Today, I was in the male teachers' bathroom, when I noticed a student slyly come in and quietly take some toilet paper from the main dispenser and pocket it. He saw me, and noticing that I was the foreigner teacher, gave me a silent nod that conveyed, "Daniel, okay? please?" I hesitated, but decided, "Hey... he's not stealing from me..." And why not? Clearly, he needed to go. It was sort of an emergency.
Which brings me to fact#1 of the my new series titled T.I.K., "This is Korea" for those who are unfamiliar with this idiom: Toilet paper is not provided for students, and is often not found in public restrooms in Korea.
Sometimes, I will hang out in the nurses office because she has a drip coffee machine, beds that teachers can use to nap, and heated floors (ondol). Sure enough, students will come in saying, "Sunsengnim, hwijie jom gajigogado dwaenayo?" ("Teacher, can I take some tissue?") while grabbing sheets from the large toilet paper dispenser. To which Mrs. Y replies, "Hwijihneun jibehsuh gajigoh wayadweh... Jinjja honnayadwehgeddah!" ("You should bring your own toilet paper from home. Do you want to get hit?")
THE END.
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