Korea continues to be a place of challenges and wonders. For example, I felt quite proud of myself this morning for cleaning my cute little apartment (using a tiny broom you have to stoop over to sweep with, a hose to spray the bathroom down even though the floor isn’t planed correctly to empty into the drain, and a cloth to “mop” the floor by hand). I stopped feeling proud and started whining like a baby when I jammed my finger on an unseen piece of broken toilet and ripped a chunk of skin off.
That sucker bled for quite awhile – at least 30 minutes – during which I cursed this country, the idiot who built the toilet that ran in the middle of the night, causing me to have to constantly move the lid that caused the crack that ripped open my finger, and the university for not having bought better toilets. I also swore (literally) that I would never again work for anyone in this country because things get all f’ed up when you’re trying to negotiate and do business across cultures that don’t understand each other and that have vastly differing toilet technology. Also, my frigging finger was bleeding. A lot. I took a shower and cried as my finger bled through the four band-aids I’d wrapped it with.
In the shower, I lamented my finger and the fact that I had had to play the ugly American to get my airfare reimbursed yesterday. That’s right – I had to write a sternly-worded email in which I admitted the embarrassing truth that I’d maxed out my credit card here because I’d used it to buy my airplane and bus tickets and I only had about 13,000 KRW left on my person (that’s about $12). I finally got my money in an envelope yesterday at around 4:15 after class, and while I was jubilant on the inside, I wondered how these Koreans must see me now after my email tantrum.
So anyway, somehow I got my bleeding finger under control, after about three more band-aids (I must’ve been psychic the day I picked up the pre-medicated band-aids in the pharmacy when I was in to buy my antibiotics). I finally got a band-aid on that didn’t bleed through, and I finished my toilette – which consists of trying to get out of the bathroom with dry feet, and keeping my glasses from steaming up after a shower without the aircon on.
I’m really trying not to lean on the aircon too much. I use it at night because it gets awfully stuffy in here, but during the day if it’s not too hot out (or muggy, which is often the case), I’ll open both windows and the door to get a cross-breeze. This is how it is right now, and it’s rather comfortable here as long as the only thing moving are my fingers on the keyboard. At the moment, my finger is fine, the band-aid is fine, and I am able to type without a problem, which is all that counts when you’re a writer. Which I am.
The wonders of Korea are many and varied, and include but are not limited to: riding the bus for $.85, riding the subway for under $2, eating amazing food for under $5, and the complete omnipresence of things like corner shops that really are on the corner, in which you can purchase ice pops for $.50, a can of beer for a buck (and then drink it in a park), and hard boiled eggs ready to be eaten.
Tonight I will go to Itaewon, a very international part of Seoul that houses bars and restaurants galore. I’ve been there once before, seven years ago, and only vaguely remember the glory of a soju cocktail. After that it gets blurry. I’m pretty sure noraebang (singing room – private karaoke) was involved at some point. I’m not such a heavy drinker as I was then, but the evening will hopefully be as fun and exciting.
Tomorrow – and this is what I’ve been waiting for most – I will go with a couple students to the jinjilbang – like a sauna, hot tub, skin care clinic and women’s haven all rolled into one. This is the thing I’ve missed most about Korea, with a close second being the ondol flooring that heats the room in winter. That’s right – warm floors. Can you think of anything more awesome for a woman with poor circulation in her feet? Holy crap, I spend six months of the year with blue feet back home!
What’s that you say? Where are the f’ing pictures? You’re not really in Korea, you’re just reading from a guide book and repackaging it here on this blog! Okay, truly I will get pictures up soon. I’m trying to figure out the easiest way, because doing it Blogger’s way is a huge pain the ass if it’s more than two photos. I think I will try using Picassa web, since I’ve used it before. You’ll know soon enough if that works!
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