They Started a Heat Wave

(sing)
a tropical heat wave....

(White Christmas fans? anyone? c'mon..)

Yes, there is a heat wave, with warm sun and highs of 30 but NOT HERE IN KOREA.

Yes, it is warm and humid but there is no sun. Do you want to know where the sun has ended up?

BELFAST!! Lucky bastards....I wanted a tan by August gosh darnit - I should have stayed with the Guinness.

And, it wouldn't have been a day on this blog without some reference to the weather.

The weekend was a nice long relaxing one but super panic hit on Monday night and I was ready to get out of the house. I was freaking out yet again about the garbage (what the hell is wrong with me?) and didn't have a great sleep.

There is something to be said for cooping yourself up in your house to watch English speaking DVDs for a day. But I think this only stops you from experiencing the culture.

I did venture out on Saturday by bus (whoa, crazy bus drivers) to Pusan where the open markets you can barter and get cheap shirts - thanks to my American buddy J since he has mastered the most Korean out of all of us - and had a delicious snack which consisted of pancake mix surrrounding brown sugar, deep fried. I'm not sure what is was called but I've decided to rename it a 'little piece of Korean heaven'.

If it would stop raining (yes, granny weather reference number 4006) we could actually start exploring. It doesn't help that I think I'm getting the cold I should have gotten when we first arrived but luckily my immune system was kind to me..until now of course.

I did manage to make it to the gym. I've never actually felt fat in a gym before but amongst these tiny Koreans, I might as well be the girl from Shallow Hal. Funny enough, I think I've probably already lost about 10 pounds from all the sweat so would have hated to see what the bloated person who arrived looked like in sweat pants.

Part of me can hardly believe I haven't been here for a month. The other part of me wonders sometimes how I will actually make it over the next 50 weeks. Everything still feels so foreign and sometimes the easiest answer would be to just pick up and go back. I'm too stubborn to actually consider that an option and I know I would regret it. I just want to get past the point where I am thinking that on a regular basis.

Having people from N. America here makes is easier and harder. In Belfast, I learned to adapt because I had to. There was no one else that was from Canada. Here, it's easier to slip back out of any sort of Korean reality and watch movies and videos. We have to be careful not to do that because I really won't make it. I need to become part of everything that is already here.

I keep promising myself that I'll get outside when the weather gets better...and then maybe I'll have more to talk about then the weather..

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My email: I am getting some emails but some people (okay, only my mother that I know of) cannot get through. Please post a comment if your email is getting bounced back from me.

Care packages: I'm throwing this out there because some people have asked. What I miss most:
OK/Hello/Now/Heat/People magazine (ya and you thought I was going to say the Economist? c'mon people)
Earl Grey Tea - or any tea that is not herbal. I can definitely get enough of those. Especially Green Tea
Packs of Oatmeal - I hate toast for breakfast
Kraft Diner - I couldn't get this in the UK either so always up for some good stuff
Popcorn - mircowave stuff rocks. lets go Orville Redenbacher