eYes. I know. I have not written a blog in awhile. I have to come clean and say that my naps have been taking up all of my time. :) I'm sorry, I'll do better (ahem, melanie.)
-Paintballing! Ahwoooo! What a complete blast. Korean's call it "Survivor game." I figured that out when they asked me what I was doing for the weekend and they thought I was going bowling with paint. We had to meet at 11:30 at the Subway stop nearest the paintball field. Unfortunately that particular subway stop was FOREVER away from me...so I left about 8:00 hoping I would get there in time. I ended up arriving 30 minutes before everyone but that's ok. The early bird gets the worm? Or...yummy, warm, bread, walnut snack things that were near the entrance of the subway. mmmm. Tangent...sorry....SO we (29 foreigners) CRAMMED onto a tiny local bus which took us near the field. We then walked another 10 minutes, grabbed all the gear that needed to be taken the rest of the way up the side of the mountain, and divided into green (yeah green!) and yellow teams. I would be lying if I denied that our green team had our rear ends KICKED by the yellow team the first two games. But little did they (and we for that matter) know that we were just warming up! We played last man standing, capture the flag, and keep the medic alive (for lack of a better name). Last man standing was the first two games that we brutally lost. The yellow looked like they knew what they were doing. Then we switched to capture the flag, and after about two minutes, one of our guys pulled a Leroy Jenkins and just took off after the flag. We were caught a little off guard but then regained our composure and layed down some cover fire. Success! We then won the next 6 games or so. The last game I actually stayed in without getting hit and even marked several people with my paint. Sweeet. I ended up with 4 kicking bruises from the paintballs. It was a cold day so they didn't really break when they hit... The first game I was actually hit twice, after the first one hit my leg I stood up with my hand in the air to let people know I was out but someone "Forrest Gumped" me and I ended up with a nice shot in the butt. Thanks guys. Tired, sore, slimed and happy, several of us then went to a Brazilian restaurant. Delicious.
I had a funny conversation with a fellow foreigner who has been here almost 3 years teaching in the middle of Seoul. This is how it went:
"You've only been here 2 months? Get ready for a cold winter!"
"Oh I'm used to it. I'm from Kansas."
"But it gets really cold, like, 10 degrees."
"I'm from Kansas."
"The thing that makes it so bad is the wind though. It's so cold!"
"I'M FROM KANSAS!!!!! Where are you from?!"
"Florida."
lol!! Silly guy.
-Two stories about my awkwardness:
1. I was at the gym. I was walking by some weight lifting machines...very obvious, big machines. What happens? I walk into one so hard with my thigh that it literally stops me in my tracks. I hop around in a circle laughing (so I don't cry) and making sure no one saw me....luckily no one had. It developed an immediate bruise the size of a softball and two weeks later, is still there. Alllll riggghhhhhtttt!!
2. My washing machine is in my bathroom and it drains out onto the floor which then goes into the drain in the floor. The floor is slippery when wet. I was washing clothes. I forgot that I was washing clothes. So I stepped into the bathroom to get something...and fell so hard, that I reset the washing machine. HAHA!! How great is that? It didn't even hurt...was just surprising and made me laugh...hard. It made me really wish that someone was there to experience the laughter with me, and then, after we regained our composure, they would ask me if I was ok. Isn't it funny the order that comes in?
-Also about my washing machine...it's in Korean. So I really don't know what happens when I wash my clothes. I pretty much just push buttons and hope for the best. The clothes smell good when they come out. That's ok right?
-On my way home from work one night I saw a couple waiting at the cross walk. The boy had bright blond hair, cut into an elaborate Mohawk, and piercings all down his ears. I don't like to judge but the way he was dressed and with his piercings and hair, he seemed like a pretty "on the edge" kid. My eyes were then directed to what he had on his hands, and yes, they were mittens, shaped like cuddly little bear heads. Oh Korea.
-Sarah and I went shopping in a town called Itaewon 2 weekends ago. We went into a shop that was selling boots because we both needed some. I saw a pair that looked cute and warm. The shopkeeper came up to us and said "We the only shop that has big sizes!" Because everyone has smaller feet in Korea. I didn't know what size I wore so the worker brought me the "Biggest size we have." I tried it on anndddd....it didn't fit. My toes were curled near the top. "They don't fit." "What?! Yes they do!" "No really...they are too small." "But that's biggest size we have! They do fit!" "No! They don't! haha! REALLY!" but they wouldn't believe me. I might have to have mom send me some boots. Blast.
-I recently rode a subway train with the WORST SUBWAY DRIVER EVER! It's hard enough not to fall over on someone when they start and stop...but after they get going it shouldn't be jerky right? WRONG. I would have hopped on another line if I had the opportunity. I was flying all over the place! Speaking of subways, the workers have been on strike for 6 days now. Korean truckers joined about 3 days ago so a lot of the freight and cargo trains aren't making their destinations. We'll see how that turns out.
-Last week my hot water heater stopped working. I went 4 days with cold showers until my boss scheduled a plumber to come look at it. What do you know...miraculously, before the plumber showed up, it started working. Oh hot water heater how you mock me.
-Thanksgiving was a little sad for me. Columbus did not discover Korea (because he's a SLACKER! lol) so it isn't celebrated here. I was able to call and talk to my wonderful family on Thanksgiving day though, which was great! I love you guys! On Sunday we went to an American Air Force employee house who is stationed near the Military Base (he has a dryer AND a stove!). He had the opportunity to purchase a couple of turkey's flown into Korea from the U.S. About 15 foreigners got together and had delicious turkey and played Apples to Apples. It was enjoyable and I had some very tasty leftover turkey for lunch yesterday. mmm!
-My friends Jon and Jordan are going to have a baby in July! Congratulations guys!
Well I miss you all and you'll probably be hearing from me soon! love!
