Things I’ve Learned Since the Self-Induced “No-Facebook” Ban

• I notice the desire to sit in front of the computer “just a little longer”, stalling many of the other priorities I have.
• Instead, I write longer and more involved emails to friends and family. I’m working on a few as we speak. Catching up, if you will.
• I rely on others to spread information from Facebook to me in real life. Gone are the informal Event Invitations.
• I read much more.
• I think about the future more.
• I am going to blog much more.

In conclusion, Facebook consumes time and energy that’s better spent on myself. I think I might just stay away completely.

Merry Christmas-u!

매리크리스마스 everyone!

It’s once again that time of the year, when last minute shoppers claim their name to fame, trains are completely packed, it’s absolutely frigid outside, and the only thing on your mind is being with family and enjoying some quality time together.

First, I hope that your Christmas was amazing. Or is going to be amazing, since I’m posting this during your Christmas Eve (East-coasters!). Hold your moms and dads just a little bit longer when you give them a hug, since there are millions of people who wish they could do the same this holiday season.

Now to give you a few details before I post some pictures… Imagine this if you can.

Opening the door to Dan’s apartment and seeing a walkway of candles that stretched to the middle of the room, where the candles formed a heart around a little table, topped with French champagne and sushi. On the far table, carefully laid out, were two homemade dishes: strawberry salad and alfredo pasta with mussels. Warm light bounced off the walls, Christmas music was playing from the speakers, and a lighted Christmas tree stood on the bedside table. Christmas cards from Daniel’s students were decorating his refrigerator and completed the Christmas-y feel.

It was, quite literally, the most romantic evening of my life. The dinner was perfect, the champagne was delicious, and the atmosphere made me feel as if I were in my own personal heaven. I didn’t want the night to end. Props to Dan for making it a complete surprise, and personalizing it to my every wish. I think he might know me better than I know myself!

Later this week I will update with what gifts were given and how I spent my Christmas Day. I wanted to share with you the magic of my Christmas and I hope you feel just as much cheer as I did!

Love you all. Merry Christmas!

‘Tis the Season

 

One thing that can nearly be universally recognized is the Christmas holiday. Here in Korea, things are taken just as seriously as back home, but the massive commercialism of the United States hasn’t quite affected Korean minds to the same effect.

For example, Christmas decorations did not go up at the same time as Halloween decorations this year. I watched with careful eyes, waiting for that first Christmas tree to go up. I believe I remember the exact date that I saw one, tucked away in the bedroom furniture section in Yongsan Digital Complex. It was mid-November. That’s the latest I believe I’ve ever seen a Christmas tree put up for display. And the thing is, I didn’t see any more Christmas trees until around the first of December.

My school is just now putting up Christmas decorations and it’s the 7^th. Is it that Christmas is not as widely celebrated here? Is it that Christmas is not as important?

The short answer is yes. Although about a third of South Koreans are Christian, most of the remaining population is Buddhist or Atheist. The materialistic side of Christmas comes out here more than the “true” meaning of Christmas, although the same thing could be said about the United States right now, too.

My point is, there seems to be a lack of interest for commercializing Christmas in South Korea. The holiday is celebrated in just about the right amount: a few weeks before the actual event. People go shopping for presents (mostly just for children and lovers) and order Christmas cake. It’s another excuse for a holiday and lots of professional pictures.  There is no need to stretch Christmas out from October to December. There isn’t as much pressure to buy presents for everyone you know. Spending time with people and enjoying that time together is more important than getting the perfect gift.

It blows my mind over how much time and effort we Americans (or Westerners) invest into making sure everyone we are friends and family with get a present. There are exceptions, don’t get me wrong, but even here in Korea I am stressing out about buying presents for my friends and family back home. I know those presents probably won’t arrive in time for the holidays.  (In fact, I’ll be surprised if most of my family gets them before the end of January.)

But if there’s one thing I’m definitely excited for, it’s the opportunity to spend part of my winter break traveling around Korea and the other part skiing and snowboarding with Dan, Sully, and Jayu during New Years Eve.

So far it’s been a wonderful ride. December 30 will mark my 5th full month in Korea. It feels like it was just yesterday that I arrived (as you can probably tell from my lack of posting).  I’m looking forward to the next 7 months of adventure and exploration and the likelihood that I will stop there is slim to none.

