Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Week two

Sometimes I find myself wondering how the hell I got into this nutty situation. Who finds themselves at the age of 24 in Korea teaching P.E to kids who speak a totally different language and a culture that is challenging in itself to understand. It is amazing and shocking at the same time. I wake up each day enthralled with the things I am to see. Couples wearing his and hers matching outfits, dead cats left in a box on your front steps, a fish tanks filled with live octopus and squids, men carrying purses, couples on the train checking each others molars, etc. I feel like I am in a completely different world and I love it. However I wish it was socially acceptable to wear a nose plug around town.

Along with their fanny packs (which still completely rock my world) everyone (Asian) wears face masks. Not just those surgical paper ones, they have them in all sizes (depending on how much of your face you want to cover) and in all different colors and fabric patterns!!! They sell them in all the pharmacies and quickie marts. You can get ones for kids with ducks or princesses on them. I feel like they probably use them as stocking stuffers at Christmas!!! My friend Courtney and I went for a walk along the river a few block from our apartments a few days ago. People were there riding bikes with both their fanny packs and their face mask! Double whammy!!! The pollution here is so bad it is probably healthier to wear those masks but who knows. While on our walk I also noticed that everyone has the same tiny, ugly, rat looking, white dogs. I asked Courtney why they all have the same dog and she said her students said "they are the only ones we don't eat!" I nearly died.

This week I was graced with a terrible, burning sore throat. Thinking it is either me getting used to new germs or something I picked up at mudfest I thought I could ride it out while I lived on a diet of O.J and cough drops. My tonsils then swelled up to the size of testicles which finally brought me to a doctor. Since my insurance hadn't come through yet I was sure it was going to cost a fortune but the entire appointment was only 8 bucks and the drugs were less than 20. I was completely amazed. Korea's have a better grasp on health care than we do apparently.

We have a weeks vacation next week and we are all heading to Jeju Island. Google image it and get jealous!!!!!!

1 comment:

  1. A) Totally jealous about Paradise Island
    B) Kristina's mom (who is Korean), wears a mask sometimes, and it has Hello Kitty on it. She would have worn it to the wedding if she had known my uncle had just come back from Mexico and was in a 1,000 mile radius of swine flu

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