The Final Stretch

July is dedicated to tying up loose ends, surviving the humidity, and squeezing in a few more adventures.

You would think that leaving Korea would be easy. Not emotionally, logistically. Okay, maybe a little emotionally, but I'll save that for another day. Anyways, I have a bank account here. A cell phone on a 2-year contract. A utility bill. A gas bill. I owe people thanks in the forms of dinner and cake. I'm trying to manage my expenses so that I can wire a fixed amount of money home, but still have enough to travel and spend quality time with friends. In the next two weeks, I need to terminate my cell phone contract, transfer my dinero, withdraw my remaining dinero, close my bank account, make sure that all of my bills are paid, and keep the accountant in check because I'm waiting on at least 4 more deposits. My apartment needs to be "inspected" to ensure that I didn't damage the deskless cubicle that I live in. I'm starting to practice frugality. Who needs to grocery shop when I can eat leftover beans? There's a lot of waiting involved. I can't transfer my money until I get paid. I can't buy my school a cake because I'm technically not leaving yet. I can't cancel my cell phone contract because I still need it. Blah blah blah. I'm not too worried.

Ok, the weather gods need to keep this humidity in check. The other day, we experienced 98% humidity in Yeongam. What does that even mean? All I know is that Korea has transformed into a sauna. Stepping out of the shower feels like stepping back into the shower. I may as well bathe in my bed and sleep in my sink.

I think the humidity is somehow responsible for the eczema on my eyelids. Over the past week, dry red patches have formed on my eyelids, which are 1.) itchy and 2.) not cute. I may be experiencing an allergic reaction to mold or bacteria, which no doubt must be growing in my classroom or my apartment. This humidity is a breeding ground for disaster.

Here are some photos from the first few days of July:

This is Samsoon, aka Vidal Sassoon. She lives on the corner down the block and is tied up outside of a restaurant. I stop to pet this Jindo dog 1-2 times daily, so she already recognizes my footsteps from half a block away. Hopefully this she won't be the next item on the menu...

My new Summer fragrance: Musky Menthol, mosquito itch relief. 

I emptied out a suitcase and shipped 2 boxes of my winter apparel back to America.

TIP: You can buy boxes from Korea Post. Box #6 (the largest box) can only be sent via airmail, which is significantly faster (a few weeks), but also more expensive than surface mail. I downgraded to two box #5's and shipped them via surface mail, which should take about two months. Fingers crossed that they don't get lost.

I found this June bug buzzing like a bumble bee outside of my window .

I snapped some photos from my bus ride to school. Look how muggy the weather's been lately. No bueno.

Yeongam is known for the annual Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix

Ongoing construction on the Yeongsan River.
These structures remind me of the Two Towers in The Lord of the Rings

Yeongam hosts a lot of shipbuilding factories such as Husteel

Megaton shipbuilding cranes

Megaton shipbuilding cranes

Boat frames beyond the hedges

Then, there was the 4th of July. Ade invited Joanne and me to blow off some firecrackers in jovial celebration of America's 236th birthday. By the Mokpo shores, we met our friends, some light rain, and a cool ocean breeze. We were the only Americans in sight.

Shooting off the Roman candle firecracker by our apartments

Winnie spinning glow sticks

Joanne and I holding sparklers

♫ Baby you're a firework  ♫

♫ Come on show 'em what your worth  ♫ 

♫ Boom, boom, boom  ♫

♫ Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon  ♫ 

Happy Birthday, America!

Upcoming adventures? TaLK Farewell Reunion at the Yeosu Expo (July 5-6). Muju water rafting and ATVing (July 7). Boryeong Mud Festival (July 14). Last weekend get-togethers (July 20-21). Maybe some last minute shopping? I know I'm a little backed up on blog entries, but stay tuned!

Hi June. Bye June.

June just sort of happened. When the weather is great and you have every weekend planned, the weeks just sort of mesh into one long day. 

JUNE 22 (Friday): TGIF! Friday will always be my favorite day of the week. Whether I'm the one learning or doing the educating, the weekend can never come soon enough. One Friday after classes, the teachers and staff gathered in the cafeteria to eat abalone and scallops(?) with watermelon and beverages. It sounds like an unappetizing combination and an unusual after school snack (Anyone heard of pizza?), but you can never go a day without seafood in Jeollanam-do. I don't know the retail price of abalone and scallops, but I'm pretty sure we casually feasted on hundreds of dollars worth of seafood as if this happens all the time. It was unbelievable. Abalone that big should be held in captivity. The abalone felt rubbery and hardly stretched from its pearly white shell. It also contained a salty, green sack. Not sure what it was, but it was gross. What was the other thing? Scallops? I don't know. I could only stomach 2 abalones and maybe 3 scallops before I lost my appetite. The watermelon, on the other hand, tasted juicy and sweet. I'm pretty sure I've had the best watermelon in Korea!

