adventures abound....

yesterday i was feeling really tired and my throat had that itchy, dry feeling. i have been battling allergies for the last few weeks. i was done with putting up with the itchy feelings and such so our school nurse called to make me an dr's appointment at the international health clinic at severance hospital just behind the school near yonsei university. my friend helen said that she would go with me as she has been there many times and she knows how overwhelming it can be the first trip. we walked over and they signed me in. a nurse took my blood pressure and my temperature. she used a thermometer that she held to the side of my neck......that was a first. then i was seen by an intern who spoke english but asked me to speak slowly so he can understand. it was a slow process but we managed to communicate. the whole time i was the in the room with him he was making notes on a desktop computer and such. then the senior doctor came in to visit with me. she was in a bit of a hurry as there was an emergency she had to get to upstairs, but she gave me a prescription for claritin. she is hoping that this will help with the symptoms and if it does not i am supposed to return. all in all it was a very efficient place. very nice even though they spoke limited english. it was a good experience.

then we went to the pharmacy to get my prescription. on this one corner there are like 3 pharmacies to choose from.....we picked one and went in. again i just smiled and nodded as the man spoke to me in korean. we took a seat to wait and a lady came up to offer us a beverage. little bottles with vitamin c drink in them. they are quite good and i was entertained that they would offer a drink while you wait. then the man called my name and spoke to me more in korean pointing to the prescription written in english. i knew what to do so i was not too worried. the odd thing is that they give the pills to you in a little plastic baggie instead of a bottle like back home. i also got a free pill organizer. score! :) it only cost 5,200 for 30 days worth.

we were both starving by this time so helen suggested the sushi place across the street. it is called niko niko (not the greek place) although i had to laugh at the name. the menu was all in korean but thank goodness there were pictures. i ordered a chicken on the run roll and helen got a spicy tuna roll. great place! the tuna roll was 7,000 and mine was 9,000. yummy! mine was like a california roll and then it had a small piece of fried chicken on top with honey mustard sauce dribbled over the top. good stuff! it was a place i will definitely go back to. many different choices of rolls and the prices were reasonable. :) suzy joined us later in the meal.

i needed to get my birks' sole fixed as they were almmost worn down to the cork bed. i had been trying but the little shoe guy where no where to be found each time i passed by. tonight i thought i would try again and suzy was there to speak korean. this was an experience. here we are the three of us sitting in this little shoe repair booth on a busy street watching this older korean man repair my sandals. now most of you at this point are imagining that he replaced the whole sole like usual on a pair of birks.......oh no! he had much different tactics. basically, he carved a bit to fill in the part that was really worn down on both of them and glued it in. then he placed a black tready part over that and the front part. it was a wild thing to watch. i really felt as if he were violating my sandals. no place else like korea would you get a show repair such as this. he did a great job and was very meticulous, but just really odd for a pair of birks. now my sandals are heavier and a little higher. it made me laugh.

then suzy and i made our way to Bible study at yonsei. we were a bit late as the shoe guy took a bit to repair my birks. it was a great time of fellowship and one i am trying hard to commit to. after we walked home and i stopped in to say hi to my friends, the dornbachs. they also are a birk wearing family and got a laugh out of my new and improved birk soles. :)

today was an ok day. nothing to major or minor went on. for dinner there was a korean cultural dinner which i went to for the new teachers. a way to learn more about the korean culture and food. we had bulgogi for dinner......yummy! the food was great and the talk informative. now i am at home just hanging out with sam and india. i am thankful tomorow is friday. i hope to rest this weekend and just hang out. :)