quality medical care!

i've had this cough since i got here, and nothing will make you more self-conscious than being visibly ill in a sea of people wearing face masks. so today i finally caved and went to a korean doctor. never have i experienced such an educated system. they asked for my name and phone number, which i was able to provide, and my address, which i was not (addresses are weird and not really used for anything here). i was then brought to the doctor, who asked about my symptoms, including whether or not i have rhinorhea (?). he then proceeded to take my temperature, using a mercury thermometer in my armpit, which is apparently as technical as they are willing to get. after telling me to wear a sweater at night ("in korea, it is colder at night than during the day"), i was sent into another room to get a shot of "selenium acid injection" in the ass, which is apparently their cure-all. the nurse then promptly walked away without giving me any further information, leaving me holding a wetnap over my needle wound with my pants down.

the upside, of course, is that it only cost me W14000, half of which will be reimbursed.

SKOH

first order of business: my kindergarteners reciting the school motto: http://vimeo.com/6755970.

second order of business: pictures that are on my facebook but which i feel compelled to post here:


evidence that i am indeed in asia.


ils students are apparently greatly concerned about the plight of amputees.



hanging out with some new bffs, like this rando korean businessman. on an unrelated note, i love soju.

annnnnnnnd third! shannon koh came to visit this weekend !! after a delicious soju friday night (in which i scored two bullseyes in darts!) i got up early to go meet eshannon. i made it all the way there on my first try, all by myself! it was so bizarre to meet up with someone from home. i keep forgetting that i'm on the other side of the globe, and the fact that everyone around me is korean only becomes apparently when i see other white people and do a double-take. we all regard each other with such suspicion in public - "what are you doing here?"

shannon and i spent the day in myeongdong, where i bought things i don't need, including cass bottle earrings and a sweet purse which eloquently reads "MINUTEMEN MEAT PUPPETS DESCENDANTS ANGST". it truly spoke to me. i also spotted these delightfully racist figurines:



we met up with her ra from chuncheon, ji seung, and after lunching at a "pork cutlet" establishment made our way to the "seoul drum festival"; or, "preparation for a middle school play featuring brazilians and mexicans." we were three of approximately twenty attendees at the moment, so we ultimately peaced to meet up with some of my coworkers at a rooftop party in seoul. it was so cool - because the buildings in seoul aren't very high (except for apartments, which are in weirdly-formed clusters), from the twenty-second floor you can see pretty much everything. after much confusion/burger king we left and headed to a super lame bar in itaewon, which shannon and i soon ditched. the cab ride home was also a first for me, as giving directions is near impossible in this country due to the lack of road names. so, despite his gps, he had a significant amount of trouble determining where we needed to go, since he couldn't find "jukjeon e-mart." he ultimately figured it out, i guess, though i still had to give directions for the last few minutes of the ride.

and today !! shannon's cousin brought us to lunch (bibimbap, mmmm) and then to the top of seoul tower !! it's at the top of a mountain in central seoul, and "on a clear day you can see north korea," but there are mountains all around so i'm not clear on how that would work out.


communism lurks in these hills.


hey guys! <3

tonight ryan and abby and i went shopping in seoul, and had the brilliant idea to try to find a new bus to pick us up where we were, rather than taking a cab back to hundang to catch our bus there. after multiple calls to tourist information, as well as an actively unhelpful interaction with three very inebriated korean men, we approached a cop who spoke good, though limited, english. after telling him where we wanted to catch our bus, he did what any good cop should. he offered to drive us. we got to roll up to our bus stop (just as the bus was arriving) and pile out of a cop car (with six bags of pillows). seriously, i love this country.

done with "student teaching"

today my supervisor told me that one of my students' moms called. the kid said that he really likes me and wishes i taught more of his classes. :) loves itttt.

also, a new teacher is coming tomorrow and he's moving into the apartment directly across from me. i hope we like each other, because we share a doorway and generally a ton of space. we'll see ...

oh yeah and

my boss told me the other night that i have a sexy voice.

v*^_^*v

the other night i asked one of my korean co-teachers why they always throw peace signs in pictures. she looked at me and said, very matter-of-factly, "because it makes your face look cuter."

seu sooyeon<3

my landlord's daughter just brought me food and then left. this is probably the best building, ever. she is absolutely adorable - earlier today she helped me do my laundry. i'll never need to be self-sufficient!

also, last night the entire staff went out for a very traditional korean meal at outback steakhouse. i enjoyed the steak quesadilla with coconut-battered onion rings, a favorite on the peninsula for hundreds of years. delicious.