I haven't actually started teaching yet, if you can believe that. I was under the impression that I would start Oct 1 (all classes are month-long and start on the first). But since Oct 3 is a holiday, Princeton Review decided not to start October classes until after the holiday, which would be Oct 4. However, that's a Friday and I don't teach on Fridays so my first day of teaching is Oct 5!! Aye yi yi.

I did do *some* work, though. The day I arrived I had to present a "seminar" about my class to about 15 people. It was basically just an information gathering thing so people could see if they wanted to take the class. I did another seminar the following night, and I have been reviewing the course material in the meantime.

I've also been spending a lot of time learning Korean. I am probably up to 150 words now, plus basic grammar, which doesn't sound like much but I can get around. I am still planning on taking a class in November but want to learn as much as possible on my own before then.

In case you were wondering, this is my stock answer when someone asks me to say something in Korean to them:

Chonun tangshinui kae anieyo.

Which means, "I am not your dog". =)

Yes, indeed, I have been to The Flair. On Thursday (the day I arrived) I was walking to the subway (to go to my seminar) and who do I see walking towards me but... Red!! I think she had this moment of "That looks like Chris, but this guy is wearing a tie and glasses, so it can't be him". She sort of had a "does not compute" look on her face (I guess I was a bit out of context, not sitting at the bar!) but when she realized it was me she was SO happy to see me. It was definitely a good feeling to see a smiling face on my first day back in Korea.

Anyway, I probably wasn't going to go to the bar that night (my roommate wasn't back from his trip to America yet and I didn't want to go alone) but since I saw Red, how could I *NOT* go? I walked in at around 9:00 and, quite surprisingly, didn't recognize a single person working there! I was like, what happened? Then I saw Red and she was giggling and jumping up and down, she was so happy. Turns out that all of the guys who worked there were transferred to another location, so only girls are working at this one now. Sort of like Coyote Ugly. =) But that's why I didn't recognize anyone, because they have all new staff there now. You can see a list of my new chicas at http://www.theflair.com/theflair/store/seolleung/pages/bartenders.htm

I went in that night planning on staying for "a drink" but left about three and a half hours later. I had my share of drunk businessmen giving me a hassle but the girls are pretty protective of me. And they all love to help me with my Korean. In general Koreans love anyone who shows any sort of interest in the country or in the language. Unfortunately two of the girls (Winner and Kimbel) speak no English at all, so it's sort of frustrating for them, but hopefully I'll learn enough Korean soon to be able to flirt with them all equally. =)

Yesterday I turned my hair blue. Well, not really blue, more like blonde with turqoise highlights. In either case, not at all the look I was going for. I'm not really sure how it happened, I think maybe I left the stuff in too long. So I put on a hat, went to the store, and bleached it out. I'm not really all that happy with it now, but at least I don't look like a total freak.