ATTN: I have a hairy situation on my... arms.

I’ve never really considered myself a particularly hairy man. I have my sparse chest hair, my full beard complete with blonde mustache, and my “invisible” eyebrows (according to the girls who used to make fun of me in elementary school). I think I have an average amount of androgenic hair, albeit it blonde. Well, I thought I had an average amount before I came to Korea.

Asian men just aren’t hairy. I’ve seen very few with facial hair. The little body hair that I have seen on men’s legs or arms is laughable compared to the yellow jungle on my arms and legs. This isn’t something I would normally start noticing, but I couldn’t help it since my students instigated my attention to my own “hairy” arms.

It doesn’t bother me at all; I think it is pretty funny, but, without fail, at least once a day a student will notice the difference of my arms compared to his or her father’s. “Teacher, fur,” is the most common statement. I have also gotten, “Your arms are like a bear.” The most startling, however, will be when I am walking around checking homework and a student begins rubbing my arm. The kindergarteners first discovered it, but they are not the only ones who do it. Even the curiosity of the 5^th graders leads them to poke at my arms. The other day a first grader asked if I would cut off some of my arm hair and give it to him so he could show his mother. I didn’t.