A whole lot of nakedness

This past weekend Sarah came over. It is funny how we met.... Sarah contacted me about 6 months ago via email asking how my experience was with the recruiting firm Footprints... and well... I believe in being honest.. and so I stated the truth that I did not enjoy my time and did not reccommend them. I also passed along the information about the English Village that I was working at and the contact information of the person in charge of hiring here. So to make a long story short... she came to SEV last week.
Anyways... like I said... this past weekend Sarah came down to Ansan to stay with Paula and I. It was sooo much fun.
On friday, we went out for some drinks and explored the nightlife of Ansan... which is pretty nice.
Saturday, we went for a walk around the Ansan Lake Park and then we went to Emart. On the way home we got caught in a rainstorm and got so wet... and that was when Sarah suggested that we go to the Jimjulbang (sp?). Nervously, I agreed... and well... I can't believe I have been here over a year and have never been there before.
A Jimjulbang (sp?) is like a bath house and sauna. You pay $5 and have access to 6 sauna rooms (with varying degrees of warmth) and then the bath house. The sauna is co-ed and you wear shorts and a t-shirt... but the bath houses are separate and well... you wear your birthday suite. At first I was really embarassed.. being a little tubbly and all... but by the end... well it was fun and you didn't even notice that you and your friends were naked. LOL... I think it will be a weekly experience.
All and all the weekend was so much fun!
Next weekend is my birthday and we are going to go to Everland (a big amusement park)so it should be a lot of fun!
Cheers!

It's not much but it's home

Home... continued

Tired!

So Sunday Paula and I moved to Ansan. At 10am the moving man came to the Pungnap-dong campus and took us and all of our belongings to Ansan (about 2 hours away). Boy, I never realized how much stuff I had accumulated... when our moving truck pulled out of the SEV campus it was packed to the brim.
The apartments are nice... small... but nice. It is just so nice to have my OWN place... bathroom and kitchen too.
This week has been a little tough... well tiring is more the word. Because of the delay in construction, the Ansan campus has not been cleared to be worked in... so we are commuting to Seoul everyday (2 hour subway ride... each way). It sucks! I am up at 5:30am... leave at 6:30am... arrive at 9am... leave work at 6pm... arrive home at 8pm... the only thing that is keeping me going is the fact that the weekend will be here soon!
Anyways... in the long run I know that all of this is worth it!
Cheers!

Moving!

So yesterday was my last official working day at SEV. When I woke up, I was excited and felt a big sigh of relief... it is finally here. But as the day drew to a close, my feelings seemed to change. This was the last day of summer camp at SEV and the children presented their performances (which they had worked all week preparing). As I sat in the back watching, I couldn't help but become a little verclemped (teary)... it hit me... after almost a year here, I am moving on. Though I may have had some disagreements with some people, this place was really good to me... especially after my horrible Hellwan experience. The children are so cute and I will miss them... I will miss seeing the kids that like it here so much, they come back 6-7 times. I will miss this place.
Lastnight was Paula and my going away party. We started off at Cheers for a few drinks and then moved to a HipHop club nearby. The turn out was amazing! There were for 40 people who came to celebrate and say goodbye with us. It was really nice... and again, a tad overwhelming... but it was really good and put a nice close to this chapter of my life.
Today, I am packing. I am pretty much packed already (thanks to the nagging of Paula)... but there are still some odds and ends that need to go in boxes.
The mover comes tomorrow at 10am... so tonight will be a nice quiet night in.
As I look back over this past year... I feel pride. I set out to try something new... to gain independence... to be on my own... and with a little bumps along the way... have managed to fulfill my goal. I am unsure of what the future will bring, but right now I am content with my decisions and feel no regret or remorse from this past year (a definite change from 2 years ago).
Here's to a new beginning! I hope that Ansan provides as much (if not more) memorable moments, that SEV has brought.
Cheers!

Meningitis (SP?)

So one of our students was sent home yesterday with meningitis. All of the teachers were asked to keep a health check and if they experienced any of the listed symptoms (neck pain, headache, fever, vomiting) they were to go to the nurse right away. This past week I have been experiencing all... but a fever. So nervously, I went to see to the nurse. She quickly threw me into a cab and sent me to the hospial.
At the hospital I waited for maybe 5 minutes, when a Korean nurse came over to talk to me. Once I mentionned the word meningitis, she took three steps away from me and continued to keep that distance for the remainder of our conversation. She then quickly walked away and then returned only to shuffle me into see the ER doctor.
I explained all the symptoms and my troubles and then he said... "well let's do an examination... and we might have to do a spinal tap." Now I have seen ER on TV... I know how painful those things are... so being already wound up tight out of fear... and now with the possibility of a spinal tap lingering over me... I started to cry. I was so embarassed... but I just couldn't contain my fear... sometimes you really want your mommy.
Seeing that his words had completely freaked me out... he then quickly added: "well a spinal tap is a last resort... let's just do some tests."
He then took some blood and did a physical exam.
He then smiled and said "it is not meningitis.... but it is still serious. You are suffering from severe heat stroke, dehydration and heat exhaustion. We are going to give you an IV and then I want you to take it easy for a few days."
RELIEF! I mean it sucks to be dehydrated... but anything is better than meningitis.
It is so weird... no matter how old I seem to get, there are still times when all I want is my mom to say that everything is alright. Oh well... I guess her comfort on the phone will have to do.
4 days til moving day!
Cheers!