Daydreaming

(Dislcaimer: I am adding this disclaimer in retrospect of writing this post. I should warn you that this post is extremely long, and it has taken me over an hour and a half to write. For those too lazy to read, I will simply state that I am having fun. If you continue, don’t say I didn’t warn you. BUT, there may or may not be something enjoyable at the end of this post).

Hey guys,

This will be a long post, but it will hopefully be my most funnerest post. Over the past week, I’ve tried to write interesting and hopefully exciting/humorous topics to discuss in my blog with you all. Before I get into the topics, I suppose I will talk about what I have been doing this week. I started this past week off really well. Monday and Tuesday, I was on cue completing all my work, eating well, and being active. Then, on a whim, I decided to visit my friend at the hospital. By whim, I mean that I wasn’t planning to visit her until the weekend or a time when my sleep schedule would not be sacrificed. Well, it was. I think I left at 10:30, got to the hospital around midnight and stayed there the whole night. In all, I slept all of two hours. Going to the hospital may not have been the smartest decision because I also had to wake up and be at work by 9:30am. The reason is that I had a conference to go to on Thursday morning. I didn’t get back to the conference until about 2pm, and I had to be at work promptly at 2:30pm. Luckily, I had one break, but all in all, the day sucked. Actually, it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty difficult. When the damage was done, I basically worked a 9 hour day followed by a 12 hour day with a 2 hour night of sleep. Brilliant!

Friday was better because I had gotten like 10 hours of sleep, but I was still tired from the two days before. Regardless, I went into work, did the whole thing, and left. Right after work, I basically went out with my co-workers clubbing. Most of my friends, but what made it particularly interesting was the presence of several of the Korean (note: Korean meaning they are Korean-born and teach the kids English grammar while speaking mostly in Korean) teachers at Avalon. One of them is my Korean sonsaengnim (sawn-sang-neem) who… teaches me Korean. I know that sounds obvious, but I just want to make that distinction, so everything is as clear as a foggy day to someone who is heavily intoxicated by the smell of Elmer’s rubber glue. Where was I? Oh, the second Korean teacher was the youngest of the Korean teachers. Also, she had never been to a club before. The last Korean teacher that accompanied the “foreign teachers” to the club was a middle-aged head teacher. In other words, she was kind of my boss. I thought she was a married woman with children, but it turns out that she is single. To say the least, she made the experience more interesting… Apparently, she had fun… I’m not sure what to say about it… I think I’ll just move on… The first two mentioned are the main reason I went out, and I would not have gone out if it were not for them. The reason being: I had tried to get them out on many other occasions to no avail. We had agreed on Friday, but that was before the aforementioned Wednesday. Regardless, I sacked up and marched my way through the night. It was a pretty fun night, and it ended with 12 of us packing into a medium-sized van for a cheap (illegal) taxi ride home.

Yesterday (Saturday), I met up with my friend, and we watched Harry Potter together. For those of you who don’t know by now, I am dating her. Her name is Joohee. I met her playing pool one night, and I almost got into a fight over her. Mind you, I’m not in love with her (mom). I’m not really sure where you got that idea. All I am going to say is that she is fun to hang out with, and visiting her almost justifies getting only two hours of sleep. Haha. Seriously, I wanted to shoot myself on numerous occasions on Thursday. So exhausted… Going back to Harry Potter, well … I saw it. I don’t want to ruin the movie for those who haven’t seen it, so I will only say this – “Amazing. I’m speechlees.” Honestly, I have no words. I’m still shocked at the events that took place, and I am still a little shaken up (over this movie). But, it wasn’t just any movie. It was life-changing. … After HP, we went to Hooters to meet up with my friends. We did the whole thing, ate some (expensive as heck) chicken wings, and went to a bar after. Played some darts and did as the Koreans do on a rainy day –drink. Sorry, mommy. “When in Seoul, do as the Seou … do as the people who live in Seoul do. Don’t worry. I didn’t get too drunk. I mean, I ran naked in the streets of Seoul, nearly got arrested, and woke up in a gutter wearing nothing but a sombrero and a red sequenced jacket. Haha. I’m totally kidding, but now I wish those things happened (minus the red … jacket). Okay. So wrapping my weekend up, all I did was lay low at my house the entire day. I ate McDonalds for the first time today, but I’ll get into that later. Actually, that will be my first “interesting” topic that I’ll discuss now.

