Uh Oh Hot Dog!

Every time I hear a Korean speak English, I expect them to say "uh oh, hot dog!" I guess it's from watching so much Bobby Lee on Mad TV.

Last night Sonja and I took the two guys who work as assistants in our office out for chicken and beer at our neighborhood "Barbeezone" chicken and beer place.

It was really fun.

Jin and Jang are the two assistants Jenny hired for our program. I don't think they knew what they were getting into. Between Jenny's hawkish oversight and yelling at them when she gets frustrated to the trainers incessant demands, I'm sure they will be relieved when this part-time job is finished next week.

Jin speaks better English than Jang, but Jang is as cute as a button and they both are incredibly sweet.

The lady who runs the chicken and beer place is also adorable. She reminds me of Swan, the woman who runs Pretty Beauty Nail Salon (an old Mad TV skit). I took her picture with Sonja and her helper and Jin, and then again I took her photo while she was pouring us beer. Both times she said, "oh, no make-up!" Too cute she was!

Jin talked a little about his family. His mother makes artificial eyes, and apparently is the best artificial eye maker in Korea. His father used to be a businessman but after the IMF intervened in Korea's economy at the end of the 90's and caused massive layoffs, he has been floundering around doing odd jobs like delivering newspapers and sounding like he is depressed. Jin said it is very hard to relate to him because he is so strict. I felt sorry for both of them - a son who is unable to talk to his father, and a man who now feels useless because he has been put out of a job by some greedy global financial system that aims to make bankers rich while making thousands of people unemployed. At least his father was not one of the many men in Japan, Korea, Thailand and elsewhere who committed suicide when they lost their job because they were so ashamed of their inability to provide for their families. At some point, I wish the folks at the IMF could come face to face with the pain they cause in real people's lives rather than simply looking at numbers and profits.

Anyway, it was a very nice evening and I was glad we were able to spend some time with these two very nice guys and thank them for helping us helpless teacher-trainers!