The Story of the Lost Key

I've been in Korea a little more than a month now and I've already had a series of misfortunes.
I nearly cried in front of my principal and co-teacher because I was so nervous and distraught about my placement in a high school instead of a elementary school.
I was able to keep it to a minimum of my eyes welling up when I was told my co-teacher, the only person I'd meet who spoke decent English, would leave me in two days before the start of classes and would not return for six months. The reason for his absence was that he did not like teaching in the high school I was now employed in.
All of my co-teachers, save one, are new to teaching this year and are, in many respects as clueless as me. The students bullied one co-teacher, paid her little respect, and it was me who had to tell them to stop. A great deal of my candy was stolen in the first week by a bunch of these students while they were cleaning the room under another teacher's supervision.
On top of all this I got so sick within the first two weeks that I had to go to a doctor and be placed on antibiotics, which I had an allergic reaction to and had to get yet another prescription.
And then comes the story of my lost key...

A friend of mine had recommend I take up running. I've been blessed with an averaged sized body that needs little up keep to stay trim so while I look in shape (enough) I've never really 'been in shape'. I wanted to try to change that while in Korea. The goal was to be able to do a 5km, or maybe even 10km, run by May. This was the plan about three weeks ago and I had yet to start.
I decided that on Monday after school of this week I would start. I walked directly home to change so I could not change my mind. I would not eat super until I returned.
I was very minimal- I wore my EPIK sweater, a pair of long shorts and my running shoes. The only other things I took were my MP3 player and the key to my apartment. Since I had no pockets I tucked my key into my bra. A safe keeping place I had used for my key when working in the food service industry where the girl pants without pockets were required for the job.
So off I went. I had chosen a road a block from my own place that looked like it went on unaltered by side roads for quite a while. I was determined to run until I hit an intersection. Oh determination- what a bloody pain in the ass that turned out to be!
I have no idea how far I ran because I wasn't good at judging the distance but lets just say it was pretty far for a first timer. I was pretty impressed with myself, despite my slower speed. I made it to the intersection and turned back and made it about half way back before I started to get really tired and decided to walk the rest of the way home. It was at about 3/4 the way home when I started thinking about home and the dinner of pizza I would have. I reached down my shirt and felt for my key along my bra line. I felt again.
There was nothing there. I gave my boobs another full feel around the bottom area near the wire and still nothing.
I patted myself down. I looked at the ground. I looked towards home with a longing expression and then back from where I had come. I turned and started walking back with my head to the ground looking for my key.
Along the way I harassed several Koreans with my simple English and ridiculous hand gestures "Key. I drop. My Key. Did you SEE a KEY?" They all said 'no' and backed around me with a wide berth.
I got all the way to the intersection and dejectedly turned again to walk home. About 1/2 way home with my head to the ground I say a Korean man approaching going the same direction as me. I did my simple key question again. His answer was negative as well but because we had a similar gait and were going in the same direction he was beside me for most of the way home.
He asked where I was from, how old I was, where I worked and where I lived ...all rather normal non-intrusive questions in Korea.
The hunt for my key was looking like a complete failure and recognizing this the Korean Man, we shall call him Mr.S, asked if I had a phone, knew the number of my friend, or had an extra key with someone. To which I replied 'no' to all.
He frowned " I friend...speak English good."
He got out his phone and dialled a number. He talked for a minute and handed the phone to me. "Good English."
And his friend certainly did speak good English! As I kept my head to the ground looking for the key all the way into my apartment building his friend said that Mr.S would call a locksmith for me so I could get into my house.
Mr. S called the locksmith as we waited at my door with no key in hand. He asked me " You cannot find key- right?"
I started to pat myself down again I was patting down my chest again when I realized Mr.S was looking at me funny. I stopped short of a full examination.
Mr. S called the locksmith and then took me to eat at a Chinese food place across the street...best random bowl of noodles and unknown sauce I've ever had.
As we were leaving to meet the locksmith the owner of the store came jogging after us with something in her hand.
Ironically, after trying to help a wae-gook look for her key for near an hour, Mr.S had almost forgotten his own keys in the shop. We both shared a hearty chuckle at this as we left.
The locksmith had already broken into my place by the time we arrived.
Mr.S talked to the locksmith about getting me a new lock because I didn't have a key.
The locksmith disappeared down to his truck for the lock and while we waited I asked Mr.S if he wanted to wait inside.
"Come in? You no roommate...no friend...no roommate."
He looked absolutely terrified of the idea. He hesitantly stepped in though.
I got out my phone and called our Chuncheon coordinator Mr.C who speaks both English and Korean. I tell him what happened and just let him know that I want him to make sure Mr.S knows I'm very thankful.
I hand the phone to Mr.S and he starts talking...then he starts laughing and I know they are laughing about me. I don't mind- I'm in my apartment!
Mr.S hands me the phone back and Mr.C starts laughing at me.
"You meet this man on the street and you got him to help you look for your key and invited him all the way to your house..."
"Yeah...I...I mean I thought Koreans were very friendly."
"They are, they are but....(laughing continues)."
"I wanted to give him something. Something to say thank you..." I trail off thinking that the only thing I have is some extra wine from what I brought as gifts for my co-teachers.
Mr.C is done laughing and hasn't really heard me. "It seems that your okay just give me a call if there is anything else and I'll be right over."
"Okay, thanks"
The locksmith is done. I've paid him his money and he's given me three keys. Both Mr.S and the locksmith start to leave. I motion for Mr.S to wait. I want to give him something.
He points at his chest "Me? Why?"
'One minute' I motion.
I run back and get the wine and bring it to the door. I'm holding it near me because I don't want to give it to the locksmith who is looking and waiting for the elevator. I try to pass it Mr. S but as soon as he sees the bottle he's backing off and saying "No, No, No". He's quickly peddling backwards and waving his hands in front of himself. If he could have run I swear he would have.
I call out thank you and good-bye as the man hurries to the elevator but I don't think he hears me.
As I close the door to my apartment I realize that Mr.S has probably though I was trying to come on to him.
While we ate I asked him how old he was and then said he looked young for forty years old.
I had my hand up my shirt trying to feel for my keys along the wire of my bra while he couldn't help but notice.
I had asked him into my house when I didn't have a roommate (to supervise?).
And because I held the wine to my chest for so long he must have thought that I was not trying to give him the bottle but trying to ask him back in to share a drink.
I leaned against the door.
'You know,' I thought 'at least it all was worth it. Without my key or any way to get a locksmith I wouldn't be in my warm apartment right now.'
I started to change into my pyjamas - 'At least it was worth it'
PLONK!
I had taken off my bra and what had fallen to the floor...

