It's Been A While...

Hello all. I know its been almost a week and you haven't heard from me (I've gotten 3 ims/calls about my lack of entries this past week. lol), but not much has been going on. Nothing but school and the occasional play time.
We go a new teacher at school. So I'm no longer the "newbie" or the youngest. He's 22 also, but he was born in July...that's right I have two months on him. He was born here in Korea but moved to Oregon, so he does have one up on me.
Anyway, my coworkers and I went out last night to welcome him and say "goodbye" to Zack who will be leaving next week.
This past weekend, Christina and I went to Myeong-dong to do some shopping. Well was I in love...Nine West, The Gap, Guess, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Reebok, Addidas and the list goes on which includes many Korean stores as well. And the icing on the cake...Forever 21. Now this wasn't the Forever 21 you're thinking of. This is one that has a doorman, four gigant-a-normous floors, and tons of dressing rooms (here in Korea, you usually can't try stuff on. You just have to guess-ta-mate and go). And there weren't the cheap looking clothes there that fall apart after two runs through the washer. No, There was some really good looking stuff there. I got 2 sweaters, two long sleeve shirts, and a tank top for 94,000 won. Not too bad I think. I will definitely be going back. After shopping, we went to Burger King (my first time since I've been here). While shopping, it began to snow and it was so pretty. It wasn't the first snowfall of the season, but it is the first one that I had seen (the last two were when I was in my dungeon, so I didn't get to see it).
After shopping, we went to Itaewon and I got my eyebrows done. If you know me, you know that my eyebrows have a love affair going on and love to meet in the middle. That's right, I was developing that horrible unibrow, so I had to get some help for that. For 10,000, I was escorted to a private room, laid on a bed thing, had my hair pulled back and had my eyebrows waxed, tweezed and clipped. Not bad looking either. But they don't look the way Shavanni (my hair stylest who also does my eyebrows) has them looking. I like mine a little long, arched, and thin. Right now, they're average, arched and a little wider than I prefer, but hey, there's two of them and not one so I'm happy.
After my waxing, we went to a French place to have dessert. I had some apple looking thing with ice cream which was very good. As it continued to snow, Christina and I debated if we should go somewhere and get some fries. Although I did have some earlier, I could always go for more fries. But remembering warnings from family members and friends not to come home fat, I decided to pass (I'm getting stronger!!). But we were both craving a blooming onion from Outback, so that's where we are going tomorrow since we both have half days (maybe I'm not as strong as I thought :( )
Speaking of half days, remember I was supposed to have half days on Tues & Thurs until this Thursday...well, I left school at 7pm today, stopped at the store to get some milk and ice pops (my alternative for chips), I made it home and took some Tylenol pm cause I was gonna eat and call it an early night. Well, as soon as I sat down at my computer, my cell phone rang. It was my supervisor asking where I was. I told her I was home and she continued with, "but you have class." Uhhh... no I don't. The old desk teacher told me I didn't have class until Thurs. She said I had 3 students who were waiting for me. UGH! So I had to trek it back to school, 35 mins after class started, but I made sure I had the note the desk teacher wrote telling me I didn't have class. She saw that it was not my fault and said ok.
And speaking of my supervisor, she told me when I first got here that all of my utilities were gonna be taken right out of my check so I didn't have to worry about paying them. So why the H*** did I get a shut off notice on my door saying that they were going to shut off my electric today if it didn't get paid (this all being in Korean of coarse)!!?? So I took it to school and showed her and she informs me that she misunderstood what my landlord told her. She thought he meant everything, but clearly, the money taken out does not include electric. But I didn't even have the bills anymore cause she told me to throw them out! UGH!! So she called the company and got my account number and told me they would extend it to tomorrow...big whoop! She told me I could go to the ATM machine and pay it, but I couldn't. SO I have to go to work tomorrow at 1pm so she can help me. The bill is only 39,000 won for Sept-Nov, which isn't bad, but I would have liked to pay it on time so that the people here wouldn't think I'm some lazy, non bill paying American... but I guess who cares what they think right?
Nothing much more to tell. Kory will be here in 2 weeks, 6 days, 6 hours and 3 minutes!! YAY!! Also, I've been talking to a girl who will be here in a little over a week. She's coming to visit a friend and hopefully we can meet up while she's here.
My 31 days of Christmas is continuing. I've gotten so much stuff so far and its only the 9th (thanks Mommie!!!)!!! At the end of the 31 days, I'll try to take a picture of everything.
That's all for now.
Until Next Time!

