Seoul basically became a ghost town because so many people leave the city. I originally had plans to leave, but ended up staying around because of health problems. A few weeks ago I ended up hurting my back really badly! It turns out I have a herniated disk. I am not sure exactly what caused it, but I have had occasional bouts of back pain since college, so I am assuming it probably was a minor problem grown worse because of my lack of ever wanting to go to the doctor. I would like to say, however, that since coming to Korea, I have now become a much bigger fan of taking care of myself because health care here is so cheap! Yes, I do have insurance from my job, but even if I didn't, health care would be extremely affordable in comparison to the States! For example, the day I went in for my back I got x-rays, and found out I had a sinus infection as well. I've never had x-rays taken before but I know that the one time I went to the doctor in WI for a sinus infection the visit cost me $15o. Well, in Korea x-rays and my prescription of painkillers and antibiotics only cost me a total of $40! I ended up going to a different doctor a few weeks later because the pain had only been getting worse. He gave me 6 shots in the spine and anesthesia, some weird electromagnetic nerve shocking treatment, and x-rays for only a hundred dollars! So needless to say, it is much easier to "want" to go to the doctor here. Not to complain about my health problems like I have nothing else to talk about, but I really wanted to get my point across about how cheap things are. Also, I might need surgery on my back, which would be horrible, but I am hoping I heal up soon. This past month has been completely miserable for me in terms of health!
Ok, now that that is out of the way, I know it has been a while since my last blog, so as usual I will do my best version to catch everyone up on my life since my last post in August. It turns out August was the month of birthdays; not just for me, but for four of my friends as well! My birthday was on a Sunday, so I celebrated it with Morgan and Robyn at their birthday party which they held on Saturday, the 25th. I wasn't sure how celebrating my 25th birthday would feel being so far from home with so many new friends, but it turned out to be a great birthday! It also made me realize how many amazing friends I have made since I've been here and how many amazing friends I have back home who sent me cards and packages- thanks to all of you reading this that sent me birthday wishes!!
Each month our class celebrates the children with birthdays. The birthday kid brings in a cake and snacks for the class, plus presents for the whole class as well. In return, the other kids bring the birthday person presents too. It is really fun! Edward and I got to celebrate our August birthdays in the Koala Class together. My class made me cards and a hat and treated me like the guest of honor (all thanks to my co-teacher, of course!) Here is my class posing for a birthday picture. Aren't they cute?
I am helping Edward cut the cake so he can serve it to his classmates. By the end of the day there is cake everywhere!!
Nine Inch Nails came to Seoul on September 11. I went to the show and it was amazing! I wasn't sure what to expect. It turns out that the crowd was fairly small for such a well known band. That means I got super close to the stage. I also had a good time moshing! I realized that I could never have moshed at a NIN concert in the States because I think I would have been killed! Here, however, when I would crash into people the Korean men would stop and say, "Are you ok?" To which I would answer (or scream in a "rocker-esque" voice) "Yeah, I'm ok!!" and then proceed to smash into them even harder. I thought it was great!
Here is a picture of the sunset down by the Han river by my house. I love going down by the river. You can relax, read, run, rent bicycles, eat, or just people watch. It is one of my favorite spots to "get away" without going too far from home.
Ok, the next few pictures involve a crazy story! I know you aren't supposed to take rides from strangers (don't tell my mom) but I couldn't help it! My friend Morgan and I were walking one night and he goes, "look at that car!" I turned around and this weird looking car was driving down the block. As you can see from the pictures it has lights and crazy stuff all over it, not to mention he had a weird siren thing going of and horrible Korean music playing really loudly. The experience is almost too surreal to describe, but just as Morgan was thinking, "I hope that car picks us up..." what do you know? The guy slows down and says, "Where are you going? Do you need a ride?" I thought maybe it was a weird taxi or something so I said, " Do I have to pay you?" The guy screams, "No, I am a gentleman! Where you going? I take you there!" Morgan and I looked at each other and got in. I'm not joking when I say that there was barely room for us in the car because there were so many weird gadgets and random crap inside the car- the same goes for the outside. We get in and he starts talking about crazy random things in semi-broken English. I think he just wanted to talk because anytime we asked questions or tried to have an actual conversation with him he kinda just ignored us and kept talking. The most insane thing about our ride were the stares we got from all the other cars! People kept slowing down and staring. The guy loved this and so he would roll down his window, causing the others to roll down theirs, and yell, "It's the Mars People, the Aliens! I've got the aliens in my car!" Mostly he said this in Korean, we weren't sure what he was yelling, until someone in another car translated for us. Eventually, Morgan and I got fairly freaked and decided to pull over for a "Picture Opportunity" with the guy. He told us we could take pics only if we posted them on the net, so here they are! I'm not even sure my story does the actual situation justice, but let me tell you, it was weird!!
Here is the crazy man with Morgan. He ended up following us down a block when we tried to walk away. We had to be sneaky and lose him down a dark alley! We think he might have been drunk...
Here is the dash of the car with the flash... it was insane!!
And without the flash- the whole car had this weird illuminated glow.
In honor of the Chuseok Holiday the kids in our school dressed up in their traditional Korean hanboks, which are now only worn for special occasions, to celebrate Chuseok at school. We made songpyeong (spelled phonetically) which are rice balls with filling, learned how to bow to our elders and drink traditional tea the proper way. I think I learned more that day than the kids did!
Here are some of my kids in their hanboks. They were soooo adorable!
Over break Morgan, Sarah, and I went to Dr. Fish to get fish foot pedicures. A fad that started in China, Dr. Fish is a little cafe where you order tea, coffee, or gelato, and soak your feet in these little pools. The fish eat off the dead skin from your feet. I guess there are some place in China where you can immerse your whole body! It is a very interesting sensation- definitely not a relaxing one if you are ticklish! The fish happened to love Morgan's feet the best, which I am taking as a compliment because that means my feet are more clean than his!
Notice the fish all around Morgan? My foot has the green polish.
Last, but not least, vacation would not be complete without a trip to Lotte World, a mini- theme park in Korea. I only went on a few rides, but it was a good time!Ok, that should catch everyone up on my latest escapades. I hope everyone is doing well! Don't forget to drop me a line sometime! Also, I would also like to say, on a random note, if anyone is looking for a good read lately, I would strongly recommend "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, I couldn't put it down!