Plates upon plates of gigantic abalone with fresh chilis & garlic slices

What are those on the right? Scallops?

JUNE 28 (Thursday): "Am I the only one who works in this family?" I came home and dined on veggie burgers on garlic toasted buns with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sauteed onions, and tater tots. Ade and Joanne both had a day off, so they made themselves useful (partially kidding) and cooked dinner. The burgers were delicious, and the garlic toasted buns and cheese added a nice touch. Joanne and I were so stuffed after that ... but that didn't stop us from sharing a green tea patbingsu at Angel-In-Us Coffee afterwards. Then we were really stuffed.

Garlic toasted buns

Home-made veggie burger -- YUM! Thanks guys!

Green Tea Patbingsu @ Angel-In-Us Coffee

JUNE  30 (Saturday): Joanne, Nari, and I planned a surprise birthday party for our friend/coordinator, Joo. We created a private Facebook event and invited everyone from the province out for dinner and drinks in Mokpo. Dinner consisted of kamja tang (감자탕), potato stew with pork spine, vegetables, kimchi, and spices followed by green tea chiffon birthday cake. About 24 people attended our event, which was a decent number of people granted the torrential downpour and the distance that some people traveled. With the help of someone from my school, I managed to get a special message projected in the Mokpo Sea Fountain Show ... but due to the weather, the show was cancelled. The message was going to read, "Happy Bday Joo ♥" proceeded by a spoken message and accompanied by the song, "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. On our last day of Gwangju orientation, our group had sung "Hey Jude" as "Hey Joo." It was a cute gesture.

Taking turns decorating the cake

My art major skills making a difference in the world

Dinner is served

kamja tang (감자탕): potato stew with pork spine & vegetables

Cutting the cake

Joo, Nari, me, Joanne

Meanwhile, the weather has been crazy. Every day I see the thunderbolt and question mark and never know if it's going to rain. We don't see much of the sun anymore. It's just cloudy and humid all of the time.

Thunderbolt + Question Mark = Scattered Thunderstorms

Thunderbolts: All day, everyday ... maybe?

I ate this for dinner one night:
Spicy chicken with glass noodles

Did I mention the drastic increase in mosquito bites? Below is a picture of Joanne's left arm. Homegirl gets bitten a lot at night.

Better sleep with one eye open, homegirl.

One day I woke up with a swollen right knee. There was literally a flaming hot knee cap on top of my actual knee. This has been my worst bite so far.

So itchy!

Pretty flowers a-midst trash. Mokpo is so ghetto.

Little Samsoon, aka Vidal Sassoon, biting on my fingers.
She's grown up a lot since she moved out of the rabbit cage.

Scattered T-Storms for the Next 10 Days

The weather in Korea is a permanent and daily challenge. Half of the year is sadistically cold. The other half is defined by other obstacles associated with 70% humidity, poor ventilation, and monsoon season. Weather.com shows scattered thunderstorms and thundershowers for the next 10 days. Bugs also come with the territory of Summer. Everyone gets bitten by mosquitoes, some more so than others. Nari wears insect repellent, and she still gets bitten more than me. My apartment harbors a lot of insects: mosquitoes, fruit flies, and these tiny, black beetles. I still haven't figured out what they are or how they're getting in. They can't fly and somehow they're in my bathroom, my kitchen, and my bed. The mosquito infestation is a little unnerving. There are marks on the walls from all the mosquitoes I've killed. Little bastards. I got bitten 3x last night.

My apartment feels damp, and my bathroom smells like wet cigarettes. So gross. I just keep telling myself: 4 more weeks.

73°F (23°C), Mostly Cloudy

It went from frigid cold to moist & humid in the span of a month. Oh hells no! *wipes sweat*

Windy Weather

Unusually powerful gusts of wind blew through South Korea today. They reminded me of a chillier version of the Santa Ana winds minus the scattered palm fronds or much other debris for that matter. On one occasion, Wall Street Journal reports that, "typhoon-strength winds toppled a 25-ton crane at a shipyard onto a parking lot, destroying ten cars and disrupting electricity supply in nearby plants" in Yeongam (where I teach). It also snowed in Seoul for the first time in April since 1993. Vicky tells me that the winds normally occur in March and that the weather should be warmer by now; however, as the years go by, it seems as if the Winters are getting colder. The cherry blossoms are blooming later.