In short: Christmas is coming and I’m ready to celebrate! Bring on the eggnog!

Giving Thanks

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Korea. You might think that the spirit would be dampened since there is a significant lack in ovens and turkey. There is also difficulty finding ingredients and spices like the ones we can get easily and cheaply at home. But somehow, through it all, I managed to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with my friends here, the people that make it feel like family.

Joel, a guy who always manages to have the best parties even in his teeny-tiny apartment, hosted the party. A few days leading up to the event it was decided that some people should bring dishes to share in a potluck style. Of course, to me this meant making some of my family’s famous stuffing. Turkey was too expensive and hard to come by, so the group decided to just get some chicken from KFC and use their imagination when eating it.

The stuffing was actually quite a bit more difficult to make than usual considering I don’t have an oven (and probably won’t buy one for another 2-3 months if at all) and it seems that chicken broth does not exist in Korean cuisine.  I literally made my own chicken stock by having to season, cook, and boil the skin and bones from a pre-cut chicken the night before the party. Then, using my own special spices from back home, combined the bread, celery, and onions together with butter and the fresh chicken stock.

I let this cook in the rice cooker for about an hour or so, allowing the juices to soak up into the bread. It tasted divine. I almost had trouble putting down the chopsticks! The next day it was party time, so I lugged all my materials to the apartment via suitcase, set up in the kitchen and got to work. I think this is probably what made it feel most like Thanksgiving to me. Without a little elbow grease and kitchen work, it probably wouldn’t have been close to what I’m used to on Thanksgiving Day.

We all enjoyed the amazing meal that also included fruit salad and mashed potatoes. Since this is a traditional American holiday, Joel bought us all Budweiser (which is pretty expensive here!). We made toasts and went around the room telling each other what we were thankful for. Joel was thanked about 5 or 6 times for hosting, and I’ll say it again: Thanks! Spending time together with everyone from the meet-up group really made the evening feel special.

I’m thankful for many things this year: my job, my loving family back home, my friends, and for meeting Dan. It was the closest thing to perfect I could have asked for. I’m happy here, peaceful even, and that makes life so much easier to enjoy.

Life In General…

I haven’t made a proper blog post in quite some time. I’ve found that the more time you invest in living your life, the less time you really have to reflect on it in terms of journaling goes. So here I am, making some time during the day (when I’m not supposed to be getting sleep) to share with you the little happenings in my life.

The last three weeks have been so busy! After the Jeju Biking Trip, I went to the Busan International Film Festival.  There was so much to do! Dan, Mike, Chris, Justin, and I watched about 5 movies each. I’m sad to say that only one of those was completely enjoyable. We spent the day relaxing in some of the best movie theatre seats I’ve ever sat in. I indulged in wine during the last two movies of the day, and had quite the time trying to find a hotel in Haeundae.  The next day was spent touring the city, eating fresh fish sashimi-style, tasting a persimmon for the first time, and reclining on the beach during sunset. It was because of this that I missed my train home, but luckily (and boy, do I mean luckily), I was able to get the last ticket on a train bound for Cheonan.

I started taking guitar lessons two weeks ago at a music shop called 안 기. Last weekend I spent a good amount of time trying to play my favorite songs and ending up learning some major chords but failing at playing a whole song. I am getting better, though! Last night we had practice again and I played circles around a couple of the people there. Practice makes perfect.

Another hobby I’ve found myself interested in (but currently not enough to buy a whole set of gear) is longboarding. It’s like surfing and snowboarding and skateboarding at the same time.  The rush that you get from it is incredible. In the spring of next year, I might have saved up enough to buy the gear and go to town. It would be really fun here in 쌍용 because there are so many hills and gradual grade in the streets. At night, when it’s cool and there’s very little traffic, would be the ideal time to go for a ride. Unfortunately, it’s getting pretty chilly here at night and that means cold-season.

Speaking of colds, I had one at the start of every week for the last three weeks (since coming back from Jeju). This week is the first time in so long that I haven’t been sick! It’s a good feeling. Thanks to Gam, I was able to recover quickly the first time with Sudafed, but now I have to rely on Korean Medicine, and it’s just not strong enough for my immune system.  Doubling-up is common for me. It makes the days crawl by.

