Ive said it once and Ill say it again- Things are done a bit differently over here in the ROK. Some of the differences you realize right away- language, food, customs blah blah blah. But with time stark contrasts emerge.

For example, Alcoholism is a rampant social problem here. This is coming from a recent college grad, from Wisconsin, who has had more than a few drinks in 90% of friday nights over the last 7 years. Im no stranger to the hooch. But people here get hammered. I mean hammered. It is quite common to step over a puke pile of fresh ramen on my walk to work. Im no longer phased by the sight of drunk korean dude pissing on the street. And i always get a kick from watching Korean couples scream at each other only to have they fight end with one person falling over drunk. There is even a website dedicated to passed out koreans BLACK OUT KOREA

The drunkenness is not limited to the natives. The expats here contribute as well. I work with one of biggest drunks I've ever met. This dude is certifiably insane. You know when you first meet someone you can tell if they are a little off? When you meet this guy you might even give him a fake name. He's that off putting up. I honestly dont know where to begin. He once drank and entire bottle of rum THE MORNING before hosting a dinner at his house because he tried the rum and it "wasn't very good." He routinely come to work with various DRIs (drunk related injuries) Ive seen him with casts, stitches, open wounds, etc.. Its a well known fact that he drinks before and during work.

ANYWAY

The other day this fella, who we shall call Dave, showed up to work looking like he just walked off the set of fight club. His faced is messed up- bruised, cut and all sorts of crooked. He was screaming about how he wanted to take a sick day. Understandably so. He probably woulda made kids cry just by looking at him. None the less, our boss was super pissed at Dave. Like I said, it is not uncommon for dave to show up to work mangled. This isnt good for business especially in Korea where appearance is 9/10ths of the law.

So Dave is screaming about taking a sick day. Our boss screams back at him about being an alcoholic. These words actually came out of her mouth, "Dave, you are drunk right now! Get in there and teach."

Try to imagine yourself overhearing the owner/ director of an educational institution encouraging a creepy, drunk, mangled psycho to teach. After watching this its pretty hard to take my job seriously. I dont even need to fool my boss into thinking im sober. Piss drunk or bleeding from my ears, if i can speak audible english Im qualified for my job. Who said the job market sucks?

Oh Korea.:)