Ride on the Swine Train

Today was the first official day of training where we actually got into the "meat and potatoes," if you will, of the material. It's a lot to take in at once. We have to do a lot of mock teaching and lessons tomorrow. Normally I would be a bit nervous about presenting due to my tendency to break out in hives when faced with a nerve-wracking situation. Anyone who witnessed my breakdown when having to ask a formal date a few years back knows the situation, and it is not pretty. However, with my handy-dandy H1N1 mask, most of my face will be covered!

So chic, I know. It's actually not even embarrassing to wear because it is extremely common to wear the mask. Koreans are particularly concerned about being around westerners because there was an outbreak within Chungdahm--the company I work for. Before Chungdahm, there had been only 3 known cases of swine flu in South Korea. One girl working for Chungdahm contracted the virus in the US, came here, and basically presented the epidemic to the country. Still, there have only been about 45 reported cases of SI. I have noticed a number of Koreans covering their mouths while passing us. Since we are germ-infested freaks, Chungdahm has set a protocol for us to follow including avoiding the stairs, and only taking the elevator that fits 4 people at a time. Rationale? No idea. Since there is about 60 of us training at once, you can imagine how long it takes us to get to the 4th floor. Another Swine avoidance technique is to break us trainees up into small groups in different rooms. Therefore, if someone contracted H1N1, theoretically only those 5 or 6 people in the room would have to be quarantined along with the sick person. The fact that many of us are staying in the same hotel, though, sort of defeats the purpose. Can you say paranoia?

Four people/ride=inefficiency. The elevator is smart too. Once a fifth person comes in, it beeps and refuses to go up!