One thing that I’ve dropped since coming here is exercise. It’s up to me to make it a regular thing. It’s up to me to get out there and actually do it. When I think about it during the day, I’m excited. I want to get out there and run. But by the time I’ve worked 8-9 hours, it’s the furthest thing from my mind.  I’ve got so many other aspects of my life under control… this is the next big change about to happen.

Anyhow, it’s time to wrap this up for now. Next? The much-anticipated Jeju Biking Trip post!

Hey there.

I don’t really have too much time, but I wanted to say that I am indeed alive and well in the ROK. 🙂

Last weekend there was a huge party to celebrate the 80’s and 90’s at Kooma in Ssangyong-dong. There were quite a few people who attended, but I, unfortunately, got sick early in the evening and missed a lot of the good stuff. However, it was fun to spend Saturday thrift shopping in the streets of Cheonan with Andrew, Stephanie, and Erica. We made fun of horrible 90’s fashion and donned rediculous clothing because, hey, thrift shops are full of the stuff.

This week I’ve been busy with studying Korean and work, as usual. I haven’t had much time to sit down and enjoy some tv yet. “You’re in Korea! Why watch TV?” I have to say, I’m the kind of person that needs to unwind sometimes. Too much of a good thing can turn into a bad one. I don’t want to burn myself out in the first few months and then be miserable for the rest of my time here.

Originally, I planned to spend my Saturday morning and afternoon at the animal shelter in Asan. It doesn’t look like this Saturday is so good for my friends, so we’ve moved the date to next Saturday, the weekend before Chusok. I’m excited to go back to the shelter because I really want to see the unnamed Malamute again. I’m still undecided on fostering him. On the one hand, dogs are awesome. They provide a comfort and kind of love that I can’t get from anyone in Korea. It would be nice to have someone to come home to and take care of. Also, dogs are just freakin’ sweet. On the other hand, it would limit my ability to travel. I would have to either put him in a kennel (doggy hotel) or at the vet, or maybe get someone to look after him and walk him.

Those are really the only downsides. I don’t mind spending my free time searching for a good home for him. That is the nature of fostering, after all. I want to take him for walks, and spend money on food. If I’m about to leave Korea and he doesn’t yet have a home, then he’s coming home with me. I don’t mind paying to send him to the US if it comes down to it.

I’m also not afraid of watching him die. If his heartworm is as bad as Mr. Park says it is, then I won’t be able to afford to fix it. I’ll try to give him the best life possible before he dies, and then I’ll have to arrange his cremation and etc. I don’t even mind that.

I’ll definitely visit at least once or twice more before making a final decision. I want to spend more time with him and make sure that his behavior is very good. I want to test his abilities.  If he is petering on the edge of “shelter fever” then I might not be able to save him, no matter how hard I try. But he is very calm, a perfect walker, and very sweet. He needs a loving person to take care of him for the rest of his life. It might not be much longer, I’m not sure yet. But every day my heart just aches for these dogs, this one especially.

… I just realized that most of this post was about the dogs! Well, it is important to me. It’s one of the non-school related things that I really love being involved in. Until next time…

Asan Animal Shelter

Before I left for Korea, I was interested in adopting a new dog. I knew it would be impossible at home because I would be living in an apartment with maybe only one bedroom. All of the dog breeds I was interested in were big dogs that need a lot of room inside, and most of those need a decent amount of attention to keep them occupied.

I watched a few videos and checked out an online forum about fostering animals in Korea. Shelter conditions here are terrible, but I’ll get into that in a few more minutes. I knew that it was the right thing to do if I found myself in the position to have enough time.

Last Saturday, I visited Asan Animal Shelter with my friend Lawrence. It was an experience, let me tell you. I’ve never been to an outdoor shelter before. In Richmond, I visited the SPCA, a clean and air-conditioned place where people find cats, dogs, rabbits, and all kinds of other animals to adopt. The adoption fee was $150 the last time I visited the shelter, and the dogs had all their shots and papers.

