So, Christmas really sucked!!! I was slammed with my 2nd cold since my arrival here and couldn't even get out of bed that day. The other teachers in the building went to lunch. I slept. We did however manage to have our 1st forray into the land of puppets at school and created a lot of other fun stuff...................... it didn't all suck.
New Year's eve was better. I was still pretty 'off', but friend Maria and I went out for dinner, then for dessert to a lovely little spot, then back to my apartment for a midnight toast.
Shortly after midnight Devlyn called and we had a webcam visit as she and Isabella opened their Christmas box which was made up of lots and lots of (mostly small) things, individually wrapped. Out of that came a very funny story I must share: "The Vest Story". Please note that I had sent this box a MONTH before and I believe in abundance......... so although they were not expensive gifts, there were MANY. I DID NOT remember all that I had sent. OK, so, Dev had noted on the 'contents' of the box that it contained a vest. As Isabella opened one of her gifts that turned out to be a soft, fluffy, absolutely adorable white vest, Devlyn sighed a rather large sigh of relief. "Oh thank God," she said. "What do you say that? I said" Well, mom, I'm just sooooooooo relieved that the vest was for Isabella! I was worried that you had sent ME a vest and I was thinking - WHY! would she send me a vest? I don't wear vests! So, great -it was a vest for Isabella, that's good! And it's a wonderful vest, as vests go." We laughed and laughed. I can appreciate gift anxiety. They went on unwrapping gifts. Devlyn came to her last one. It was soft. I had no recollection of what it was. None. It was a vest!! OOPS. Oops on all accounts! How hilarious! We fell down laughing. And now, someone at Goodwill has a very nice (I think) vest from Korea!
One of the things I love about being speechless in a foreign country is that your imagination is tapped constantly. You create whole stories with equisite details that, in all likelihood, have absolutely nothing to do with reality. Sometimes one scenario will stimulate multiple stories...... "or what if...................this is what is REALLY happening?!" It's fun.
Like the hat story. One night I went to E-Mart directly from work. I was hungry, and decided to eat before shopping. It was cold outside, so I had my big, black, furry Dr. Zhivago hat on, which, once on, doesn't come off until I'm home because it causes severe hat head. So I'm sitting there enjoying my wonderful Korean food which, even in E-Mart is prepared fresh and served in beautiful dishes with pride and flair, and I become aware of a lot of 'looks'. Not unusual really. You get that here in my small city of Anseong. Suddenly, I was in playback mode; all the faces of shock and awe to my very presence came flooding back to me; the little girl in the jin je ban, the men at the bus stop, the women at my local grocery store. On and on. I finish my meal and head to the rest room as I continue to wallow in my Tower of Babel and look in the mirror. My hat is crooked. I had such a story going on.................... and my HAT WAS CROOKED!
Another day I was headed home after work and when my bus pulled up as usual and the door opened the bus driver came running out leaned down in the ditch with his cell phone and stayed there talking to someone for at least 10 minutes....... which seemed more like 30. Man, the stories I made up to go with that one!
So I'm on holiday now! 2 weeks of paid vacation! Sweet. Kicked it off by going to Seoul with 2 girlfriends for what turned out to be a really wild 24 hours - which seems appropriate since it started with the "Wild Women's Performing Arts Festival" held at a very cool club with all funds going toward various women's issues here in Korea. Over 2/3 of the audience was Western! I havn't been around that many white people since I left home 3 months ago. I acually saw a young woman from Asheville there! Wierd. At about 10:30 we had to make the decision: leave in order to catch the bus home (the last one to my town runs at 11:30) or stay because we were having fun and just see what happens. Guess what we decided? Of course! We stayed. So about midnight we're standing outside the club catching some fresh air and this sweet, harmless looking Korean man invites us to join he and his girlfriend to go dancing. We did.
Then he took us to get something to eat - picking up two younger men on the street because they spoke English pretty well and he knew it would be more fun while we were eating. Then (at 4am) he took us to a 24 hour Jin je ban where they had 2 floors of co-ed dormitory sleeping and a much smaller floor just for women. We opted for that. Hard to sleep on a floor with nothing but a mat, but I managed to catch a couple hours - the other ladies couldn't do it. At 7:30 I was up and in the 'bath' with Mahara and Maria. We sat there for about an hour. Then we went for a Western style breakfast (which sucked), got snatched up by a young lady who said she needed a photo for "Embassy" magazine, wandered around Itewhan (which is the area of Seoul with the most "western" stores, went to lunch and didn't finally head home til 4pm. Exhausted. But happy. It was an adventure, for sure!
Back to Seoul tomorrow for more exploring and a "Deeksha" Oneness Blessing at the Jai Yoga Center. Why not?!
Love and kisses to all..............................
your one and only P. O'Connor
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