Day 158
Nona drops me off at the NOLA airport at 5am for my 7am flight. We hug and a taxi driver grumbles past us, muttering in Spanish. We laugh at the oddness of the moment and hug again. She drives away in the Econoline, I go inside. I check in and have a painless airport experience; no search at security.
I buy orange juice from a vending machine and watch other groggy passengers make their way into the waiting area. My seatmate on the plane from NOLA to Atlanta tells me to invest in gold. The other tells me that I, too, can own land one day. They both wish me luck.
I eat cough drops and nyquil capsules once I board the plane going from Atlanta to Seoul. Not that they help much with my sleeping in transit problem.
Day 159
The plane lands at Incheon Int'l Airport at 4:51pm. After going through customs and collecting my baggage, I buy a ticket for the Airport Limousine 6:40 bus to Gumi. With an hour to spare, I decide to try the triangle gimbap Young Mi's told me about time and again.
The bus arrives in Gumi after 10pm and I am able to catch an 11:19 train to Gimcheon. The taxi drops me off at my locked door and I break into my apartment at midnight. I haven't paid my apartment fee for February. This is my punishment. I make buckwheat tea and get to bed.
Day 160
I wake up at 8am, make some tea, and decide that it wouldn't hurt to sleep another couple hours. The alarm is set for noon. That'll give me plenty of time to get ready for work.
The clock says 10:30. It is dark. I have slept through the day.
I text an apology to my boss, she replies by telling me I do not have to teach tomorrow. Great! I may as well go back to bed.
Day 161
I wake and sleep and wake and sleep from 4am until 9am, when I finally decide that yes, I can get up now. Again, with the puttering around the house, not accomplishing much... kind of putting away suitcase-wrinkled clothing. I call a high school friend I haven't talked to in years. It's a nice morning.
I shower and boil some water. Tuna and rice are all I have in the house, so I make a variation of tuna and noodles...you can guess the variable. I gather my overdue bills and a packet to mail my mother, and out of the house I go. I'm heading to Prime Hagwon, despite my boss's assurance that I do not need to work today. I want to go in and collect my mail, say hello to my coworkers.
When my face appears in the doorway, "Angie" squeals.
"CANDIDA!!! HI! Candida I miss You! Long time no see." She is delightful, and I have missed her as well. Alas, she informs me that she and another teacher will be leaving at the end of the month, and yet another at the end of March.
"Candida," she whispers, "Prime go. Seoul come," and nods her head emphatically. She hands me a stack of mail and goes off to clean the Hagwon before others arrive.
I greet the other teachers as they come in, and finally my boss. I give her the Americana Chocolate Tin, which holds 13 pieces of chocolate molded in moments of America...a last minute pick-up at the duty-free shop in the Atlanta airport, as I remembered that I was going back to Korea empty handed. A piece of chocolate each and a commemorative tin will have to suffice, until the package of Mardi Gras beads shows up. With this thought, I realize that it is Mardi Gras.
I leave to run some errands and stop by the grocery store before I come home to my first responsibility-free day back in Korea.
Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Return of the Numbered Days
Day 125
After waiting over the weekend, I go see Bruce, the Traditional Medicine doctor at the clinic near my home. Unsure of a diagnosis, he sends me downstairs to someone who specializes in Physical Therapy and stroke patient rehabilitation. This someone speaks English well and has wanted to meet me. According to Bruce, this is good for me, good for him.
Day 126
Nothing special, really.
Day 127
Morning tea follows a stroll on the mountain. I am inspired to wake early.
i n s p i r e d
Cloud-cover in the sky looks as if it could be the top of an ocean; the city below, on the bottom of the sea.
Day 128
"Accupuncture? No? No accpuncture, okay. Then what? I don't want to take pills if I don't know what they are." Bruce the Traditional Medicine doctor puts me on the phone with several of his 'specialist' friends. I'm not sure what they specialize in, but it doesn't really matter. Bruce has already referred me to someone who told me to take medication for a (possibly) pulled muscle.
"I think he likes you. hmmmmm...I think you are a very smart person to not take pills." Bruce told me when I showed him his friend's recommendation.
Regardless, Bruce has turned me over to someone else's care. He doesn't seem to feel comfortable taking charge of that care again. But he cannot bring himself to treat me unless I try at least one dose of the medication. He cannot undermine his colleague. "Maybe you eat the pills once and you will be better. I think that is it."
He invites me to lunch without telling me that lunch will also be with the dentist downstairs and another doctor from Seoul. I get another "Pills are okay, eat them," speech from Dr. Seoul and the dentist is so shy about his English that he can't bring himself to look at me....until he discovers we are the same age.
By the end of lunch, Bruce has convinced me to set the dentist up on a blind date with a teacher at the Hagwon. At the Hagwon, it is business as usual; I set up a blind date, I teach some English, I accept my DongWong Tuna Seollal gift pack, I catch the bus. I come home at the end of the day to a surprising email.
Day 129
I spend an absurd amount of time in front of the computer wearing a madonna mic. I am alternately moving the microphone away from my mouth so I can make exclamations and adjusting the mic so the listener can hear my probably-too-soft voice. Pink plug-in Green Plug-in Microphone Headphone. In the morning, I am transferred from one office to another as an attempt is made to purchase a plane ticket online. The mission is finally accomplished and I steel myself to face a day of Pre-Teens on Friday.