At Asan (and many shelters in Korea, to my understanding), they only have enough money and manpower to keep the animals outdoors, sometimes completely unprotected from the weather. The pens are rusty and have large holes that have been “fixed” with chicken wire or pieces of fence that was just lying around. Most of the pens are barren soil with rocks lying around, no grass to be found. When it rains, the entire area becomes a muddy sea of feces. The stench is something you get used to after an hour or so, but it is heartbreaking to see the dogs in this state.

Some dogs are kept in cages above the ground. They are also rusty from being exposed to the elements, and most only have a tiny square of wood for the dog to sit or lay on. Otherwise, their paws have to walk on the bottom of their wire cage.

Many dogs are in the shelters because they have a disability. Skin problems, broken bones, hip displaysia, cancer, tumors, and missing body parts are common ailments at Asan’s shelter. They rarely get walked, and even more rarely get bathed.

There is one dog at Asan animal shelter that I want to foster for sure. (Actually, there are several I wish I could rescue, but this one is definitely the dog for me.) Here’s his picture.

He has no name that I know of. He’s an Alaskan Malamute. This breed is usually known for being extremely large, dominant, and possibly aggressive with small children and dogs. However, if trained properly, the dog can be the sweetest thing. They need a firm leader from their owner and lots of exercise/room to live in. They were originally from colder climates, so they love winter time. Malamutes in general should not be living in Korea, and definitely should not be living in an outdoor shelter in the summer.

Needless to say, I’m going back this Saturday morning to visit the unnamed Malamute again. I want to spend more time with him and see how he behaves around other dogs and people. I’d like to really get to hike with him and bring some extra food… a bone, maybe some shampoo, too. I’m aware that this will limit what I can do and where I can go, but I have to tell you that I’m not crazy. This dog is beautiful inside and out. He has a great personality for his breed. I just want to see him have a better life than what he has now, even if it’s only for a few more weeks.

If you are living in South Korea and are interested in adopting or fostering animals, please visit Animal Rescue Korea’s website.

No matter where you live, please consider adopting your pets. Those that you see at pet shops for sale are animals that have been inbreed several times and will likely have very short lives with an expensive price tag. Save animals that really need saving! Mutts need love too!

Culture Shock: The Big Kicker

Everyone experiences culture shock, even people who are used to traveling several times a year. A new place sometimes means a new culture, a new language, and a new climate to get used to. Culture shock is broken down into several stages, which I’ve cleverly copy and pasted from about.com for the sake of saving time.

 

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The Culture Shock Model

Step 1: The Honeymoon StageLike any new experience, there’s a feeling of euphoria when you first arrive to a new country and you’re in awe of the differences you see and experience. You feel excited, stimulated, enriched. During this stage, you still feel close to everything familiar back home.

Step 2: The Distress Stage

Everything you’re experiencing no longer feels new; in fact, it’s starting to feel like a thick wall that’s preventing you from experiencing things. You feel confused, alone and realize that the familiar support systems are not easily accessible.

Step 3: Re-integration Stage

During this stage, you start refusing to accept the differences you encounter. You’re angry, frustrated and even feel hostile to those around you. You start to idealize life “back home” and compare your current culture to what is familiar. You dislike the culture, the language, the food. You reject it as inferior. You may even develop some prejudices towards the new culture. Don’t worry. This is absolutely normal. You’re adjusting. This is actually a pretty common reaction to anything new. Think back to when you started a new job or moved to a new house or a new city or when you moved in with someone. Any adjustment can cause you to look back in awe and wonder why you made the decision to change.

Step 4: Autonomy Stage

This is the first stage in acceptance. I like to think of it as the emergence stage when you start to rise above the clouds and finally begin to feel like yourself again. You start to accept the differences and feel like you can begin to live with them. You feel more confident and better able to cope with any problems that may arise. You no longer feel isolated and instead you’re able to look at the world around you and appreciate where you are.

Step 5: Independence Stage

You are yourself again! You embrace the new culture and see everything in a new, yet realistic light. You feel comfortable, confident, able to make decisions based on your own preferences. You no longer feel alone and isolated. You appreciate both the differences and similarities of your new culture. You start to feel at home.

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Looking at the model, I’m slowly drifting into stage 2. It’s only taken three and a half weeks for a good amount of euphoria to wear off. A lot of things are still new and exciting, but I’m well aware that the time difference makes it nearly impossible to talk to friends. Sometimes I am just too tired to get online when my friends want to chat and vice versa. It’s aggravating when you want to talk to someone so badly but can’t.

