It's snowing! I never really liked the snow but I think my perspective has changed. Snowflakes fall from the sky and generously smother our faces with its white residue. This snowfall represents my place in Korea. I try so hard to be 'normal' but I can't figure out how to be normal in this country. I suffocate. It's far too dangerous to be myself.
So far, I have managed to throw up outside of a big plus store, and then find myself in a taxi with a rush to get back to my apartment with an oblivious taxi driver. I have really bad nausea and bad stomach pain from eating pizza I had left out overnight in my apartment. I was throwing up in the bathroom in the store. I needed to get home fast. I could'nt believe that I could be so stupid!
I hand him the card that had the address of my school. He's asking me where this address is and asks me where to go. Isn't that your job? I don't know? At this point, I don't want to explain anything. I am in agony and all I can say is, "I am so sick....ughhhhh". I am still in this agony and I am trying really hard not to throw up in this taxi. He puts the address in his GPS and off he goes. This taxi driver felt bad but all he could do to distract me by asking me where I was from.
Where are you from?
What?
Amigo? (America)
Yes.
Where...America?
Washington state.
I....don't....know....state.
Where?
Oregon......At this point I wanted him to shut up.
So, we arrive at our destination. He tells me, Have a wonderful, fantastic, lovely, good day! I had enough. I'm getting out of this taxi but before I can leave he goes...YA!( Hey!)....I look at him. He winks and raises his hand to a fist pump and says "Fighting!" I could only muster a smile. I walked slowly back to my apartment to recover from my terrible mistake. Now, all I can do is laugh about it.
Most Koreans would consider going immediately to the hospital. I told my friend about this disaster and she told me that if I were Korean, I would be going to the hospital. No, I'm not Korean. I'm American. Americans go home. We're cheap like that. Our health care is too expensive. Besides, I knew why I was sick. I'll just let nature take its course. This too shall pass.
Remember how I lost my phone? Well, I lost my passport. At least I thought it was lost. I looked everywhere. I was convinced that it was lost so I booked a bus ticket at midnight to travel to Busan with all of my documents. There was a hotel where the U.S Embassy would help me out.
I got to the bus station at 3am. The bus arrived somewhere in the middle of no where and I was about to get off when the bus driver told me to no. What? I was worried since I did not want to get out of that bus in the middle of no where in some city I've never been to before. I'm staring at this guy like a deer in headlights and this other guy asks me,
"Where are you going?"
"Busan." I just stare at him too.
The two chat in Korean. I don't understand any of it. They seemed to mutually agree on something and the guy outside leaves. The bus driver wants to take me somewhere. I trusted that this was OK since it was a public bus and I probably was going to be OK anyway but...who knows? He was kind enough to take me back to the bus station. What a relief.
Next, I had to find a place to sleep. How did I get myself into this mess? I brainstormed many of my options. First, where am I at? I found the name of the bus station. I need options so I thought through them. I could stay awake all night and go off to this hotel at 9am and come back. I had a warm place to sit and wonder and I could even "sleep" in a stall in a burger joint if I really wanted to. Now, that's real adventure. I reconsidered that idea when I thought about my earlier decision to take a shower before going to a bus station. I erased that idea from my mind.
So, I called the tourist hotline. I need a warm place to sleep. Here is a place for 40,000 won. Too expensive. How about a Korean spa? 5,000 won! Bingo! I wrote down the number with a borrowed pen. I went outside to give the taxi driver this number. No one could understand what a Korean sauna was. I was like Sauna! Sauna? I gave them the number but it was wrong. So, I called the tourist line to get a different number. I learned later that it's prononced sowna. I arrived to this motel with the only English speaking taxi driver there. Motel! There is the sauna! Oh, how wrong I was. It was the 40,000 won motel. I just gave up. I paid for it and went upstairs to sleep. That is the same night I found my passport. I couldn't believe it. I was angry so with myself. I couldn't blame anyone else but myself and I just wanted to die and melt into a puddle. That passport was in my bag during this entire trip. How ironic.
