Oh, the stupidity

Ok, so I am not sure exactly how much of my weekend I should put into this blog post, but I need to let people know how annoying it is to lose stuff.

  I was out in Hongdae on Friday night for Benji's birthday, and we all naturally got pretty messed up. I ended up being out the entire night, and lost all my stuff. By all, I mean my wallet, phone, cash cards, ARC, a new dress I JUST GOT THAT NIGHT and a fair bit of dignity... I put the bags down and thats it. Wandered/danced away from it all. So, as a result of my crazy night I now cannot access any cash and I cannot make any phone calls. Luckily I have fab friends who have offered me use of my phone and also cash to get myself through until I can order a new card. So once I got home on Saturday, this was the chain of events:
Took Milky out.
Checked FB and posted that I was alive but lost everything.
Had a shower.
Cried for about 20 minutes.
Mathilda came over.
Called Citibank and cancelled my card (after a stupid run around - the Citibank English service isn't fantastic after hours)
Ate some food.
Spoke to a few people on FB.
Went to bed.
Got up Sunday morning.
Cried again.
Blair came over and we got pizza for lunch.
Tried calling various clubs I went to on Friday night to see if my stuff had been handed in.
Hung out on FB some more.
Ate more food.
Cried again.
Watched tv.
Went to bed.

  I cannot even begin to tell you how much I hated being without a phone. I think you may recall a blog I posted a few weeks ago about things that I cannot do without. I can't remember if I included a smartphone but I feel I should have... And I would also like to add access to funds to that list. I  had 8000 won sitting on my bedside table and that was it.

  Monday I went to the bank... I left school at about 3:40 to get there in time and went up to get my new card. The lady sorted out the internet password card just fine, but the bank card... Well, lets just say its a cash card not a check card. So I can't use it at shops... So WTF is the point of it? At least I can withdraw money now.

  Then I went and saw my fave phone man 온기, who got me sorted with a new Samsung Galaxy III. So I was mobile again... And my depression lifted.

  Originally my plan was to go back to Hongdae on Saturday and look for my stuff, but it is apparently going to rain, plus I am practically out of money. And if someone had found my stuff there are millions of ways they could have contacted me but chose not to. So I am taking this as a sign that it has gone... And I do know that I should go and check but it is such a hike (subway, train, subway, walk, then repeat int he opposite direction). So I will just resign myself to the fct that I need to get a new dress for Rachel's wedding and be done with it. Chapter closed, lesson learnt.

  My advise to people is this - Do not get blackout drunk. Not only is it really dangerous but it is also expensive. You WILL lose things, you WILL say inappropriate things, and you WILL make decisions that a sober version of yourself wouldn't make. I was lucky this time, I was with friends and it was really just a massive inconvenience  But I know that if I had been in Melbourne then it might have been a very different story... It is not safe for drunk women to be wandering around there... Anyway I didn't want to get all doom and gloom on you but I really felt the need to issue this public warning. And with the drinking culture in Korea standing as such, it is often difficult to drag yourself out of the bar, and turn down the last tequila shot, and know your limits... The limits here are all made to be tested. Don't fall for it - be safe everyone.

In other news

  I really want to rave about my new phone (yes, something good DID come from losing my stuff). People who know me know that I am a Sumsung fan anyway - the lost phone was a Galaxy II and I pushed my sis into getting the Note and I know a heap of people who are slowly being converted. But I love this phone because its white, and has less buttons to press. It just suits me nicely. I am not tech savvy so there is no point in me going into some sort of review about it so I wont, but let me say that it is adorable and I heart it. 

  This morning while out with the kids and their skipping ropes, Co broke his foot. Well, potentially broke his foot (its too swollen, the x-rays didn't reveal much). So I was able to teach gr 5 alone for the most part. I loved it, I think they did too... I am going to start planning emergency fun lessons for when he is not here and I get to take control. If I change schools next year I know I will look forward having more to do with the students.