McDonalds
Amazing! I had McDonalds FINALLY today. It took nearly two months, but I found it and dominated my Big Mac and his little nugget friends. I would’ve gotten a McFlurry, too, but they didn’t have M & M’s. They only had Oreos fillings. I wouldn’t cheat on an M & M McFlurry like that. We have a strong bond and a sacred relationship. If she’s not available on a certain day (like today), then her absence does not give me the go ahead to indulge in my primal instincts and go with another. Absolutely not, I am refined. I treat my McFlurry with respect, even though her wholesomeness does not reciprocate the same respect on my physical well-being. I absolutely did not drink that Oreo McFlurry, nor will I ever try another type of McFlurry just to “sample.” I would never allow my McFlurry to be just a “flavor of the week.” Hmph. Yeah, okay. That was a waste of my time and yours… haha. Main point of this section: McDonalds delivers. Oh, did I not say that already? Well, let me say it again. McDonalds DELIVERS!!! I’m not going to give you my exact reaction because it’s both inappropriate and disgusting, but let me just mention that there was a lot of perspiration going on. I was very excited. Unfortunately, I am just outside of the boundaries (by two blocks) of where the local McDonalds delivers, thus leaving me disappointed. Still, it’s an exciting concept, and … well, I’m still perspiring.

Mudfest
I don’t want to say too much about this topic because it’s been out of my mind for a week now. What I will say is this – I saw my brother. We had a grand time. It took way too long to get there. I almost lost my shoes and, more importantly, the orthotics in them. I walked thirty minutes alone or two miles in a monsoon to find them. I was drenched, they were drenched, but I found them. Let’s see. Also, there was no mud. There was too much of a monsoon going on for there to be mud. What else…? I slept in a hallway of a hotel with Kris. And, finally? It was a tragic comedy written backwards. I had a blast, and that’s that.

Crazy Mosquitoes
In short, mosquitoes are crazy out here. They only want to bite your ankles, apparently. At one point, I had 7 mosquito bites on my ankle … my right ankle … the inside of my right ankle. Coincidence? No. I asked two other friends about mosquito bites and they had a similar problem. Between the three of us, we had 20+ mosquito bites on our ankles and about 5 mosquito bites on the rest of our bodies. Since I discovered this, I only spray mosquito stuff one place. You guessed it – under my armpits. How many mosquito bites since? 0. Eat that, mosquitoes! Kyle: 1, Mosquitoes: 0. (note: for those confused at previous statements, I sprayed the mosquito stuff on my ankles, not my armpits. DUH! If you didn’t understand that, well then you have no common sense. Don’t make me tell you about common sense, I’m well-rehearsed with that subject).

Aesthetics
I realized why I’m not overly ecstatic about living in Korea. Granted, I have not been many places in Korea other than the clubs, bars, and Uiwang. Still, I have not seen anything aesthetically pleasing. I STILL have yet to see the palaces, temples, and cultural centers, but everyday life is rather drab and monotonous. Most places I have been are ones that have probably been built up in the last 30 years. Though, I don’t even know if that statement is completely valid. I don’t want to get too technical, but the fact remains that there are the same tall buildings everywhere. There are the same types of restaurants that seem to look the same, the same bars, the same convenient stores, the same signs, the same people, the same smells, the same feeling everywhere I go. It seems as though I will need to search high and far for the meaning of traditional Korean culture. I mean, I don’t have to go that far, but it seems as though I will have to do more searching in Korea to see the depths of Korea as oppose to living in Italy where history seemed to be on every corner. With that, I didn’t get to see one of the palaces as I had planned. I am a little disappointed and am debating whether or not I should wake up early and go in the morning before work. As I have explained in previous posts, I am extremely excited to begin my touring aspect of Korea. Hopefully, it will allow me to see Korea in a different and more perceptive view of Korea and all it has to offer.

English Kid
Today after McDonald’s, a little Korean kid was speaking fluent English. Let the record show that this was the first time I have missed being in America and being home.

Change of Schedule
My schedule will be changing. As it is officially summer, Avalon will go on summer hours. I believe I will work from noon until 7pm everyday, and I might have the opportunity to begin working even earlier (for more pay, of course). We’ll see, and I’ll… keep ya posted.

Two Months
With that, I just wanted to say that I can’t believe I have been here for nearly two full months. I have had a heckuva time, and I feel as though I have been in a whirlwind since I got here. I struggle to remember what I did the day before everyday, but not because I am senile. It’s due to the fact that I am having so much fun. Everyday has offered nothing less than a new adventure whether it’s Monday or a Friday. I’ve had so much on my plate, and it’s definitely been an exciting time for me. Now, I am tired because I’ve written and hunched over this computer for far too long. Now, I am going to bed. Also, Mom, send money please.

Just kidding.

Good night,
Kyle

P.S. Here is the “prize” for making it to the end. If you didn’t and you just scrolled down, well… shame on you, and I hope your conscience eats away at you for the next three weeks. Regardless, this is a picture of the girl I am currently dating, Joohee.