Today is computer buying day! I check my bank account and discover I have not been paid.
Today is not computer buying day. I head to the library to meet Ted and his cousin. I text "Kate" and ask if I can cash in that rain-check for the library tour she offered last week. 3 hours pass without a reply and Ted is nowhere to be found. I track him down in the computer lab then head to the stacks. Maybe I can find something of interest in the Art section. I am immersed in a Korean Embriodery book when Ted sends me a text message: "it's time for lunch where are you??"
라
I go to meet him on the second floor. Where is Kate? he asks. 모라요 is my reply.
mo lai yo. It's a frequently used phrase...ranking third after "annyong haseyo" and "kansamnida".
I don't really feel like staying for lunch. I'd prefer to sulk my way home, but Ted talks me into having a spicy soup with him and his cousin. After lunch and confusing but amusing conversation with the two of them, I leave the library. I am walking on the bridge over train tracks (the second longest walking bridge in Asia, I later learn) when I see Myung Hee. She asks if I have had lunch, and I have, but I tell her that I will join her while she eats. She is currently staying in Daegu, but has come back to Gimcheon to tutor students for the weekend.
It is a fortunate meeting. We are excited to see one another.
We part ways after her lunch, and I am immediately hailed by an off duty salesman from Samsung. I walk past the store frequently and have become familiar to the staff. He offers me a ride and I hop in the car. He is older, sort of the "big brother" for the rest of the Samsung sales team. He asks me the usual: "What do you eat?", "Do you like Korean food?", "How old are you?", "Are you married?", "Do you have a boyfriend?", "Do you live alone?", "Do you make a lot of money?", "Where is your family?", "Do you have siblings?" you know, casual questions. I laugh and try to answer as tactfully as possible with my limited vocabulary. He tells me that
he is now my friend, my "old friend" and drops me off at an intersection near Samsung.
His questions are not meant to be intrusive, he simply wants to find out information. I am something of a curiosity to many people here, and my answers usually garner a nod and a look of concern for my well-being. A woman alone? Make sure you are safe, you know, that sort of thing.
I return home and pace for a while. I eventually decide to double check the bank; maybe I have been paid today, just later than I expected. True enough, It is computer buying day after all!
I withdraw money and happily stroll to Hi-Mart Electronics Store.
They are having a sale: LG Xnote? How much? okay, a little expensive...Windows in English? No? Okay, see you later.
I walk through the doors of Samsung Plaza: Hello friendly sales team! It's Candida. Thank you for the ride earlier. Where is the one salesman who speaks nominal English? Ahh! There you are, hello! Hi-Mart is selling an Xnote with these specs for this much. Can you beat that? Also, can you get English Windows? Maybe? Okay. This one is good. I will take this one. Oh. You can't sell it today? Come back in 2 days and I can have the display model for less? Okay. See you later.
I stop by E-Mart just because it's on the way home and it is cold. I may as well check their computer selection. Oh Ho! What's this?
Excuse me, Yes, I know you don't speak English..but...일 마이요? You'll call and see? Okay. Thanks, and um, how much memory and how much space? Specs, yes. I don't know. Oh! Okay, thank you. And what about Windows in English? What if I want to use Photoshop? Indesign? Adobe Acrobat? Photoshop okay? Okay. I will buy this computer.
Two days later, the computer is delivered to the Hagwon with English Windows and Photoshop installed. Half of the programs are in Korean, but that's okay. I'll figure that out later. For now, I'm excited to get the monthly postcards back on track. Maybe I can download Skype or something and call a few of my friends and relatives...whenever I figure out the password to the internet at home.
Day 119
Chicken drawings, tea, and oranges conclude a day wherein I am told a technician must come to the apartment to give me the password.
Day 120
I make my first Animated .GIF after wanting to do so for over a year.
I call it "The Fruits of Isolation" or "Life in Korea" or "My New Friends".
You can choose.
My adult students get a laugh when they find out exactly how bad I am with numbers and I teach them "I have something on my mind".
Day 121
Remember on Day 119 how I was told a technician must come to the apartment? Change that to I must go to their office and then it's correct.
Day 122
Mission Accomplished. The night is concluded with Nore Bang that lasts too long. I come home, stab the roof of my mouth with an almond, take a shower, and go to bed.
The Un-numbered Days are coming.
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