A LAZY POSTER

I just haven’t been felt like posting much. I feel like there really is nothing new to report and it’s mostly the same old, same old. So I probably won’t post every day like I have in the past but I will try to post a couple of times a week. Of course, now that I’ve written this I’ll probably post every day.

This past weekend was the Lunar New Year which is a big holiday in Korea. Families get together, there’s eating, there’s gift giving, there’s games and Koreans seem to enjoy themselves. That just makes it harder for me because it makes me very aware that I’m alone.

Last Thursday my adult class gave me a gift for the New Year and it was money. It’s common to give money in Korea. They gave me a little over $50 and I was quite surprised and touched by it. They really are nice people.

Because it was the Lunar New Year I thought I wouldn’t be seeing Saeyoon much. She said she had to help her mother on Saturday do the cooking but we’d see each other on Sunday and Monday. Monday was a holiday. She went out for dinner and drinking with a friend on Friday night and I stayed in and watched some movies. I went to sleep around midnight and my phone rings at 2AM. It’s Saeyoon and she’s had a few drinks. I ask her how she’s getting home since it was so late and she asks me if I can pick her up. I tell her that I don’t know how to get to where she is and she says she’ll call me back. At 2:30 she calls again and I tell her to take a taxi home. She says she will. She then calls me back from the taxi and asks if she can come over and visit me. I say yes of course and go downstairs to meet her. It didn’t take her long to pass out once she got into my apartment. It must be love if I’m not irritated by being woken up by a drunken person in the middle of the night.

I took her home Saturday morning and then I went out for dinner with Robert on Saturday night. I took the subway into Seoul and it was dead. Many people travel on the holiday to be with family and the subway was empty, the restaurant was quiet, the streets were quiet, and it was great. What a weird experience to be in the city and have it empty when it’s always so busy. Robert leaves for Toronto a week Friday and I’ll be sorry to see him go. He got Saeyoon and I a gift for the Lunar New Year which was very thoughtful of him. It was some plum wine and glasses. Since it’s alcohol I’m sure Saeyoon will appreciate it very much.

Sunday I stayed in all day and read and watched movies. Saeyoon stayed home as relatives came and visited. I felt rather resentful because I’m a secret and I didn’t feel it was right to leave me alone. She’s not my keeper but she is my girlfriend and she should be sensitive to how I might feel lonely at these times. I did tell her this afterwards and I think she understands how I feel.

Monday morning I helped Saeyoon go to the park and get some fresh spring water for her home and office. Many people go to this park to get the water. When we went back to her place for her to drop off the water I had to wait downstairs. I was not happy. It was cold and I had to go to the washroom. When she came back down after about 15 minutes I told her that sometimes she treats me worse than a dog. This evolved into a conversation during the day where she kept saying how bad she felt for treating me like that and she knows she shouldn’t do that. I’ve now been told that she is going to tell her parents that she has a boyfriend. I don’t know when exactly that will happen, but I’m led to believe it will be very soon. All I can say is it’s about time.

Monday we went to an exhibition of art from the Louvre in Paris that was at the National Museum. We went with a friend of hers. It was so crowded it was impossible to enjoy the paintings. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed them anyhow even if the place was quiet. I’m sure it wasn’t their best work they sent over.

I still haven’t decided when we are going to come back to Toronto. I think we’ll make a decision together in the next couple of weeks.

It seems that there are men and women who live together in Korea without marriage, but in those cases they keep it a secret from their parents. No wonder so many Koreans tell lies. That’s how they live their lives. Today I asked my student if she brought in her work for me to check and she said, “I don’t know”. She then proceeded to give me an excuse why she didn’t bring it so obviously she knew she didn’t have it. It almost seems that lying is part of the culture.

I went to the doctor today and all my tests showed normal. I am going to have a stress test for my heart next week as I should have one yearly and I’ve been feeling a little short of breath lately. I’ve put on about 8 lbs. in the last 3 months. I don’t think it’s all fat. I think I’m holding water. The doctor said my ankles are swollen and I think my stomach is a little swollen too. He gave me some medicine so we’ll see if that helps.

Saeyoon came with me to the doctor because she wanted to ask him some questions about my health. She was worried he wouldn’t have time to answer questions because doctors are so busy but he did answer some for her. When we booked my stress test for next week, they asked her to come with me to translate when they do the testing. So I’ll have a translator with me for my test.

I had 2 job offers last week. One was a high school position but it was in a city a couple of hours away from Seoul. That is no good as it conflicts with my personal life. The other was at a kindergarten here in Bucheon. I decided to turn it down and trust Kyle and stick with him. I hope I don’t get burned. I shouldn’t start a new job when I know in advance I won’t be staying another year. If I stay until November with Kyle there is bonus money and a plane ticket back to Canada.

Decisions should be coming shortly.