I started this blog to keep in touch with my friends and family. I needed a link to you all because I needed to stay sane and (selfishly) believe that someone was listening. My problems are small, but every little thing is huge when you’re out of your element. I just hope that I will go through step 3 quickly and quietly. I don’t want to feel depressed and angry around Christmas (month 4-6)… I want to have fun.

So please, don’t give up on me yet. I’m still learning how to get around, how to speak even just basic Korean, and exactly what it is that I eat on a daily basis. I still miss everyone even when I’m so busy that I forget to Skype (sorry, book club ladies). Yes, I go out and try to have fun, but I promise you that not everything is a party (and there will be more on that in the future).

 Please have a great day, and eat some delicious (read: unhealthy) American cuisine for me (God, how I miss Chick-fil-A).

Motivation is everywhere.

There’s so much going on in my life right now that it’s hard to sort it all out.

I’m working on an outline for a few of my next few articles. I thought I’d just update for the heck of it. Let you all know I’m here, I’m okay, I’m just thinking about what exactly I should do with this thing.

One of the highlights of my day was spending time with Hero, one of my Korean friends from the Meetup group (language exchange). He bought me a mocha iced coffee and showed me his new English journal. He told me that he was going to write in it every day to practice his English. I felt so proud to know that even though he confided in me that he was “losing confidence” and feeling disconnected from learning, he would pull up his bootstraps and tough it out anyways. I felt that, while his English is still in the beginner stages, he is rectifying that through self-motivation. Whatever it is, I’m glad that he’s found something that makes him happy.

The other major highlight was visiting a jimjilbang 찜질방. More on that another day… it’s time for bed!

Survival of the… Fittest?

Welcome to my journal, friends! ^^

I’ve been here for 2 weeks and 2 days, so we have a little catching up to do! This post will be long (but interesting, I hope!), so please bear with me.

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Friday, July 30 – Arrival in South Korea

I arrived at Incheon International Airport at about 7:30pm, and after much confusion, got my bus pass and an international phone card (haven’t found one since!).  The bus from the airport to Cheonan would take 2 hours and 10 minutes, so I enjoyed napping on the bus (which I should have taken pictures of, but I was too travel-weary to care at that point). It had reclining seats and was very comfortable.

I arrived in Cheonan at the bus station at YaWooRi, which at the time, I had no idea about. Basically it looked like I had been thrown out of a bus into the middle of a closed mall. I felt a little like I was in Day of the Dead. I wandered to the front of the mall and saw a sea of people catching buses and just waiting around.

There I was, three suitcases and a carry-on, frantically looking around for SOMEONE who would pick me up, and I had no idea who to look for. After about 2 minutes of dealing with the stares of people I didn’t know, after a nearly 30-hour travel day, I almost hit panic button. I had no cell phone. I had no way of contacting my director (the phone number I had was for the school, not her personal number), and had NO idea where I was supposed to meet her. I pulled up my courage and walked back inside the mall area to look for a pay phone, even though I was sure I didn’t see any while walking out, when I heard someone say my name.

“Are you Rachel?”

I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. English never sounded so sweet! It was Keetek, Kate’s brother, coming to get me. He told me she was coming around with the car and helped me with my (overly packed and seriously overweight) bags. The ride was a blur. Kate was extremely nice and helpful. She showed me the apartment and showed me how to turn on the air-con and water heater. They made sure my fridge was working and then asked me to follow them so they could show me where the school was. Lucky for me it’s literally down the street and on the corner, so only about 2 minutes from my apartment.

After that they left and I walked into my apartment alone. I passed out almost immediately onto my bed, but not after unpacking a few things and testing out my power adapter. I couldn’t figure it out, so I left it for the morning. It was nearing 1am and I had some sleep to catch up on.

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Saturday, July 31st – “Get Aquainted”

On Saturday, I got a quick tour of the school while no one was there. It’s a very pretty place, with book reports and illustrations lining the walls. I fell in love with the way things were organized and set up. I was ready to meet some kids right then, but knew my time would come on Monday morning. Kate gave me a cell phone pre-programmed with teachers’ numbers. She told me that if I needed anything, to try calling someone and getting their help. I gladly accepted the phone and carried forward to find some much-needed food and supplies.