  It is nearly lunchtime here and I am hungry. Yesterday school lunch was really good, we got some sort of curry. And Monday was yummy chicken! What is going on??? So fingers crossed for good food today. I am back on my diet shakes in an attempt to lose some flab before Sissy arrives in May. Not real reason other than it gives me a goal. But I do find it difficult to keep motivated. I fell off the bandwagon the other week so I need to get back on. Milky and myself are both loving the warmer weather so we have been going for longer walks in the afternoon. As soon as it isn't icy in the morning I plan on getting up earlier and walking before school as well as after. Good for both me and the dog!

  I have another wedding this weekend - Rach and Changsu. So excited, I love weddings! This time I will try and remember my camcorder and hopefully film some stuff. I am hoping to get something up tonight on my channel from some of my eating excursions. 

  That's about it for now guys! Don't forget that I am writing stuff for SayKimchi, and this week I went on and on about things I packed before Korea. So check it out if that sort of thing interests you. 

AND

If for any reason you want to comment or question anything I write here, or get more info on anything I say please feel free to email or comment. I love feedback so lets hear it!

Enjoy the rest of your day folks

xoxoxoxo

Shrimp anyone???

Its a miracle!

I have my ARC! Let me translate - while living in South Korea I need to have an Alien Registration Card, which shows my visa status and my address. I always knew the term 'alien' was basically foreigners in a certain country but most of us automatically think of the little green men from Mars or whatever. But it's fun being an alien :)

To get this stupid little card I had to jump through a few hoops. If you are thinking about coming to Korea to teach, or are here and are about to do it heres the down low...

First, make sure you have a few passport sized pics with you. I didn't have any, and it was a bitch to get more. Then, you take your passport, photo, address and school letter down to immigration. My local immigration office is in Suwon, and I think we caught the 200 bus, but I am not sure. Co came with me so I just followed him around like a little lost duck and we got there ok. We filled out a heap of forms which took forever, because I left my address at home and we had to call the school to find out where I lived. They took ages to find it and Co was a bit pissy at me but he never said I needed it! Then we went and took a seat in the other room. It took over 2 hours. It was the most stupid day of my life. Then the lady took the stuff from me, I paid her 10,000won and that was it. She said I can come and pick it up on the 12th October. I was like ok cool no worries. BIG MISTAKE. For everyone out there reading, you can get the card sent to your school within a week. I had to wait aaaggggeeeessssssss because Co is a tight arse. He said, "Oh, Bonnie, you need to pay a lot of money to have it sent over to the school so its better for us to just come back and get it". It would have cost about $4. Geez!
Anyway, he ended up going and picking it up for me because he had business in Suwon anyway, so i didn't need to go back.

On Monday this week I went into Citibank and opened up an account. So I now have a Korean bank account too... It was really strange, because when I looked in my wallet yesterday I had no cards or money from home. Everything in my wallet is Korean.

And today I got paid!!! but not anywhere near as much as I thought... But still, better than nothing! So i am officially a millionaire! (only in Korea haha).

Teacher's dinner

I had been told about the dinners with the co-workers, so I was actually kinda looking forward to this one (which I was told about yesterday) until they said we were having shrimp. Prawns. Gross... I don't eat seafood as a rule. I am terrified of having an allergic reaction, plus I hate the smell. Anyway, first we all got on a bus at about 1.30pm and headed to a temple in some other part of Korea. We left Gyeonggi but I don't know where we went. Its late and I don't care lol. I don't even remember what the temple was called, but it was really beautiful. Not so much the temple, but the forest surrounding it was lovely. 

That's Mrs Lee in the yellow jacket

Then we went for dinner. Shrimp. Eewwwww...

We all sat on the floor Korean style and there were gas cookers in the middle of the tables. They were on and heating up, so the ladies working there simply came past with the live prawns and dumped them into the pan. Then the lid was put on and the poor little things were steamed alive. I was totally grossed out, but then they were cooked, and then the teachers were putting prawns on my plate and pouring me beer and soju. When in Korea....

The male teachers got a bit messy, including Co which was a bit funny. Mrs Lee doesn't really drink so she was sitting next to me and chatting the whole time. She loves practicing her english so we always talk together. 

It was really awkward when one of the men from school (he isn't a teacher, he is a maintenance guy or something) was wasted and kept talking to me on the bus... He kept saying he wanted to be good friends, and asked my age over and over. I was so over him and all the female teachers were feeling bad for me so they made one of the other guy teachers babysit him. But that was the only downside, the rest of the night was actually really fun! 

