DOM!

So as usual, I was walking Ellie at like 1am this past Saturday. We were finishing up our walk and I was back on my street already when a man stopped me. He was tall and looked about mid 40s. He spoke to me in English first and I was really surprised because I didn't know how he knew I wasn't Korean. He told me that his son was one of my students, so I felt better knowing he wasn't some serial killer that stalks dog walkers. He spoke in very broken English and I could barely understand what he was saying. His office/shop was right next to where he stopped me and he asked me if I wanted to go in to talk. I kept saying that it was really late and I needed to go home, but he kept insisting that he wanted me to help him with his English. Without me completely agreeing, he took out his keys and opened the door to his shop and then motioned his hand for me to go in. It was 1am and the street was completely dark and all I could think about was that if he killed me right there inside his shop, no one would know. I think he sensed my hesitation and kept telling me not to worry and that he was going to keep the door opened. He even showed me the pole where the street security camera was to prove that he wasn't going to do anything wrong I suppose. I'm from Philly, so I know when some strange man invites you to go in somewhere, you kick him in the nuts and then run like heck, but he is one of my student's father and I couldn't just bolt out of there.  But seriously, I told this man that it was very late a few times. God, Koreans can't take any hints. So we were in his shop and he kept telling me that he just wanted to practice his English because he forgot it all and he wanted to help his son and all that. I don't even know who his son is since I have over 500 students. All I know is that he's in the 5th grade. After listening to him talk about god knows what, he asked for my email so that we can set up another meeting. I told him to give me his email address instead and he wrote it down for me. It took him around 5 minutes to write it down and I was getting really impatient and aggravated while keeping a smile on my face. After writing it down, he repeated the letters one by one very slowly for a few times and kept insisting that I email him. I don't think I could ever meet up with him again because people that are reading this blog knows that I have no patient to deal with someone I cannot understand that repeats themselves 10 times. When I told him straight up a few times that I didn't understand what he was saying, he would repeat it again more slowly but in the same English. Sorry, dude, but saying something completely incorrect more slowly will not make me understand. Okay, anyway, so I take the email and said again that it was late and I was going to go home, but he asks for my email again. I was very hesitant and again he assured me that he just wanted a friend to teach him English. Then, he said...are you ready for this? Get ready to say EWWW. He says, "Just friends, not sex." After picking up my brains off the floor, all I could say was, "Okay, I know." He repeats it a few more times and I just wanted to tell him that I don't want to hear the word "sex" coming out from one of my student's father. Then he changed the subject and he spent about 10 minutes talking about the word "alien." He talked about how that word can be offensive to Koreans because it means a thing from outer space, but most foreigners use that word to talk about a person residing in another country. I don't know why he felt that I wanted to hear that crap at 1:30 in the morning and I have had enough, so I wrote down my email and say goodnight. He kept apologizing for keeping me for so long, yet his apologies were worthless since he kept making me stay. I finally left the store and said goodnight one more time and I was finally free! I was a couple steps outside when he called out to me again. He took something from his store and gave it to me. He explained for another 5 minutes what it was and I had no clue because his English made no sense to me and I still don't know what it is now. It looks like a a small compact or mirror without the mirror.  I took it and said thank you without any questions so I could leave. We said our goodnights again and as I was walking a couple steps away from him, he stopped me again! I wanted to run away while screaming "NO!!!!', but of course I turn around and he introduced himself to me again, saying his name several times. I really think this guy is nuts. I know he's divorced too because he told me which creeps me out a bit more. The whole ordeal lasted for maybe 30-40 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. I will not walk by his store again unless absolutely necessary.

The title of this post is DOM! When I worked at Discover Travel, Aileen and I would have codes for customers. One example is PIMA (Pain in my ass) and DOM is Dirty Old Man. We came up with DOM after seeing a lot of older white men coming in with young Asian women to buy tickets. Anyway, that's my story. If anything happens again with him, I'll be sure to update, but let's pray not!