A BIG Boo Boo and Day 50!!

So, I went to Seoul Global Center to get a new cell phone on Thursday and I didn't have any problems which was great. So my phone is replaced but I'm still looking for my bracelet :(

Friday was pretty much uneventful. I woke up. Ate. Went to school. Came home. Ate. Went to bed...Exciting isn't it.

I woke up Saturday morning and talked to Mommie and Kory. I decided that I was gonna have a bagel for breakfast. I've been keeping my bagels in the freezer so they won't go bad. I've learned from my mistakes :)

So I'm cutting away with this really sharp knife that I bought (can you tell where this is going?) and I put some UMPH in it to get the job done, and all of the sudden, I jump and grab my thumb. I look down and I see no blood, so I figured I just scraped my thumb...WRONG! I opened my hand, and there was a pool of blood that had already began to drip on the floor. My body went into shock. I grabbed my washcloth out of the bathroom to wrap my thumb in and I look at my wound and I can see inside my thumb!!! Now you all know how dramatic I can be, but I knew I had to pull it together since I was by myself and would need some help.

I immediately called Mommie and told her what happened and to call Kory cause he would wonder why I didn't respond to his ims. Mommie told me to call my supervisor and I figured I would need to get to a hospital. After repeated calls to my supervisor without any answer (go figure), I threw on my hoodie and some sneakers, grabbed my purse and my passport and ran out my dungeon to the police station. Luckily on my way there, I was able to flag down a policeman. When I figured out that "help" was not one of those international words that I believe should be the same in every language, I showed him my goodies wrapped in the wash cloth. Yea, he figured out that *ISH really fast.

He told me to get in the car and he would take me to the hospital. Now, mind you, this is a clearly marked police car with all the bells and whistles and he has an emergency case in his passenger seat, but does this fool (pardon my language but there is no other word) use them or bus through traffic??? H*** NO!!!! (And let me tell you, in this city, traffic lights are just a suggestion. That red light up there, that doesn't mean stop, that's just some decorations that the city put up. And I'm so serious. But that's another entry for another day) He has the nerve to do just under the speed limit and wait at the lights! "Umm... excuse me Mr Police Officer, you may not have realized, but my F'n thumb is hanging by a vein!!! No rush, just thought I would give you a heads up!!!"

The one thing he did ask me during our 5 minute (which felt like 50 minutes) ride was "Do you have 'the' money?" WTF!!??! Are you kidding me??! Screw money and get me to the hospital! He got me to the hospital and dropped me off at the door. "Thank you..."

I walk inside and remembering that the people inside might not understand help, I once again revealed my goodies, and by this time, more than blood was coming out. Lovely isn't it. They asked for my cell number (yea, cause you're really gonna call me...) and my ARC card, then a security officer took me to the emergency trauma area. All the while, Mommie and Kory are calling me back to back, but I would have rathered them been with me. I sat down and waited for someone to help me and about three minutes goes by and not a person has shown interest. I was talking to Mommie and I guess the adrenaline began to wear off because the tears started running and I felt like I was gonna die. I wait til I'm in a foreign country to decide that I want to have an emergency situation. Good job AviEllé!

A guess someone noticed my tears because a nurse came over and spoke to me in Korean. After the blank stare I gave her, she realized that that wasn't gonna work and tried some English. Jackpot!! Now you got me. I showed her my thumb and told her what happened. After she asked me if I had money (F money, just put my thumb back together!!), she called a doctor over. Luckily, he too spoke English and began to ask me some questions. I told him I could feel my thumb and attempted to move it for him.

They went away and about five minutes later (and more worried calls from Mommie and Kory in which I told them that I wanted to come home. wouldn't you? but of course out of all the times Kory tells me he wants me to come home, he tells me that I should stay. UGH), the nurse came back with two needles. She tells me one is for Tetanus and the other is for Diphtheria. She walks me behind a curtain and tells me she's gonna inject them into my butt. We'll *AMN! Can I at least know your name before I show you what my momma gave me?? Guess not. I gave her a little hunk of my booty cheek (LOL now, but then, it was far from funny) and she tapped it and stuck it with the first needle (thankfully I didn't have a panic attack because they might have transferred me to the mental ward). After the first needle, she starts to jiggle my booty around. I don't think it was for medical reasons, I think she was just amazed about the size of my "junk in the trunk." She gave me the second needle and proceeded to jiggle it again. I was beginning to feel exploited but the excruciating pain radiating from my thumb didn't allow me voice my concerns. After she played "jiggle it," she told me to have a seat and up walks the doctor. He takes me into the trauma room and has me lay down on a gurney (SP). He told me that he was gonna give me some anesthesia and then stitch me up.