Live prawns in the tubs, thrown straight into the pot poor little guys

First shrimp, then noodles!

My first prawns EVER

Just steamed over salt

An observation...

Korean men treat foreign women very differently to how they treat Korean women. I don;t know why but they do. And its really obvious when they drink... 

Like coming up and getting right in your face, and staring and acting inappropriately. Now, I get that  look completely different, but its never cool to be acting inappropriately with work people. So for this guy to be asking my age and if I was single and wanting to be 'good friends', thats not cool. And you know when people are being simply curious about your social status and when people are wondering if you could potentially hook up with them. Do they assume that foreign girls are easy pickings and put out for anyone? Because I am sure that men wouldn't speak so bluntly with Korean women. I hate the double standard, and I kinda find it offensive. Its like reverse racism and I have never experienced it before. Because I am blonde and foreign, does that mean I am a slurry? Does it mean I am easy? Does it make me a prostitute? i had been forewarned that being blonde would mean that many men will assume I am Russian, and therefore a hooker. And its stupid that this is actually true. I have been asked my quite a few people if I am Russian, and its always someone shady. Curious people assume I am from America, shady people hope I am from Russia. Its not good.

I am having so many experiences that are making me rethink the way I treat foreigners at home. I know I am guilty of generalising, but I think I am also guilty of racism which is less forgivable. When I get home I will be so much more tolerant of immigrants and their customs. I get now why Asians are such bad drivers... The roads here have no rules! Or there are rules, but no one follows them! And the pushing and bumping through people - its just what you do! No need to say sorry because everyone does it. And sneezing on people... My god, the list is huge. Spitting in public, thats another gross one... I saw one of the first grade teachers telling a little boy to suck back his snot and then spit it out - the kids are being taught to spit! 

So there you go. I am an accidental racist, and I now know how it feels to be a victim of racism. And my experiences have been minor compared to what some foreigners have been faced with. 

There is always something happening in Korea.

Till next time,

xoxoxo

In sickness and health

You can't take me anywhere...

Its a well known fact around town that i get sick anytime I go overseas for a holiday. And apparently moving overseas is no exception. I have been here for less than 3 weeks and I am already sick. Luckily it has nothing to do with my bowel and guts (random comment? Not really, I have Crohn's Disease for those who have only just joined us), rather I appear to have the beginnings of a chest infection. I don't actually think it is that bad, I think its more the constant dry coughing is driving Co mad at work. So today, he came inside and said;

"Bonnie, I feel you need to go to the hospital"

My reaction was something like this:

"..."

"Bonnie, I am concerned about your chest. I think you are getting much worser and need to get a shot".

A shot? You mean needle? Surely not! I have had many a cough in Melbourne, and as much as it used to drive my sister mental at night it never warranted a trip to the hospital. I tried to explain to him that I just didn't think it was serious enough for the hospital but he wouldn't hear of it. 

"But teacher," I said to him, "I can't go to the hospital, my ARC card isn't ready yet and I don't have medical insurance set up".

Not to worry! Out Vice-Principal has very good connections apparently, and they will sort it all out so it won't cost much.

So off we go to the hospital around 4pm.

Hospital visit

I get that it was supposed to be a hospital, but to me it looked like more of a big, old clinic. If Co hadn't been with me I would not have gone in, mainly because from the outs it didn't look like a hospital (in fact the inside wasn't much better). The floors had huge cracks in them, which I think will be due to the heating and cooling in winter, but still it looked messy and un-hospital-like. The admin girls didn't speak English so it was lucky Co was there with me. He desalt with all the paperwork and the hospital director came out to say hello. Turns out the Vice-Principal DOES know people... Anyway then they took my temperature and blood pressure and then I went in and saw the doctor. He spoke ok English, asked me if I had any diseases and if I was allergic to anything. That was all. He looked in my throat, asked me what my symptoms were then prescribed a heap of stuff and then sent me out. I paid something like 22,000won and got 3 different pills to take for 3 days, a heap of 'tonic' (coughing syrup) and a shot. Needle. I was like "huh?" 

I didn't even feel that bad! Why do I need a needle?

