Amanda Takes Off...

Monday the DHL guy called me at work. I wasn't home so I told him to leave the package (my check card from the States) with the security guard. Monday night the guard didn't have it, but I got home late enough that I thought maybe the main office would. Tuesday they didn't have it. So I called the DHL guy back and he said he'd stuck it in my mailbox.

My unlocked-because-nobody-in-Korea-locks-their-mailboxes-
I-don't-even-know-how-to-get-a-key mailbox.

Good Man called him and delivery guy showed up. He then knocked on every door on my floor, asking if anyone had seen the package. Nobody had (so they say). He sort of looked panicked and was bowing very low. He offered to pay the fee for a new credit card (there is none) and then gave me 35,000 won for the postage. He was very apologetic and I know he was afraid that I'd call and report him since a) they aren't supposed to stick things in maibboxes and b) he'd marked the package as signed when it wasn't.

I don't want the poor guy to get fired. It was a mistake, and I bet he doesn't make it again.

So I called my bank, canceled the card, got a new one sent out, and spent 30 mins on the phone answering the teller's questions about Korea.

Last night, Good Man and I met to take photos of a new knitting pattern I have written for sale.

Unfortunately, it was pouring and some of the roads were blocked and I was getting very cranky. He asked me if I was upset with him. I wasn't, but I ranted about the rain and how late it was, and a little about work. He just smiled at me and held my hand.

Good Man has been well-trained by his previous girlfriends. He really knows how to deal with me when I'm upset about something. Thank you former girlfriends!

We ended up at Gyeongbokgung and 삼청동 (Samcheongdong).

삼청동 is a cute little neighborhood near the Vietnamese Embassy. Good Man was good enough to pick up my visa for me this week since I couldn't ask for more time off of work to get it. While we was there, he explored the surrounding areas and discovered this neighborhood. (Side note: The Vietnamese embassy is tiny and made up of trailers, which was not what I was expecting.)

The neighborhood is made up of artsy little shops, overpriced restaurants and very few people! Good Man kept saying he didn't feel like he was in Korea because nobody was around. It was very nice to wander around the area.

We made our way to Insadong and found an Indian restaurant to chow down at. Oddly enough, Good Man was the only man in the restaurant. There must have been at least two dozen women there...and he the lone man. I joked that we'd found a lesbian hang-out, he said he thought the women were there to look cool and put pictures on their Cyworld pages. Well, that is how a certain subset of women behaves. "Look at us, we're so cool 'cause we eat Indian food!"

I have, in a very short time period, introduced Good Man to Thai and Indian food and he likes them both. Four points for me!

At the subway station two young women approached me and asked if I knew where I was going. I said I did and they asked if I could help them find a hostel. Good Man and I told them where we thought they should go, but it was so late we couldn't help them find it. I wanted to—I hated being lost in Stockholm!

By the time we got on the train, the last train to my area of town had stopped, so I had to get off at Guro. All of the taxi drivers there had formed some sort of illegal price-fixing union. They wouldn't just drive like normal. Instead, they stuck two, three, or four strangers in a taxi who were going to the same general area. Then they drove to that area without the meter on and charged each person a fixed fee. All of the taxi drivers were doing this. A bit frustrating, though I have to admire their enterprising spirit a bit.

Wednesday was another good taekwondo class with more push ups, sit ups, and squats. A good class, a hard workout. Tonight we played soccer. Apparently we hit the ceiling too much, so a new rule has been implemented. When the ball hits the ceiling, we have to do ten push ups. At one point, 3 members of 4 on one team were doing push ups. At another point, the ball went under a kid doing push ups and the other players kicked the ball out from under him. I couldn't stop laughing; my studiomates thought I was nuts.

Wednesday nights, with some help from the high school boys, the upper elementary and middle school boys got into this formation. They stayed this way for approximately 40 seconds. I couldn't do it.

The Boys Get Into a Chair and Table Formation