Rainy times.

It has been quite a long time since I updated you, so here goes ( :

It is official; the monsoon season has officially begun. Summer here is characterized by high temperatures, high rates of humidity…and lots of rain; unfortunately. I have experienced summers in a lot of different countries and a lot of different states. I am NOT A big fan of humidity. Nicaragua was crazy humid, but there was the beach. Plus, it only rained in the afternoon and was sunny the rest of the time. Not so much here! Being from Seattle, I have (as all Seattle-ites do) different names for rain. There is never really just, rain. There is drizzle. Light rain. Mist. Downpours. Light drizzle. Pelting rain and many more. For the drizzle or the mist, Seattle people don’t usually use umbrellas, unless they are concerned about their hair, lol. So, I often don’t use one here (what’s the point, if it is a little mist or drizzle?) and the Koreans are always very confused. The sidewalks after school have become a mass heard of hundreds of girls ALL with umbrellas. It is taking me literally ten minutes longer to get home, trying to weave through the umbrellas! It is quite a funny sight.

The humidity here is very bad. Not as bad as I have experienced, but bad. For some reason, the air-conditioning in my school is almost NEVER on. So, you sit or stand and teach…and sweat. On the plus side, I have stopped wearing a lot of make up to school (which cuts down on my getting ready time in the morning) because by 9 am, it was just melting off and leaving big nasty streaks on my face. Fortunately, I have AC in my apartment, so I turn it on intermittently because it is expensive. Ah, the gloriousness of AC.

In more unfortunate and frustrating news, the AC Adapter (aka the battery/thing that plugs into the wall and my computer) DIED. My computer is old (nearly 3 years old) and was only $300 to begin with. So, needless to say, it is on its last legs. BUT, I don’t want to deal with buying a new one here, if at all possible. As my laptop slowly died, I frantically was backing up my music and anything else I could onto a 16 GB memory stick that I had just bought at Costco for this very purpose. I have had horrible luck with laptops, and am used to this process. I have a WD External Hard drive at home, but hadn’t backed up since being in Korea. Let’s just say I have lost a lot of data in my life, and have since learned (the hard way) the merits of backing up your shit. If your data isn’t backed up (so I was told be a techie friend) it isn’t important to you. Truer words were never said! I found replacement universal cords online for like $20 in the states. I was told I could easily find one in Korea, in the electronics district in Seoul. I had nothing going on one day last week, so asked my co-teacher if it would be at all possible to leave school after lunch (and not get paid) to head to Seoul so I could make it there in time before the shops closed, to get a cord. He responded in one of his favorite lines of, “It is my opinion, it is not possible. Korean public schools are very strict.” Ok, whatever, I tried. But then, to my amazement, he suggested I bring it to the technology teacher at school and that he could probably fix it or had a replacement one! Best of all, he said the school would pay for it! I was in shock! The school AND co-teacher offering to go above and beyond and help me?!? Insanity! Too good to be true! I was super happy and accepted. I learned the hard way 5 days later that I will never accept help from my school AGAIN.

The technology teacher cut my cord up, didn’t have a replacement and then sent it to a computer engineer. Or that is the word they used. They said the computer engineer couldn’t fix it. Well, NO SHIT Sherlock!! You cut the POS up!!!!! I kept asking for it back, so I could at least have the info to go to Seoul (I was heading there that weekend regardless). My co-teacher said the computer engineer was going to order a new one and the school would pay for it. You know, since they cut it up and all and I didn’t even ask for help. Sweet! No worries! So, I went to Seoul (more on that in a minute) and didn’t go looking for an adapter.

