Staff Party

So with the weekend closing in, I figure that if I don't write about last weekend, I'll fall dreadfully behind again, so I'll briefly mention my staff party.

It was kind of a strange night because I have been working for Ssangmun ECC for about a month now, and have developed a polite yet respectfully distant relationship with the majority of the staff there. The most of what I've seen from them has been their quiet office faces, and there is rarely a chance for interaction if it isn't business related. Heck, there's a whole group of employees who are sequestered in a completely separate office whom I never interact with, including the Hillary Clinton boss lady that intimidates the crap out of everyone.

This event was interesting because not only was it a gathering in a casual atmosphere, but unlike Canadian staff parties where the respectful office conduct is maintained throughout, Koreans like to bust down the wall entirely and let their pent up wild side ride free. And that's what everyone did that night.



As you can hear in that video, I got into the spirit after some initial apprehension.

It was an awesome night actually! I finally got to experience the diverse personalities that I work with, in a comfortable environment. I even met the staff who worked in the separate office, including the boss, who spoke to me for the first time ever with the words "Jon, one shot!".

Naturally, the best environment for these kinds of get-togethers are galbi restaurants. I guess there's just something about cooking meat that makes it a vector for camaraderie. I felt sorry for some of my coworkers who were either vegetarian, didn't drink or both.

Anyways here's some pictures:

Typical galbi restaurant.

Patty, Judy and Lara.

Tena (pronounced "Tenae") and Robin.

Iris and Stella, neither of whom I had talked to before that night.

Me and Roy, the guy I mentioned in my first entry, who showed me my apartment.

Judy was a lot of fun.

Skylar and Jacey.

Mary, the academic director, Hillary Clinton (I can never remember her Korean name) and Anna.

Susan

Stella wearing my glasses.

It was such a great night because now I am a lot for relaxed and jovial around the office when I talk to people. I even talk to people in the other office.

Anyways, those are my coworkers!