Meeting My Teachers Part 4: The Third Year Teachers

Wow, it's been a long time.  But we should meet more teachers!  Because it's always super fun.

These are all a set of photos on the same page but they didn't fit in one photo so you get them all together now.  Let's start with the gentleman on the left.  I don't have a nickname for him.  Maybe just stoic third year teacher.  He has always been a third year teacher ever since I came to Danyang High School and I like him because from day one all he's ever done is treat me like a normal human.  How does he do this?  He says hello to me and then leaves me alone to do my work.  Basically an ideal coworker.

The guy on the right is BBT which stands for Bad Boy Teacher.  That's his nickname because when he was introduced to me I was told he smoked.  And he did.  A lot.  He is one year older than me and is kind of the worst.  He took months to say hello to me because he was scared of English.  He couldn't even say hello to me in Korean.  And after a year and a half of working together and knowing that I had learned a little Korean, he couldn't do simple things like asking me to pass the water at a table.  What a tool.  He's gone now and good riddance.  I think he was mean to the students and an impolite person.  I do not miss him.

The man in the top left corner basically has the same description as the first teacher.  In fact, I got them confused a lot because they both were nearly the same height and had similar facial expressions.  Thank goodness their haircuts are different.  This man has sadly left now but he was also an ideal coworker.  The world needs more of those.

The man in the top right corner is Mr. Kim!!  Mr. Kim is the co-teacher who picked me up when I first was coming to Danyang and the person who probably helped me the most when I first started.  And I needed a lot of help because I knew nothing.   He was super friendly and a really kind person.  Unfortunately he left Danyang High School because his five years there was up.  But I'm super thankful to him being patient with all of my bajillion questions back when I knew zero things about Korea.

The man in the bottom left corner also has no nickname.  Sorry about that.  He's a super nice guy, though!  I actually don't even know what he taught.  Ethics maybe?  He has a daughter and a son and has been married for like 25 years.  I know this because once we got drunk together and he told me.  This man and I got along really well and I liked him because even though he was curious about my foreignness, he was never rude.  Just kind and friendly.  He is also the person who taught me the hyper-polite way to hold your hand while somebody pours a glass of alcohol for you and taught me the history behind it.  How cool is that?

Side note:  Here's how you do it.  When somebody pours for you in Korean culture, you should hold your cup in your right hand and place your left hand beneath the cup and your wrist.  This is because in ancient Korea they wore clothing with large sleeves called hanboks (the clothing, not just the sleeves) and leave your sleeve wide open for anyone to look down while they were pouring for you was super tacky and gross.  So have some manners.  Close your sleeve.  Or at least just pretend like you're closing a sleeve in modern times.

The final photo we have is none other than the notorious Mr. Ugh.  What is there to say that hasn't been said already?  He's a man of mystery and delight.  A person who in one day will have me choose a backpack for his wife and then later will announce to the school that I am spearheading an English competition I've never heard of.  It's wild and crazy and always makes life interesting for me at Danyang High School.  And now you know his face.  

Does anyone else have or had ideal coworkers?  I want to hear your stories in the comments!