Be kind, Rewind

I wouldn't say blogging is a chore, but keeping up with it is definitely work!  

So to get everything up to date and lead a little into the future, here's how some past events transpired...

Monday night I got dinner with Tom, from Manchester.  He's becoming a really good friend.  We pick a random restaurant, point at the menu, and enjoy a good few hours eating and talking about anything and everything.  This week we discussed sororities/fratenities/British society clubs and the difference in the manufacturing qualities between Korean and Western products.

Tuesday had big plans! Half of which were successful, the other half pure fail.  

At school I taught a few lessons and passed the day as I do - deskwarming.  In the afternoon I had a 5min lesson planning session, made the skeleton for my PPT (powerpoint as it is always referred to here), emailed it to myself to finish at home on a non-Korean computer, and learned the ends and outs of Facebook.  After school I went to Diasco, the Dollar General of Korea! They have nearly everything you could want/need.  That place is a gem!!  I endulged myself (and apartment) with a 30min shopping spree!!  Got all the necessary and unnecessary items a grab-happy person could want!  Mat to put in front of the laundry room/bathroom area, bag clips, more cleaning sponges, plates, pretty pink loofa, clothes hook for over the door, some cooking utensils... like I said got all the necessary and unnecessary items!

Loaded up with my home gear, I thought I'd try to buy the ingredients I needed for the night's meal from the street venders.  First attempt - bad. Second attempt - bomb.  Third attempt - you idiot! Why are you still trying!?  You are a foreigner and speak ZERO Korean.  Things were bound not to work, but I thought I'd have a try.  This slight setback wasn't too upsetting, I'd just go home, drop off the stuff I got at Diasco and head to Home Plus.  However, 20feet from my apartment I realize I don't have my keys!! They're still at school on my co-teachers desk!!  Brillant!  A+ work Meagan!  I run into my apartment building, knock on the door of my friend, ask to leave my stuff at his place, while I run back to school to get my keys.  Being the nice guy that he is, Phil offered to come with me.  We make the walk to school in record time, only to get there and discover the school is locked-up tight!  FFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffff!!!!   

Keep in mind that I get out of school at 4:20, had plans to meet a friend for some exploring/dinner at 6. I spent ~30mins at Diasco, ~10mins in the street markets, ~15mins to walk home from there, ~10mins to walk back to school, ~5mins floundering around freaked out about not getting my keys AND I still need 10mins to walk back to where I live and ~10mins to cross the bridge off the island and get to the meeting place!!  Time was of the essence!!

I call my co-teacher, she's not at school, but she said she'd call around and see if she could find someone to help!  Then, in like a knight on his tall, beautiful white horse, my VP walks into the school grounds!!  SAVED!!!  He bangs on the door (why did I not think to do that!!  So basic, so genius!) and someone comes to let us in!!  

On the walk home, I'm slightly relieved, can't believe my stupidity, but I at least have my keys now and just might have enough time to get to the meeting place on time!!  One block from my place, I'm so startled by what I almost stepped on, I actually scream!!  Wiggling and sadly dying on the ground is an eel!!  He must have fallen out of the tank when one of his brothers was ordered for dinner!  Now,I am an animal lover to the fullest extent, but this situation had me laughing and pulled me completely out of my forgotten-key-funk.

I made it to the meeting place on time, but wasn't able to get any groceries to make dinner so we had Korean-style pizza instead.  

The situations I find myself in here are priceless!

The rest of the week should be quieter.  Grabbing dinner tonight with friends at an Irish Pub in Haeundae to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Friday laying low, Saturday spending the day with some of my co-teachers, and then getting together with the crew at night!!  

Bring on another week Korea! I'm ready!

"When you can think of yesterday without regret and tomorrow without fear, you are near contentment.”