Hapkido Night

I was sent home sick from work today, because I was extremely nauseated and teary eyed. For some reason I seem to be experiencing constant culture shock, even though I've lived here before. Working in Korea is a whole different ball game. When I arrived at school, the hallway next to my office reeked of poop and sour milk. There was some kind of malfunction in the boys bathroom and water had leaked out everywhere. In the girls' bathroom someone had dumped their unfinished bowl of noodles in the trash. The school is too cheap to use the air-conditioning very much, especially in the mornings. So the smells mixed with the humidity to make a very unpleasant atmosphere. I felt like the walls were closing in on me, and everything became overwhelming. My mind was racing, "What the hell am I doing here? I can't understand a word these people are saying!" Everything sounded like noise! When I expressed my concerns about the condition of the school, my co-workers laughed at me and said that this is the cleanest school in all of Bucheon. Sick! As the morning wore into the afternoon, I felt sicker and sicker and ready to vomit at any moment. The tears would not stop. I sat at my desk for awhile, IMing my boyfriend and sniffling. He was very sweet and patient, but I just really needed to go home. So they sent me. What a pathetic mope I was! This was definitely not one of my finest moments in Korea.

I cleaned my whole apartment- sink, drains, floor, bathroom and everything, and felt instantly better. Then lots of dinner and a nap, a brief chat with my new neighbor from London (who seems very sweet), and then off to TKD. Tonight was Hapkido night, which is basically learning safe methods for falling down. Essentially they tell you to jump up and fall down and don't get hurt, but there are certain ways to do that. How does one fall down gracefully? It spoke to me in my current situation. A very relaxing night on the whole. Before I left, my master said, "Sa-rah, tomorrow, no absent!" I had so planned to skip tomorrow. I don't think it's an option now. Vacation comes soon...