Honeymoon's over

Dear stray dogs,

Please stop running across the road and getting hit by cars, I can't bear to watch anymore.

Hello everyone, be prepared for a random blog post. I really have no focus right now.

Reality check: You are living and working in South Korea. The excitement has died down, coming home to an empty apartment is getting slightly lonely and you still cant read or understand the language...the honeymoon is officially over.

Although this week was a bit of a challenge, I'm glad to be facing some problems; it makes life seem a bit more real. I can't even believe I've been here for one month after Monday. Anyhow, it all started this Monday....

I woke up with a really really sore throat. Skyped with my mom for a bit when she told me she had to put our faithful feline of 15 years to sleep on Friday. I said my goodbyes before hand and this was definitely expected, but it was still a little hard nonetheless. Then before I signed off I had my mom bring the computer over to our severely overweight but very loyal dog, Cami. She was so cute and I think she recognized my voice but my mom was the one who suffered the consequence of hair on every inch of clothing..niiiiiice. Thus my first pang of homesickness. Anyhow, the day continued with a walk to work where everyone was STILL STARING, the kids were really bad and said some uncalled for things in Korean, and coming home to an empty apartment is just a recipe to wallow in the day's low points.

Tuesday was a new day, Thank the Lord. Still had it's share of challenges, but I decided to be one of those people who I really don't care for. I've become the person who walks to work with headphones in and enters their own world. I've always thought those people to be rude, and I still think a majority of those people are a bit rude..I mean who doesn't love those daily walkers who give a friendly nod to passerbyers (at least in their neighborhood) ? But anyhow, I think I have a solid excuse for my morning and afternoon actions..I just need that time to listen to English and to get in the "I will teach these little buggers English whether they like it or not" zone.

Wednesday was a bit better, and Thursday the week completely turned around... my sore throat went away, I had a great lunch break with a wonderful family I met here and I even got myself a roommate. Her name is Lily. She is a bit of a "night owl." Her favorite food is sunflower seeds. She loves to roll around on the floor. And she is the cutest dwarf hamster you've ever seen :) Here's a couple pics:

It's been nice having her around. The other morning I rolled out of bed to see her standing on her two feet looking right back at me. It's nice to have another living creature living in the apartment with me..well, besides whatever is growing inside my garbage..jk..sort of.

And the weekend has been a fun and relaxing weekend so there's been much improvement since Monday, so don't worry mom :)

Ok now it's time for Double Take Time...things that made me do a double take this week:
*An old man in a motorized wheelchair cruisin' down the highway..fast enough that I didn't have time to get my camera and snap a picture
*speaking of wheelchairs..Another old man pushing his wife in a wheelchair on the busy highway going with traffic...apparently the sidewalk is not risky enough for these people.
*Numerous bikers that decide to bike in the road and AGAINST traffic
*of course I experience weekly amazement when I see an 80 year old azooma (respectful way to say old lady) doing the asian squat when waiting for the bus
*and lastly, a little boy in my class was acting up and being really loud and I think I saw one of the little girls give him the middle finger..i didn't say anything to her because 1) I don't think she understands, she's 10 and is that a universal sign? and 2) I was thinking, "my thoughts exactly."

Although the honeymoon stage has seemed to pass, I'm still looking forward to this next week. I think facing reality will help in my journey of figuring out if teaching is for me. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the Fall season..especially the Midwest. Go Packers!