New Job

Day one of my new job last week went well.  I'm in the same office, but at a different desk, and doing a different job.  We're a pretty small shop--just a Lieutenant Commander, two junior enlisted sailors, and myself.  But we work closely with our ROK (Republic of Korea) counterparts--the Korean Navy officers in the corresponding analytical shop.  As he was walking out the door on Monday, the Lieutenant Commander causually mentioned that I should bring PT clothes, and be prepared to get drunk the next day.  "Uh, Sir?" was my response.  "Oh, our ROKs are taking us on a hike and out for a welcome dinner, which usually involves drinking."

Oh.

So I came to work early (so I'd have time to finish up before we left at 3:30), armed with tennis shoes and sunblock.  It only took us 30-45 minutes to hike up to Namsan Tower--a trip that had taken us 45 minutes by taxi the one time Mike and I had been up there.  The scenery was great, and I enjoyed chatting with the ROK officers.

Dinner was grilled pork and budae jigae ("base" stew) at a great local hole in the wall.  Turns out I only had a mini-glass of beer with dinner, although my poor Korean almost got me into trouble; at one point the ROK Commander asked, I thought, if I ate a lot--I replied, "oh yes, I eat a lot.  I love Korean food!"  To which he looked a bit confused.  Turns out he'd actually asked if I drink a lot.  I cleared that up as quickly as I could.

I'm looking forward to working with the new group!