First day of school..

I won't lie.

My first day of school was very intimidating. I had 4 classes of 5th graders. They were energetic and delighted to meet me. 

That's not what scared me. 

The school has hundreds of children and they were all shocked and amazed to see someone who looked like me. 

That's not what scared me.

I have to greet and bow to the principal every morning, in his office,  before I start work. This is done out of respect for his high position.

That's not what scared me.

What scared me was the 1st and 2nd graders. During my breaktime, I sat in the library. They crowded me like bees to a beehive. I made the mistake of sitting down and was eye-level with them. They patted me, crowded me and touched me all over. I was like a cute puppy. They were delighted to see me and greeted me repeatedly with "hello". That's not what intimidated me. 

What scared the HELL OUT OF ME was the constant, wet coughing done directly into my mouth and nose. I could almost see their baby germs flying out of their little mouths and landing on mine. 

SCREEEEEEEEEEM!!!!! 

You see, Koreans do NOT take sick days. It is almost a crime to take a sick day. As the baby germs were flying into my mouth, I pictured myself with a 115 degree fever, draped in a blanket, nose running, facing a class full of kids eager to learn English grammar. I wondered if it was too late to go knocking on the doors of corporate America, begging to be let back in. Please let me back in. I wanted to run out and buy a gallon of alcohol and pour it all over my body. I wanted to wrap myself in an anti-bacterial shrink wrap and just leave my eyes and feet open to navigate the halls of the school.

Can I really do this? Not teach, I know I have a natural ability to impart knowledge into others.

The real question is- Can I stay healthy enough to come in five days a week, for twelve months, and not drop dead from some itsy-bitsy baby germs?