Outside, I realized that I had no idea where I was going. I called Peter, one of my coworkers. He told me a few quick tips and was very helpful, letting me know which of my coworkers were available. I took a trip to Lotte-mart, bought quite a few things including an iron and ironing board, and after a few trips, was feeling quite at home (or as much as I could, being there for only a few hours).

I gave Andrew a ring and he offered to show me around and get some dinner at a local restaurant. His friend Joel was with him, and we all went to get some Mandu. They bestowed some friendly wisdom about Korea on me, and we had a great time eating our 김치 만두.

Delish.

After the 김치 만두, Joel, Andrew and I had a remarkable night of drinking soju and walking around Cheonan proper. It ended with them running (and Andrew falling) up a hill to visit a small part of a traditional village. No one was still living there, of course, but you could see the huts and whatnot where people lived about 50 years ago. It’s crazy how quickly this country modernized! But anyway… I came home and fell asleep, since I had no internet and was tired from being awake since 7am.

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Sunday, August 1st – Stephanie, Shay, and Language Exchange!

On Sunday, I attempted to call Stephanie, my first contact to Korea. She had been showing her parents around Seoul and other parts of Korea for a week, and had just gotten back from Seoul when we ate lunch together at Pizza Alvolo! We were able to chat up a lot of things and talk about what we were doing in Korea and whatnot. It was great being able to talk to her in person and in such detail.

She asked me if I wanted to come along and see her place in Buldang-dong, which is a suburb of Cheonan just west of Ssangyong-dong where I live. We walked for about 20 minutes (I don’t know how she does it every day!) and I got to meet her cat and Shay, her Irish friend. He’s also a teacher who is leaving in just one week. We talked about work and living in Korea and things like that… really interesting stuff for someone who has just landed. I soaked up the conversation (and the good refreshments) until about 5:30. I’d been invited to the Cheonan Korean-English Language Exchange group at 6! Steph gave me a present, a T-money card. T-money is used for buses and cabs around Korea. You can load as much as you want on it and use it to travel back and forth to wherever you need to go. Thank you, Steph! What an awesome present.

I walked back towards Ssangyong-dong, took the 12 bus by myself (intimidating!), and arrived at about 6:45 at the place where I was picked up Friday night, YaWooRi. Downtown Cheonan is huge! I met the group, saw Andrew and Joel again, and caught the tail end of the exchange. Turns out most of the group was going to someone else’s house to have dinner and I was invited along there, too! (Thanks, Ruth!)

I met some really nice Korean folks and ate an interesting dinner of watermelon 물 냉면 Mul Naeng Myeon. Everyone else wanted fried chicken or pizza haha.

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Monday, August 2nd – “Go Teach!”

My first “Welcome to Korea” moment was when I walked into school on Monday morning, prepared to have some orientation and observation time and get aquainted with the teachers and other staff, only to find out that I was actually to begin teaching that morning without any prior knowledge on how to actually do it “their way”. It was a shock, that much I can say. I winged most of the day, getting kids’ names, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, and generally keeping my head down. It was the first day of a three-week summer camp, and they just didn’t have any free time to show me the ropes or tell me what they expected of me.

Yes, I was upset, but the kids really just made it better. I loved walking into classrooms, letting them know who I was, where I was from, and getting to know them better, too. Their cute faces and enthusiasm were enough to keep me going that day. Also, I had martial arts to look forward to!

Shay had invited Steph and I to try out a style of martial arts called hap kido. Unfortunately, when we got there, the gym was closed. We said, “better luck next time!” and went our separate ways. I came home, took a much-needed shower, and watched some Korean TV. I was not looking forward to being thrown into the wolves for another day.

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Thursday, August 5th – Internet!

This day was important to me because I finally got internet in my apartment! It’s pretty fast, too. About 11.75MB download! Finally, I can skype without going to Paris Baguette!

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Friday-Saturday August 6th-7th – Itaewon, Seoul

Oh yes, my first week would not be complete without a trip to Itaewon. It was Erica’s friend’s Mason’s birthday (phew!) and we danced the night away.

