, we decided that they'd probably be cheap and we should turn around carpe bunny while we could. Unfortunately, this revelation came about 5 seconds before the subway door closed. The hubs made it out, I did not. Our flurry of confusion and surprise and miming and waving from opposite sides of the glass led to not a few giggles from the folks around us, and one older gentleman who then continued to laugh and smack me on the arm until the next stop.
When hubs and I finally reconnected I nearly mobbed him to see the little bun-bun, only to find out the bunny-vending woman had moved. For the hour long drive home, we both mourned the mishap of Mr. Snuffles. (Later to consult the wisdom of the Googles and find out bunnies can be mean and destructive.)
And there I was, doing my first real interview in Korea in slippers. This is not unusual for Koreans (shoes and outside ground are considered grossly dirty, shoes are removed in homes and some businesses), but I also had no idea what the blue blazes was going on. I'd submitted my resume for an earlier part-time job to this hagwon (English teaching school) which was already taken, so when the principal called and asked if I could come in that day, I assumed it was for a similar position and didn't want to be the pushy American needing to know everything. Upon arrival, I had the strangest career-based conversation I've ever had with a very nice guy with pretty limited English skills. (Which I've now learned is pretty common for the folk who run these English-teaching schools. Weird.)
After chatting about my background and military life (he was retired Air Force in Korea), he asked me if I would speak with a student for a few minutes and evaluate his English. I agreed, trusting my basic subject-teaching skills to help me figure out how to evaluate language acquisition and moved to the next room where I had a lovely conversation with a 14 year old who spoke fantastic English already. After having him read, write, and speak with me I came out to give my verdict, only to be told that the mother expected "a long more intense time." At this point I realize that both me AND this kid are working to get into this school, and now I have to please the mom as well. An hour later after more quizzing the kid, reviewing his performance with mom and principal then setting up lesson times, I finally got to ask about pay, benefits, etc. Only to find it was about half of what private teachers can make. Mamma mia.
But now I have the next two weeks of INTENSIVE English lessons to learn about how to teach ESL and make a few dollars to boot.
This one is fairly obvious. I learned how to drive a stick shift over the weekend (thanks hubs!) and took the beast out for our first adventure in Korea yesterday. Best part: while there were a few bumpy times, the only time I killed the car absolutely dead- after a frenetic burst of bucking like a wild bronco- was after getting my ID checked at the military installation gate and trying to pull away. Me, open car window and three gate guards in uniforms with guns trying not to laugh. Classic.
Vocab of the day:
Korean: (cha) = car
Military: CIB = Combat Infantry Bunny (-ish)
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That is the cutest bunny I have ever seen!
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