Ramblings

I keep forgetting to tell the story about the ATM vestibule that I got locked in one night. So I guess now is as good a time as any. When I was on my way back from dinner with Jenny, I needed to stop and get some money from the ATM. When the vestibules are about to close, they start making this really loud siren noise. I think that you get maybe 5-10 minutes when the siren starts. I heard the one at my bank going off and made a mad dash for the door. I got inside, put my card into the machine, started to make my withdrawal, and that is when the siren stopped and spit my card back out. I was so shocked. I tried to stick my card back in multiple times but the machine wouldn't take it. That is when I heard Jenny banging on the door saying that it was locked. I went to the door and tried to get out, but it wouldn't open. She was on the outside and I was inside. I honestly was more upset that the ATM wouldn't give me my money, then I was about being locked in. Why wouldn't those stupid machines just give me the money!? Jenny was freaking out and yelling at me through the glass. Eventually, I picked up the phone at one of the stalls and there was a noise and then the door unlocked. So, if you ever get trapped in one of those things, I think you only have to pick up the phone and it will let you out. Just FYI!

I don't know what the weather back home is like right now, but I do know that I am so happy that the extreme heat is pretty much finished here in Korea for the year. Koreans tend to get a kind of heat rash in the crease of their elbows and as lucky as I am, I got it this summer a few times as well. It is actually really weird. It looks almost like ringworm and takes forever to heal fully, especially because I have to go outside at least once almost every day. When I asked why this rash only pops up in Korea (that I know of), I got several different answers. A couple of people told me that it was the ridiculously humid and hot weather here, while others said that it was the water that we use to take a shower. Some people told me that they thought that it might be a combination of the two things. The water here is generally not good to drink straight out of the sink. It is ok to use for showering and ok for brushing your teeth, just not drinking. I think that there is too much copper or something. Korean mystery #48. LOL!

We actually had a huge storm blow through a couple of days ago that woke me up several times in the middle of the night. The next day, on my walk to school, I noticed that EVERYTHING was out of place. Trees were down everywhere and the whole place was a mess. There were even bricks littering the sidewalk that had literally been ripped from the buildings. My coworkers told me that several people even had many broken windows from the storm. I think I even heard that the military base nearby lost power for almost a week because of the storm.

Anyway, I have had the idea for a few years now that I wanted to get my ears double pierced. I haven't been able to do it, because I have always had volleyball that interfered. Now that I am not playing anymore, and accessories are a big deal here, I thought that it would be the perfect time. I asked a Korean coworker to go with me just in case I had any problems that couldn't be resolved without someone who knew the language. I asked her where the best place was to go, and she took me right near my house. We started walking through the stores and came to a jewelry store fairly quickly. We went inside and asked how much it would cost for 2 piercings. They said $12 but only had gold colored earrings. If I was going to have to wear the same earrings for a couple of weeks, I wanted them to match the rest of my jewelry and be silver in color. Next shop we went into was the same deal, but the third shop brought great promise. I sat down and she prepared me for the piercings. Next thing I know, she is coming at me with the earring in her fingers trying to poke it through my skin!! I jerked away fast and screamed for Jenny to help me. I didn't want her doing it with her bare hands. There is a gun that is quick and mostly painless with very little blood. We ran out of there pretty fast and I asked Jenny if that was normal in Korea. She told me she had never heard of such a thing. She only knew of people using the gun, unless you did it at an actual piercing parlor, but those were professionals. Next we decided to try the underground. In case you don't know what that is, Korea is very well know for the underground shopping areas. In most cities, there is a whole other city, under the city, if that makes sense. Some people shop there, some people use it to get from one place to another quicker than they would above ground, while others just use it to cross a busy street. It is actually quite handy once you get the hang of the layout and you don't get lost! So, back to the story. We went underground and found a place immediately with silver earrings that I liked, and they used a gun for the actual piering. When they were finished, I asked how much and the guy told me $3! I questioned him thinking that maybe he was mistaken but Jenny confirmed that he was correct. WOW!

When we were finished there, we decided to walk around underground and shop a little. We found a little shop with cute jewelry and started to look around. I noticed that the shop keeper was kind of funny looking but couldn't tell where he was from or what his nationality was. He spoke to us and I realized he was Indian. He had his hair dyed BLEACH blonde and it was almost down to his shoulders (I guess that threw me off a little). He spoke English and Korean and told me that because I was a foreigner he would give me a discount on everything I wanted. I only got some earrings, but he threw in some free bracelets. Jenny was upset and asked if she could get the same discount but he told her that it was only a foreigner discount! LOL!!

Speaking of guys who give me free things, I have a landlord who is slightly obsessed with me. I met him one time when I accidentally left my key at school and he kept telling me how beautiful I was and kissing my hand. He speaks very little English but knows a few words and can usually communicate to me what I need to know. Two weeks ago, I locked myself out again and needed to have someone let me in. I guess he was out, because after I called him, he sent a woman with my key to let me in (I want to say that maybe it was his wife). I told her that my hot water control box wasn't even turning on and she told me that she would send someone to look at it the next day. I assumed it would be while I was at work so I was a little shocked when I got a knock on the door the next morning while I was still there. It was the landlord and by some miracle, the box had started working again overnight. He came into my apartment to check it and told me to wait here and that he would be right back. He ran downstairs and next door to a market where he bought fresh grapes and brought them to me. Later that night he saw me come home and took me down to the basement, where he has a tiny little grocery store set up and gave me all kinds of free food. I tried to pay the man but he wouldn't accept and now every time he sees me, he has little gifts for me. He even asked if I had a boyfriend and I told him yes just to keep him from thinking anything. LOL! Now I have to be careful when I leave and get home because if he sees me, it makes me very uncomfortable! UUUHHHGGGG! I hope he doesn't start wanting anything in return for his free gifts! :(

On one of my free weekends, I ventured out with a coworker to the mecca of all electronics. It is near the Yongsan station and has anything and everything you could ever imagine (except an RC converter for an old school TV, which we spent the whole day lookng for). They have new and used of any and every technological gadget that you could possibly even imagine. One thing that I thought was pretty funny was that they were having a sale on this special edition Barbie laptop. You even got a free Barbie purse with the purchase of that particular, bright pink laptop. When we were finished, we ended up going to see Expendables, which was pretty good. I loved seeing all of the old guys get together to make a movie but I thought the story line could have been a little better.

At school, our latest field trip was to the city pool. I was so excited, because usually by this time of the year I have a very nice tan from laying out. This year, that is totally not the case. I barely have any days off and I don't have any place where I can lay out. Koreans hate the sun. Well not really, but they rarely ever let it touch their skin. They even have special umbrellas that are made of some cloth like silk or something, that they use to stay out of the sunlight. Anyway, I got very burned and was not the least bit upset about it. At least I can say I got a little sun while I was here. One really weird thing about the pools here though is that a swim cap is required in order to get into the pool. I guess it is to keep all of the hair out of the water or something.

There has been a little bit of drama at school as of late and like I mentioned before, I have been a little stressed by this drama. Our boss hired a new head Korean teacher who we thought was going to be great, but ended up quitting after only three days. We hired another head teacher who has been with us this past week. She is really nice, but I don't know if she is all that qualified to be the head teacher. She is only 25 years old and the last school she taught at, she was only a grammar teacher who didn't speak any English with the kids. I guess we will see how this one plays out. I will update as soon as I know anything else about her.

That pretty much concludes my journeys for this session. I will be posting several new photos to go along with this, so be sure to check them out. You can follow the links to my photos in the upper lefthand corner of my blog page. Until next time...