Reminder to self. Please keep track of your things. You do NOT want to take the extra effort to get a new one. Trust me.
I need a vacation.
So far, I have managed to throw up outside of a big plus store, and then find myself in a taxi with a rush to get back to my apartment with an oblivious taxi driver. I have really bad nausea and bad stomach pain from eating pizza I had left out overnight in my apartment. I was throwing up in the bathroom in the store. I needed to get home fast. I could'nt believe that I could be so stupid!
I hand him the card that had the address of my school. He's asking me where this address is and asks me where to go. Isn't that your job? I don't know? At this point, I don't want to explain anything. I am in agony and all I can say is, "I am so sick....ughhhhh". I am still in this agony and I am trying really hard not to throw up in this taxi. He puts the address in his GPS and off he goes. This taxi driver felt bad but all he could do to distract me by asking me where I was from.
Where are you from?
What?
Amigo? (America)
Yes.
Where...America?
Washington state.
I....don't....know....state.
Where?
Oregon......At this point I wanted him to shut up.
So, we arrive at our destination. He tells me, Have a wonderful, fantastic, lovely, good day! I had enough. I'm getting out of this taxi but before I can leave he goes...YA!( Hey!)....I look at him. He winks and raises his hand to a fist pump and says "Fighting!" I could only muster a smile. I walked slowly back to my apartment to recover from my terrible mistake. Now, all I can do is laugh about it.
Most Koreans would consider going immediately to the hospital. I told my friend about this disaster and she told me that if I were Korean, I would be going to the hospital. No, I'm not Korean. I'm American. Americans go home. We're cheap like that. Our health care is too expensive. Besides, I knew why I was sick. I'll just let nature take its course. This too shall pass.
Remember how I lost my phone? Well, I lost my passport. At least I thought it was lost. I looked everywhere. I was convinced that it was lost so I booked a bus ticket at midnight to travel to Busan with all of my documents. There was a hotel where the U.S Embassy would help me out.
I got to the bus station at 3am. The bus arrived somewhere in the middle of no where and I was about to get off when the bus driver told me to no. What? I was worried since I did not want to get out of that bus in the middle of no where in some city I've never been to before. I'm staring at this guy like a deer in headlights and this other guy asks me,
"Where are you going?"
"Busan." I just stare at him too.
The two chat in Korean. I don't understand any of it. They seemed to mutually agree on something and the guy outside leaves. The bus driver wants to take me somewhere. I trusted that this was OK since it was a public bus and I probably was going to be OK anyway but...who knows? He was kind enough to take me back to the bus station. What a relief.
Next, I had to find a place to sleep. How did I get myself into this mess? I brainstormed many of my options. First, where am I at? I found the name of the bus station. I need options so I thought through them. I could stay awake all night and go off to this hotel at 9am and come back. I had a warm place to sit and wonder and I could even "sleep" in a stall in a burger joint if I really wanted to. Now, that's real adventure. I reconsidered that idea when I thought about my earlier decision to take a shower before going to a bus station. I erased that idea from my mind.
So, I called the tourist hotline. I need a warm place to sleep. Here is a place for 40,000 won. Too expensive. How about a Korean spa? 5,000 won! Bingo! I wrote down the number with a borrowed pen. I went outside to give the taxi driver this number. No one could understand what a Korean sauna was. I was like Sauna! Sauna? I gave them the number but it was wrong. So, I called the tourist line to get a different number. I learned later that it's prononced sowna. I arrived to this motel with the only English speaking taxi driver there. Motel! There is the sauna! Oh, how wrong I was. It was the 40,000 won motel. I just gave up. I paid for it and went upstairs to sleep. That is the same night I found my passport. I couldn't believe it. I was angry so with myself. I couldn't blame anyone else but myself and I just wanted to die and melt into a puddle. That passport was in my bag during this entire trip. How ironic.
Reminder to self. Please keep track of your things. You do NOT want to take the extra effort to get a new one. Trust me.
I need a vacation.
Brit, I whish you a great new year:* God bless you!!!
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