Here are some photos of my 1st graders. Why do they all have cell phones?!

The twins on the left listen 100% of the time. It's a miracle.
The girl on the right pays attention maybe 5% on a good day.

남민서 (Nam Minseo): She's lucky she's cute.
v^_^v

After I snapped this photo, half a dozen kids turned the tables and took photos of me...
...and I know they're all terrible because they were taken from a low angle   =|

I played my favorite game -- the Chair Game -- with my 3-4 class. It's the only time when the kids actually stay seated because the last student standing must speak a sentence in English. Best game ever.

The 6th graders made sandwiches for Vicky and me in their home economics class.
This sandwich has ham, egg, cheese, and strawberry jam ...
Never thought I'd say this, but it wasn't that bad!

Flurries

It's 1°C outside, or 34°F. The weather forecast on my phone changed to a picture of a cloud with grey circles falling from it. The caption says, "Flurries." The wind shook my windows, and I almost had a heart attack. Everyone says that tomorrow is supposed to snow. Dun dun dun.

My computer is finally fixed! The Dell technician came back for the 3rd time today. He replaced the hard drive, the mother board, the graphic card system, and the Operating System. Dell kept my old hard drive, which contained ALL of my unrecoverable documents and pictures. Luckily, I backed up those files on my external hard drive up until late October. Now all I need is a copy of Microsoft Office.

I found out today that if I DON'T go on the 2-day trip to Seoul with the teachers, then they will subtract 2 of my 14 vacation days. By contract, I am supposed to teach on the 22nd/23rd, but going on the trip will make up for those 6 hours (and the 15 hours that they are giving me off during the last week of December). It's really confusing how I am supposed to clock 60 hours per month, but some of those 60 hours conflict with annual holidays ... and yet we still have to fulfill the terms of the contract. Who cares? My incentive for not using the 2 vacations days would be for if I could tack them onto a later vacation period and go to Japan. Man this trip is going to be so boring, awkward, and cold. No. One. Speaks. Fluent. English. I'll probably just import 2 days worth of music onto my phone and tune everyone out.

I may have offended the principal today. No big deal. Here is our conversation from lunch:

Principal: When....visit.....you?

My face: *confused*
My thoughts: He wants to visit my apartment?
Me: What?

Principal: When....visit....you....home?

My face: *confused*
My thoughts: Maybe he wants to know if I am going home for the holidays....
Me: Huh?

Vice Principal: Principal want visit you home.....when?

Me: For what?

-Principal & Vice Principal don't understand what I just said-

Me: Why?

-They look at each other-

Principal: Home, no welcome?

Me: But there's nothing at my apartment ... Why?

Vice Principal: No welcome?

Me: My apartment is boring .... there is nothing to do ....

Principal: Welcome, no?

Me: ... But why?

I think we have an awkward understanding that I don't want visitors. But really. My apartment is cold. My television is sitting on the floor. There's nothing to do here. We obviously can't communicate. It's not happening. I got up to leave, but they made me stay until the principal finished eating for the first time ever. One teacher told me that the principal thinks of me like a daughter. Good luck with that.

Sicky

I don't have much time to answer individual messages, much less update the blog.

Very quickly...

I got sick over the past few days. It started with a 3-day sore throat and gradually developed into a dry cough, exhaustion, congestion, and no voice. I've been taking my vitamins religiously, and a friend helped me get an herbal remedy from the campus convenience store yesterday evening. I also got excused from lectures and slept all of Monday. The nurse gave me some pills for my cough last night, and they helped with everything in general. My voice is slowly returning, and I am hoping that if I stay in one more night that I can go out on Wednesday; it will be our last evening together in Jochiwon (and the night before my birthday!)

I have one more lecture today then a lesson planning workshop after lunch. I'm due for laundry, so I'll have to figure that out this evening.

I finally got my banking account established yesterday afternoon (in the midst of my sickness). The bank nearby doesn't accept traveler's cheques, so I either have to find my way to the Nonghyup Bank near Jochiwon Station, or figure it out when I get to Gwangju in a few days. Complicado....

The sun finally came out, and the weather feels just like Cali. The humidity subsided drastically, and sometimes the weather almost feels like autumn.

The mosquito bites on my legs are abundant, and my legs/feet look awful because I've been scratching them.

Headed to lecture. Peace out.