In the evening I find myself pacing the apartment, sitting down, standing up, pacing some more, putting the mic on to make a skype-call, forgetting to take the mic off after the call is finished, realizing that the mic is still in front of my face as I absentmindedly twirl my hair. In a non-linear turn of events, I will be taking advantage of the National Holiday time coming up in order to visit the USA. The visit will last longer than the holiday, and the circumstances are quite the opposite of joyful, however, my answer to the question "What are your plans for Soellal?" is no longer a shrug of the shoulders to accompany "Mo lai yo".
Un-defeatable Plan for Jet Lag Defeat
No sleep for "before flight" night: stay awake! Write. Clean. Shower. Pack. Write.
The goal is to sleep over the Pacific and wake up over California to be wide awake upon landing. I can't really sleep, anyway, so I may as well pretend it's intentional.
Defeat Being Beat!
This is my self-cheer. Koreans have a special kind of cheer. It is this: They clench a fist, and do a 1/4 fist pump in the air and at the same time say "insert name here, fighting!" It can be considered appropriate for nearly any situation. Spirit Lifter. Class running wild? "Lindsey, fighting!" Feeling blue? "Jane, fighting!" Coach put you on the bench? "Anna, fighting!" Kind of great, right?
Day 130
1. Car to Gumi
2. Airport Limousine" Bus to Incheon
3. Airplane to USA: The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be singing "Time Warp" in my head as I fly for 19 hours through 11 time zones. Maybe I'll get lucky and that will be the in-flight Entertainment.
After waiting over the weekend, I go see Bruce, the Traditional Medicine doctor at the clinic near my home. Unsure of a diagnosis, he sends me downstairs to someone who specializes in Physical Therapy and stroke patient rehabilitation. This someone speaks English well and has wanted to meet me. According to Bruce, this is good for me, good for him.
Day 126
Nothing special, really.
Day 127
Morning tea follows a stroll on the mountain. I am inspired to wake early.
i n s p i r e d
Cloud-cover in the sky looks as if it could be the top of an ocean; the city below, on the bottom of the sea.
Day 128
"Accupuncture? No? No accpuncture, okay. Then what? I don't want to take pills if I don't know what they are." Bruce the Traditional Medicine doctor puts me on the phone with several of his 'specialist' friends. I'm not sure what they specialize in, but it doesn't really matter. Bruce has already referred me to someone who told me to take medication for a (possibly) pulled muscle.
"I think he likes you. hmmmmm...I think you are a very smart person to not take pills." Bruce told me when I showed him his friend's recommendation.
Regardless, Bruce has turned me over to someone else's care. He doesn't seem to feel comfortable taking charge of that care again. But he cannot bring himself to treat me unless I try at least one dose of the medication. He cannot undermine his colleague. "Maybe you eat the pills once and you will be better. I think that is it."
He invites me to lunch without telling me that lunch will also be with the dentist downstairs and another doctor from Seoul. I get another "Pills are okay, eat them," speech from Dr. Seoul and the dentist is so shy about his English that he can't bring himself to look at me....until he discovers we are the same age.
By the end of lunch, Bruce has convinced me to set the dentist up on a blind date with a teacher at the Hagwon. At the Hagwon, it is business as usual; I set up a blind date, I teach some English, I accept my DongWong Tuna Seollal gift pack, I catch the bus. I come home at the end of the day to a surprising email.
Day 129
I spend an absurd amount of time in front of the computer wearing a madonna mic. I am alternately moving the microphone away from my mouth so I can make exclamations and adjusting the mic so the listener can hear my probably-too-soft voice. Pink plug-in Green Plug-in Microphone Headphone. In the morning, I am transferred from one office to another as an attempt is made to purchase a plane ticket online. The mission is finally accomplished and I steel myself to face a day of Pre-Teens on Friday.
In the evening I find myself pacing the apartment, sitting down, standing up, pacing some more, putting the mic on to make a skype-call, forgetting to take the mic off after the call is finished, realizing that the mic is still in front of my face as I absentmindedly twirl my hair. In a non-linear turn of events, I will be taking advantage of the National Holiday time coming up in order to visit the USA. The visit will last longer than the holiday, and the circumstances are quite the opposite of joyful, however, my answer to the question "What are your plans for Soellal?" is no longer a shrug of the shoulders to accompany "Mo lai yo".
Un-defeatable Plan for Jet Lag Defeat
No sleep for "before flight" night: stay awake! Write. Clean. Shower. Pack. Write.
The goal is to sleep over the Pacific and wake up over California to be wide awake upon landing. I can't really sleep, anyway, so I may as well pretend it's intentional.
Defeat Being Beat!
This is my self-cheer. Koreans have a special kind of cheer. It is this: They clench a fist, and do a 1/4 fist pump in the air and at the same time say "insert name here, fighting!" It can be considered appropriate for nearly any situation. Spirit Lifter. Class running wild? "Lindsey, fighting!" Feeling blue? "Jane, fighting!" Coach put you on the bench? "Anna, fighting!" Kind of great, right?
Day 130
1. Car to Gumi
2. Airport Limousine" Bus to Incheon
3. Airplane to USA: The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be singing "Time Warp" in my head as I fly for 19 hours through 11 time zones. Maybe I'll get lucky and that will be the in-flight Entertainment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
