Plays Nicely With Others

New girl has not made it easy to hang out with her. She's pretty much alienated the other teachers, but my obstinacy overpowered any sense of pride and I pleaded with her and her husband to let me treat them to galbi. I reminded her that there would be new people in the future, and that they would be able to take them out. (Taking people to dinner here is a lot like the movie Pay It Forward.)

Something that bothers me is how easily the girls gave up. She's a different kind of person is all, and they've all said no. I'm such a follower when it comes to them; I'm afraid of stepping out of bounds and losing the only foreign friends I have. On this point, though, I believe in the importance of understanding. It wasn't very long ago that I landed in Korea, and I recall the obscene jet lag, aversion to the heat, and feeling lucky that I had a week to adjust. The poor girl came and started work the very next day, after not having even seen her living arrangements! They didn't come with much money (thank you, dad, for ensuring this wasn't me), and were concerned about getting through the first month. That said, if I don't give it my best, and she becomes despondent, it would be equal blame for both parties.

In other, lighter news, Sue posted one of those 50+ questions things that are fun to fill out when sitting around in a crisp, cool apartment on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

1. What time did you get up this morning? "Morning" is a relative term. 12:36 p.m. :D
2. Diamonds or pearls? I identify with pearls more.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Children of Huang Shi. Kind of a funny story! It's in English, with Korean subtitles. Well, part of the movie is in Chinese and other parts in Japanese--no English subtitles. >.>
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Office
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Yogurt
6. What is your middle name? Elizabeth
7. What food do you dislike? Octopus, squid
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Tie: Scrubs soundtrack, Tracy's cafe CD
9. What kind of car do you drive? Size 10 pink and white croc flip flops
10.Favorite sandwich? I miss those...
11.What characteristic do you despise? Know-it-alls
12.Favorite item of clothing? My size-smaller jeans that are now a bit baggy in the legs. :)
13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? There is no "if" people--go explore! That said, I'd go home.
14.Favorite brand of clothing? Target
15.Where would you retire to? New Orleans--preferably something in the French Quarter (translation: walking distance to Cafe du Monde)
16.What was your most recent memorable birthday? 24? I can't remember 25 for some reason.
17.Favorite sport to watch? Ice hockey!
18.Farthermost place you are sending this? You bet it made it, Sue! And it's going across the Pacific Ocean--anywhere after that is just extra credit.
19.Person you expect to send it back first? Probably Tamara if she had a blog
20.When is your birthday? April 27
21.Are you a morning person or a night person? Hehehe, is this a trick question?
22.What is your shoe size? 10/275 in Korean
23.Pets? 1 American hamster, 1 Korean hamster
24.Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? It's no longer 89 degrees!
25.What did you want to be when you were little? A surgeon
26.How are you today? I ate too much grease yesterday and have a food hangover
27.What is your favorite candy? I miss Skittles
28.What is your favorite flower? Orchids
29.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 16--I'm going to Woobang Tower, it's an amusement park
30.What are you listening to right now? Shrieking children
31.What was the last thing you ate? Maltesers--Russian Whoppers
32.Do you wish on stars? No
33.If you were a crayon, what color would you be? One of those neat multi-color ones with a base of pink
34.How is the weather right now? Cloudy and wonderful
35.The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Olivia
36.Favorite soft drink? Coca-Cola
37.Favorite restaurant? Cheesecake Factory
38.Real hair color? A mousy brown color
39.What was your favorite toy as a child? I think the dress up box
40.Summer or winter? Winter
41.Hugs or kisses? hugs
42.Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla
43.Coffee or tea? coffee, but it keeps me up. tea after 6 please. :)
44.Do you want your friends to email you back? Sure - blog friends play along!
45.When was the last time you cried? Last night. :( I couldn't meet up with my date because my phone didn't have any credit on it; he looked for me for an hour and a half and ended up calling me but didn't know how to find where I was. So it wasn't homesickness, I wasn't hurt, just a little disappointed.
46.What is under your bed? The previous tenant's shower shoes
47.What did you do last night? Watched the LATEST EPISODE OF THE OFFICE!!!!
48.What are you afraid of? Grabbing the bull by the balls
49.Salty or sweet? BOTH
50.How many keys on your key ring? Just one, but I have the key chain from Tosha and Tamara <3
51.How many years at your current job? :) 2 months, baby
52.Favorite day of the week? Friday. I like the anticipation of the weekend with the fun of my job
53.How many towns have you lived in? 10
54.Do you make friends easily? Yeah.