He stuck my thumb five times before I had no feeling in it. He told me to relax but who the H*** can relax in a situation like this??! I decided to focus my attention on something other than him threading me up like he was fixing sock with a hole in it. Unfortunately, where do I focus my attention to?? The dirty A** floors. Now every hospital I have been in, the floors are always clean. Well not here. UGH! It just grossed me out. And I began to wonder if I got those shots to ward off infection from my cut or their facilities. About 15 minutes and 6-8 stitches later, the pool of blood on the gurney (sp) stopped getting bigger and my thumb was all closed up.

After I was done, the doctor informed me that I was going to have to come back in two days so that they could change the dressing, and to see if I had caused any damage to my nerves.

I was escorted to where I had to pay... and since my school is F'n around with my insurance, I don't have any and had to pay out of pocket. The bill wasn't too bad. 110,245 won. And that included my antibiotics. Thank you Jesus that I had the money or I (or should I say the hospital) would have been SOL.

I paid and got my medicine and caught the bus home. The total time of me being there was about an hour. If I was in the states, I would still be waiting...

I went home and got dressed (pretty hard with one hand) and went to work. I politely told my supervisor off after she informed me that she saw the missed calls, but since she didn't know who was calling, she didn't answer or call back...B****! Gimme my D*** insurance! She told me she already put in for it and it'll take 1-2 weeks.

The last hour of class, the anesthesia wore off and I wanted to pass out on the floor. I made it through and Andrea and I went to get something to eat. I took some Motrin that she gave me and was soon in LaLa Land. I went home and waited for Christina to call me because we were supposed to go to a Halloween Party. She called me a couple hours later and I was off to Sinchon.

I described my horrible week to them in which in turn they gave me their sympathies and we headed to the party. When we got there, it reminded me of a house party at HU, but there was no dancing, and no decent spirits.

We decided to go to a lounge that some foreigners recommended and Andrea met us there since she lives in the area. We met some really nice people and I met a girl from Philly who went to the same college my Best Friend went to. What a small world! After a long day and a couple weirdos trying to hit on me (don't worry Kory, I only have eyes for you!) I took a cab home so I could see Hampton play South Carolina. Don't ask about the game...

*Christina and Kara at London Pub (Kara dressed up as the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom... Your potential VP!! I thought it was funny*

*Kara, Andrea and our new buddy Jason from Canada. He's really cool*

*CHEESE*I went to bed around 6am and woke up at 11:30. I had plans to go out with the girls again today. We were gonna go shopping in Dongdaemun. After an hour and a half of me showering and getting dressed with one hand, I finally left and met Christina at the subway. We got to the station and met Andrea and Erica (an American we met last week while in the French Village).

*A picture from last week. What we saw after our unexpected hike up the mountain*
We or shall I say Andrea did some shopping, we went and got something to eat and did a little more shopping. I bought a cute navy blue sweater. Seeing as though everything was "one size fits all" I was pretty happy.

*Me eating a pastry shaped like a fish which was filled with sweet bean paste... Not a good idea*5:44 pm began my 50th day here in Korea! Can you believe it? I have stuck it out for 50 days despite all of the drama and mishaps. I have approximately 315 days left! Do you think I can make it? We shall see.

This week is IBT testing for the kids at school. This test, along with their grades, decides if they will move to the next level or stay where they are. I don't need a test to tell me which kids should move up. I'm sure half my kids will be remaining where they are because they are either truly unintelligent or lazy as H*** and moving up is nowhere in their immediate future. I have to go back to the hospital tomorrow at 10am and seeing as though it takes me forever to get dressed, I need to be going to bed. Please pray for me because I really need it. Also keep my grandma in your prayers and Jennifer Hudson. My deepest sympathies go out to her and he family as they deal with the loss of her mother and brother. When is all of this violence gonna end? It really makes you think how little some people value life. Make sure you take nothing for granted and thank God for everything you have every day.

Until Next Time!