23) Right on cue

First a little background- Billy is the one person I am closest with in Korea. He used to work at the school I work at now, and we get along well, and share many of the same interests. Like me, his favorite age to teach is kindergarten, although at first look he may appear a bit intimidating (having some tattoos, and being solid built/ muscular). Basically not the type of person you would want to see really pissed off.

So we were sitting out in front of the Family Mart in his neighborhood the other evening, just talking and having some wine and snacks. We were talking about how sometimes it is necessary to raise your voice, or slam a desk, or just be pretty stern in certain business situations while here. I have never actually been able to picture him doing such a thing, because he is generally very laid back, and it just doesn’t seem to fit the personality I know of hi(especially taking into account how much little kids love him). So right as we are talking about this, some weirdo comes over and just stops at our table, and then proceeds to try to take some of our chips. Billy told him to leave, but the kid (maybe in his late teens) kept at it. I had no idea what was going on, and almost started to laugh. Billy having none of this got up, and told him in no gentle manor that he needed to leave. The kid not wanting to succumb to the wrath that is Billy wisely moved on. Right as he sits back down, a girl (maybe in her early teens) sitting further down (having not seen the incident) decided to work up the courage and come over and say “hi” to us. In the snap of a finger it was back to the gentle kindergarten teacher that I once new. We both started to laugh nearly immediately. It seemed as if the entire scene was scripted, and everyone was right on cue. Just one of those funny moments that Korea seems to be full of.