Now, I don't really have issues with needles, I have a heap of tattoos so it would be stupid if I was a needle freaker. But, this is South Korea, and I just wasn't sure about this needle business. Especially when I was asked to follow the nurse into the back room. She told me, well, mimed at me, to drop my pants. 

WTF?

So there's me, leaning over a bed with my pants down while this nurse gives me a needle in the fleshy part of my butt. She slapped it a few times, and kept slapping while administering the injection. She then got an alcohol swap and mopped the area and then gave it a good rub. She mimed at me to keep rubbing my butt for a while. I walked back out feeling a little weird, and Co said to me that I should keep rubbing the area or I will get a big bruise. 

I then got on the bus and came straight home to lick my wounds (in a non literal sense obviously). 

Needless to say I am not going out tonight, which I am a bit disappointed about as it was a newbies night in Suwon. But I will try and pay the area a visit on Friday night instead. 

My syrup and pills

School this week

Has been stupid. There has been absolutely nothing to do, which is ok but it does make the time go slowly. 

Monday

This was Typhoon Day. My first typhoon and it was a complete letdown. Very dull. It rained and was super windy so the classes were cancelled and the kids all got to go home after lunch. I however, had to go to immigration with Co. It was in Suwon, but in an area that was way far out and I had never been anywhere near there before. It took at least an hour to get there and then we had to wait for over 2 hours for my number to be called. By the time it was my turn I had started shivering and coughing. im thinking this is why I am sick... Getting wet and all that in the typhoon... Anyway, Getting the form filled out only took 5 minutes and cost 10,000won. So not expensive at all really. The catch is that I have to go back on the 12th October to pick up my ARC (alien registration card) and until then I can't open a bank account or get a phone. I am totally pissed off about this, because I am running out of money and I hate not having a phone that works. I am trying really hard to make friends, and I can't even call the ones i've got to make plans. And its all Co's fault for not taking me to immigration right away. Still, its done now and there isn't really anything I can do about it. 

By the time I got home Monday it was dark and I was cold and coughing. 

Tuesday

I honestly don't really know what happened yesterday, except that the kids had no classes after lunch again, but this time it was because they were practicing for the Sports Day. I swear, these kids are never in class...

I took the grade 4 class by myself for the first period which was ok, I like the grade 4 kids they are still cute. And they were pretty well behaved, i wanted to play a game with them but they didn't understand what I was trying to get them to do. So we just went back to the workbook. 

Today (Wednesday)

I swear I did NOTHING. All classes were cancelled for the kids to practice for Sports Day but no one told me, so i was sitting around wondering what the hell was going on. I put something on FB along the lines of "Where are my students?" and Jeong, my teacher friend, saw it and told me what was going on. She then came to see me in my classroom and we hung out all morning. I gave her some tongue twisters to work on - she has plenty of English vocal but trouble with conversation and pronunciation. So hopefully they will help. e went over a few so i think she got the gist. The we worked on my Korean. I am so fucking bad at it. I can't make certain sounds properly, so i sound like the biggest idiot trying to make the words work. but, i a trying really hard so I think once I have some basics I will be better. For example, Jeong and I were talking about where I was from, and how to say 'I like...' or whatever. Then, when I was in the hospital I recognised when the hospital director asked Co where I was from. And I understood when he said I came from Australia. I couldn't tell you what they said, but I knew what they were talking about. So its a start!

Tomorrow is the Sports Day and I asked Co if there was anything he wanted me to do... He said yes, that if I had a video camera would it be ok if I filmed the students. Hell yes! I was planning on doing it anyway, but was worried I would come off as a creep - filming kids. A big no no at home lol.

So i will take some pics and put a video up on Youtube in the next few days. 

Now, it's 6:30pm and I am ready for bed. I think the pills have made me sleepy so hopefully that means they will work. Because I want to go out for dins tomorrow with some Pyeongtaek people and then I want to go out drinking on Friday with Suwon people. So I need to get better soon!!!

I'll leave you with an adorable pic of the kindy kids practicing their flag waving for tomorrow. They were supposed to be doing some sort of synchronised flag waving and dancing, but they were just flailing them around like tiny crazy people. So cute ^_^

Anyway, peace out!

xoxo