I have had to work the past two Saturdays (which I’ve been paid for, but still sucks, haven’t slept in in weeks, but anyways) and last Saturday, I was called by my co-teacher (I was working at a neighboring school for a special event) and he asked me where I was. Which he always does whenever he calls. What does it matter where I am? It isn’t any of your business!! It is fucking Saturday!! I tell him I am working at the neighboring school. He tells me to come in because my adapter replacement is in. Yay! I tell him I can’t come in, because I am working, so I will just get it on Monday. No big deal, I told him. He kept saying, come in, come in, come in. I kept explaining, no, I can’t, I am working, sorry. He then eventually says, you have to come in, the computer engineer must be paid. Uhhh say whhhaaattt?? The school was supposed to pay for it. He then tells me it is going to be 40,000 Won, about $40 USD. I found some online for $10 in Seoul!!!! I was pissed. I explained sorry, can’t come in and we hung up eventually. Then, he kept calling and calling. But, I just ignored him. What an ASS!!! So, I come in Monday and he wants the money, I don’t have it because it is almost payday and I am pretty much out of money. I send home the bulk of my money and leave here only what I need to survive. I tell him it will have to wait until payday. I am hoping he just forgets and the school has to pay for it, like they said they would. Why? The POS doesn’t even work!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, it works, but only if I hold it in place. Nice, eh? So, I have a $40 adapter that is for all intensive purposes, useless. Never trust the Jang. I am essentially computer-less at home, thank god for smart phones!

As I said, I went to Seoul! It was a fun weekend with my ladies from Jochiwon. We went to a spa in our town on Saturday (a Jingilbang) which is a Korean naked spa! There is one in the Seattle area, but I’ve never been. I’m not really a “naked” person publicly, but I thought, what the hell, when in Rome! Err, Korea. So, off we went. I turned out to just be the four of us in the entire spa (which was very small) and a cleaning woman…who was cleaning naked. Weird, but ok. It was so nice to just relax and have some girl time. You really forget you’re naked very quickly and just relax. In the dry sauna, they were cooking eggs. So freaking strange! It was overall a very nice, if interesting, experience! Got to soak in the tubs and sit in the saunas.

After that, we headed off to Seoul! My friend Maryam and I headed to the shopping districts of Seoul for H&M and Namdeumun Market (an enormous market, the biggest I’ve ever been in), while Charlotte and Rebecca headed off to the aquarium. Boy, did we shop! I spent way too much money, but had an awesome time! The market place was huge and very overwhelming at times. You can find literally ANYTHING there you could possibly think of. It is most definitely the place to go for Korean souvenirs, which are WAY cheaper than anywhere else. And not the tacky shit (well, that is there too), but I am not a fan of that shit. I am not the person that buys key chains that say, ‘Korea’. I like to decorate with stuff from my Wordly travels, so I tend to buy pottery, art prints, wall hangings and that sort of stuff. I got a few really pretty pieces to add to my collection! They are hard to transport, but whatevs! I also got some cheap, awesome clothes! You can barter in this place, which is awesome! It made me think of all of Kristina and I’s adventures, because one of our favorite things to do is explore markets in other countries and shop! It was a lot of fun! Don’t know how I am going to get everything home…but I will deal with that later ( :

After shopping, we met back up with Rebecca and Charlotte, and went to a Hello Kitty Café! Only in Korea. It was SO awesome! Pink EVERYTHING! Even the food and drinks were Hello Kitty inspired; either in color or appearance. Such a cute little place. There are pictures of it up in the “Seoul” album on Facebook. After the Hello Kitty Café, we went to Mexican food. I have officially given up on Mexican food in Korea…it just isn’t good! Maybe I am being a Mexican food snob, but I know what I like! Plus, it was CRAZY spicy! I didn’t even get to enjoy the tacos! Afterwards, we trekked home for the 90 minute train ride back to The Joch. It was such a fun, and very much need, ladies weekend!

I feel like something else big has happened, but I can’t remember! So, I think that is about it for now. Look for another blog Monday…it will have some interesting and exciting stuff to report! ( :

Next weekend I am going to the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone) between South and North Korea, which I am really excited for! Something I have wanted to do before even coming here! Two weeks after that, The Mud Festival the beach! PUMPED for that!

Talk to you all sooner rather than later.

Peace!