strange story

The mood at work was much better today, kind of mellow. The low-key day was a kind of reflection of the weather, drizzly, cold, and overcast. A teacher's birthday is today, but the staff did not celebrate it as is the usual custom. A comment by one of the teachers reminded me of a bizzare incident that happened about two weeks ago. Said by a teacher who has been in Korea since August, the comment is, "I finally am moved into my new apartment." Normally, once you arrive, you are in your apartment.

Two weeks ago, on an early Sunday evening, a teacher, who happens to live two doors away from my door, was assaulted by a Korean male inside her apartment. The situation began with her opening her front door and hitting someone standing outside of the door. Apologies were given, and the teacher went downstairs to drop the garbage, and quickly went back to her apartment. She did not lock the door behind her, mainly due to the trek taking only two minutes.

Upon her return to the apartment, she continued chatting online with her friend. Eventually, nature called her to the bathroon. As she opened the door to her bathroom, she found a man standing there, looking down on her. Confusion happens, and the man with broken English told her that he thought he was in his girlfriend's apartment. Sensing the teacher not understanding his intention, the man asked if he could use the internet to find the English words to elucidate his point.

Forty to forty-five minutes go by, and the man is still in the teacher's apartment. All during that time, the teacher is asking the man to leave. Eventually, the man communicates that the teacher is to sit on the bed and he will leave. The teacher sits, and the man charges her and is on her with his fingers around her throat, yelling, "I am going to kill you." The teacher is struggling and the man finally realizes he is doing something incredibly wrong, and lets up. The man apologizes, and when he opens the front door, the teacher screams for help.

The man flees, and the teacher runs into Mike and Kelly's apartment, which is next door to mine. During all of this, I was away, and was told about later in the evening. There is an epilogue to the story, but I'll save it for another time.