My Key!

And that story lets you know a little about the luck I've been having in my new life in Korea. A series of misfortunes have befallen me on my journey but I'm still glad that a simple retelling of any of them with the right spin can make a listener laugh so hard that they lose their breath. Because even though I've found my share of obstacles along the way this first month in Korea has been one of most memorable and exciting in all my life.

Here's to many more! Cheers!

My Second Day

My second day in Chuncheon was Feb. 27 2010.

I was left all by myself.

My first co-teacher Mr. H had taken me to the house of my team-teacher Ms. Kim the night before at her behest.

She was hosting another EPIK teacher, Kelly, because her daughter Sujin was Kelly's co-teacher at another school and Kelly did not have an apartment yet. Mr. H was not keen to stay long so we departed shortly after.

Nestor had left me his old phone, which was good for three more days, so I passed the number on to Sujin and Mr.H. Sujin and Kelly made a plan to meet up with me in the afternoon of the next day. Mr. H left me at my apartment door the first night with a promise that he would call sometime before he left in the next two days to check in. I never heard from him again.

So, with a vague sense of where the grocery store was I set off for it in late morning hours.

As I came to the first intersection and was starting to doubt my directional abilities, which had always been shit, my borrowed phone started to ring. It was Nestor!

I stood at the corner of a four way intersection and started to explain how I was lost on the way to the grocery store. As I described, badly, my surroundings Nestor tried to orientate me again towards the GS Mart. I probably looked like the most confused wae-gook any Korean had ever seen squinting in four directions and speaking loudly into my phone that "There is a store with a sign that has Korean writing on it across from me... so where am I?"

At that moment, out the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of someone running across the road, ignoring the traffic lights, directly toward me. I turned in fright- North Koreans!- but no it was Bryan, my camera suave friend from orientation who came to Chuncheon with his wife Dani. Seeing a familiar face I started to jump rapidly up and down, with the phone still to my ear,as he charged towards me. Bryan grabbed me around the waist as I was up in the air and nearly had me to the road before my practical side shouted at him that we should wait for the light.

I said good-bye to Nestor and Bryan and I, where a moment before we had been yipping and yelling at each other, stood docile and calm waiting for the light. When we got the green light we sprinted to the car across the road which contained Dani and her co-teacher Sunny.

As Sunny gave us a tour of Chuncheon I told Bryan and Dani about my placement and recounted first day stories. Sunny pointed out interesting sites including where you could get a good taste of dog meat in Chuncheon...Dani and I quickly repeated the word dog meat in Korean (Kaegoggi) so we could stay away from it.

Sunny was nice enough to drop me back off at my apartment for my meeting with Sujin and Kelly. With them I went grocery shopping at the new, large supermarket Lotte Mart and tried to find Kelly some more school clothes in an underground mall with little success. While there Sujin tested me on my Korean lettering- which was poor- but she was encouraging so it was nice.

So my second day in Chuncheon was not so much a lesson of how to defend for yourself as it was learning the art of mooching off other's co-teachers. I have to say, I became quite good at it.