Day 122: Big Trouble

So I had a job interview this morning that I was totally stoked about! It was with Poly (the company Brad used to work at) but only at a different campus - Bundang. Bundang is an affluent suburb in the SE corner of the city and is also where both Maeve and Austin live. I've only been to Bundang a couple of times but I remember it being really clean and green. It's one of the more prestigious places in the city to live in and is also a completely planned city, from the bottom up. I was being interviewed Jill, who was a friend of Brad's and who I've met on many occasions.

The interview went exceptionally well! Knowing Jill ahead of time made me really comfortable during the interview, and I seemed to answer each and every question bang on. I got a tour of the school and was again really impressed with the quality of the facility that Poly provides. Bundang Poly is a bit smaller than Ilsan's, but has great natural lighting and is really aesthetically pleasing. I also met all the staff who work there and everyone seemed really nice! The position I'm applying for is the evening shift, working with the older, more advanced kids teaching grammar. It's the same job that Brad had at his school and he seemed to enjoy it a lot. I got a great vibe from the school and really hope that I get the position!! WISH ME LUCK!!!

I was told at the end of the interview that I'd find out if I got the job on Friday, which means I have to wait five whole long days to find out if I got it or not. But I'm impatient - I wanna know now!!! ;-) I had plans to meet up with Austin for lunch so I gave him a rang and he came down to meet me near Poly. We went to TGI Friday's for lunch and it was really cool to hang out just him and I. He's a super nice guy and a lot of fun to be around. What's really cool, is that he's moving to VANCOUVER in December! Wow small world eh??? After lunch we hung out at his place for a bit watching 'Hook' that was on TV and then it was time for me to make the big journey back to Shihung (2 hours on the trains!!)

On the way home though I got myself in big trouble...but it's not my fault, I swear! I was on the subway, about half way home, and was on the Green Line which is *always* packed full with people. I don't think I've ever seen Line 2 NOT crowded, regardless of the time of day. Well I was just standing there, listening to my Discman, when these 5 Korean teen girls came on to the train. They saw me and were excited to see a foreigner on the train. Now people *always* stare at you on the subway, and I do mean everybody. You get used to the staring, but the teen girls always giggle and make more fuss than anyone else. Well the girls came over to stand next to me, and were amazed with my height (but isn't everybody??) ;-) They kept trying to reach up as high on the pole (to hold on to so you don't fall) as I could but (obviously) couldn't reach that high. They didn't speak any English so we weren't even talking to each other, but they were making a lot of squealing and such in Korean. They kept jumping and stretching, trying to reach as high as I could, all the while looking at me and giggling. It was all harmless fun, I didn't mind at all, and clearly I wasn't bothering the girls...

All of a sudden this old man from the other end of the car pushed his way through the crowd towards us and just started SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS in Korean at the girls! He screamed and screamed (God knows what, man I wish I spoke Korean!) but the girls got really quiet and looked all embarrassed and shy. Some of them sat down and put their heads down while others covered up their bare arms and shoulders (they weren't wearing anything overly sexy, even for Korean standards.) So the old man didn't even look at me once, he just kept yelling at the girls, but I knew that it was about me because EVERY SINGLE OTHER PAIR OF EYES on the train were all on me!!! I felt so mortified and I didn't even know why!

So I really don't know exactly what the man was yelling about, but obviously he didn't approve of their behaviour, and that somehow it was related to me. Maybe he was scolding them for 'flirting' with me, or maybe he thought their clothing was inappropriate. Maybe he thought they were bothering me, or maybe he thought they weren't acting what was 'proper' for girls their age. I have no idea. But I certainly felt bad! The train was absolutely silent after that, and people still continued to S-T-A-R-E at me for a while. I wish I understood and spoke Korean so that I could know what it was all about, and tell off that old man cause I sure don't think he had any good reason to yell at those harmless girls like that. Go mind your own fuckin business! Ahh well, I'm the foreigner here, I often don't understand what's going on or what's appropriate... Perhaps I need to learn how to better behave myself in public, and flirt less with giggling teenage girls?

Nahhhhh..... ;-)