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Sunday, August 8th – KoKoMo and S-Bar

These cute Siamese kittens are always looking for affection whenever you go to KoKoMo. ^^ Syl showed me this place, which is a friendly and very cozy bar in a suburb of Cheonan. I love going there because of the cats. :p She and I had a nice conversation about working and Korea in general… sorry for being such a snooze, Syl! Friday night was soo exhausting.

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Monday, August 9th – PAIN

So, this Monday I decided to go with Shay to hapkido, and again it was closed. We decided, “okay, we’ll try taekwondo instead!” so we walked back through Ssangyong-dong to the taekwondo gym. There I met the teacher and his assistant, and even though there was a language barrier, we hit it off really well.

We started with some warm-up exercises like running and stretching. Then came time for the instructional “how to”. While trying out some kicks and new stances, I landed on my foot wrong and twisted my knee out of the socket. Thankfully it rolled back in place, but the pain had definitely set in. The head teacher and assistant kept asking if I was okay, got cold water and a shirt to wrap around my knee, and offered to take me to the hospital. I asked Shay to translate that I hadn’t yet gotten my medical card, so I would just go home and put some ice on it. At least nothing was broken.

The assistant bought me a knee brace (unfortunately it was for a leg much smaller than my own, but what a nice thing to do!) and drove me to my apartment. Shay, bless his heart, walked down to the grocery store and bought two different ice packs and an actual bag of ice just in case. I was really, really thankful that I wasn’t alone that night. I almost cried about the insanity of it all, but really I was just tired and needed some sleep.

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Tuesday, August 10th – My First Hospital Visit

During school, I was allowed to go to the hospital to get some medical advice. A co-teacher of mine took me there and did some translations… I got an x-ray of my knee (to make sure nothing was broken) and was prescribed pills and “physical therapy”. I had no idea what Korean physical therapy would be like, but I went immediately after the doctor visit. Basically, I was offered a bed for 45 minutes while they worked some magic on me. First, they put a heat lamp next to my knee to relax the muscles. Next, the nurse came in and rubbed some ointment onto the sore spot and massaged the muscle first with her hands and then with some kind of electro-wand that sent pulses through my muscles (I guess to ease it up more?). Lastly was four suction-cup type things that were super cold. I felt so much better after all of that. I got my prescription and went back to work, just in time for my last two classes.

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Friday, August 12th – Andrew’s B-day/Joel’s Housewarming

The language exchange group decided to have an official housewarming party for Joel’s new apartment in Downtown Cheonan (lucky man). Most of the group was there, including YungJee, who had sent a present through Andrew earlier in the week to share samples of lotion and makeup with me. (Thank you! *^^*) We had a potluck dinner of traditional Korean meals and things like fried chicken. I felt bad for only bringing some coke, but I still have no cookery and very little language skills… ;(

Anyways, after the potluck (which was very tasty), we decided to go to Banana Bar to celebrate Andrew’s B-day. We all couldn’t fit in the elevator, so Joel and Andrew decided to try and race us by taking the stairs. -_-; Andrew tripped and fell a little on the stairs, causing some pain in his ankle. He said it hurt but said it was okay and he’d fix it up later. We spent quite a few hours out (bad decision on my part… as I had caught a cold the day before and smoke + cold = lots of coughing), but we had fun and spent most the time playing pool and just talking.

On the way home, we decided to grab some very early morning breakfast of Pork Spine Soup. Yes, you read correctly. Pork. Spine. Soup.

It’s quite the thing to see actual vertebrae on your plate.

After the long night and morning, I came home to rest and recouperate. Andrew had to go to the hospital and get a cast on his ankle. Turns out he tore a ligament! 😦 Poor Andrew. He has to wear a cast for 3 weeks. I feel lucky that I didn’t need such a thing for my knee.

Since Saturday, I’ve been staying indoors and taking it easy. I ordered 순두부 찌개 Soondubu Chigae for dinner Saturday to melt the cold from me.

Tonight I had ramen and pizza from Pizza School! It was only 5,000W (less than $5!)

I’m really tired from writing so much… and sorry about the lengthy entry, but next time it will be shorter and with more focus! Thank you all for your support and love. I couldn’t survive here without it. 🙂 xoxo