I'm sure you know by now that I've been reunited with the love of my life - unfortunately, the bike shop was closed all the times I went after Seollal...until today.
The bike repair shop man fixed up my bike in a jiff. He replaced one of the tires because it was wearing out a crack into a hole on one side, oiled the chain, popped the basket back into shape since it'd been bent, and adjusted both the seat and the handlebars for me. Since my old lock had been rusted to the point of near-unusability, I also bought a new lock for it. The lock was about five dollars, and the tire replacement was 23. All in all he only charged me $28 to do all that work.
From there it was smooth sailing. Now that I have my bike back I can go anywhere again - and boy, do I intend to!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Visiting North Korea
In one of my classes today we were talking about where the students wanted to visit and why. Most answers were pretty good, things like "I want to visit the United States, because I want to see the Statue of Liberty," or "I want to visit China, because I want to see the Great Wall," etc.
But when I asked one boy what place he wanted to visit and why, he said, "I want to visit North Korea, because it is very hard to visit North Korea."
"Oh," I said, "but which is harder, going there or coming back?"
Everyone agreed that coming back was much harder than getting in, and I asked him, "If you visit North Korea, will you come back?" and he said, "No..."
So kudos to this kid for wanting to do something just because it's hard to do, but maybe his planning skills could use improvement.
But when I asked one boy what place he wanted to visit and why, he said, "I want to visit North Korea, because it is very hard to visit North Korea."
"Oh," I said, "but which is harder, going there or coming back?"
Everyone agreed that coming back was much harder than getting in, and I asked him, "If you visit North Korea, will you come back?" and he said, "No..."
So kudos to this kid for wanting to do something just because it's hard to do, but maybe his planning skills could use improvement.
The North and the South
Today I was looking something up on Wikipedia and happened to see that the North conducted a nuclear test yesterday. This seems like big news, but the only people I've encountered here so far to think that it's worth mentioning are foreigners. Maybe Koreans are talking about it among themselves and I'm just missing out because I don't know much Korean, but maybe not. This article is very interesting and, at least in my experience, a fairly accurate depiction of how "business as usual" continues without flinching in the South.
Monday, February 11, 2013
A Good Day
Just as I was able to see the final Harry Potter movie before it was released in the U.S., it looks like I could beat Americans to see the latest Die Hard movie, too:
Alas, if only I'd seen the third and fourth ones before now!
It's okay. It's sunny here, and I ought to be outside!
Alas, if only I'd seen the third and fourth ones before now!
It's okay. It's sunny here, and I ought to be outside!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
My Trusty Bicycle Returns
My pride and joy is back!
When I left Korea last time, I left my favorite Korean thing with my favorite Korean friend. She kept it all this time and gave it back to me today! It has a flat tire, the kickstand is a little rusted, and the seat needs readjusted for my height, but otherwise it looks about the same. I walked it back to my temporary apartment today and was delighted with how good the handlebar felt under my glove. I told my neighbor friend that rolling my bike back felt beautiful and perfect in a way I couldn't describe, that it was almost like a hero cowboy reuniting with his horse. Naturally, he laughed at that (or, probably more accurately, me), but words cannot express how good and right it feels to have my own bike back.
Unfortunately, this weekend is Seollal, which means the bike shop's closed. I guess the earliest that I can get it "up to speed" again (har har?) is Tuesday.
Today I went to a coffee shop for breakfast and then the store to get some groceries (this whole time I've had nothing food-wise in my apartment because it's just been way too cold to warrant going all the way out there at night), and all I kept on thinking about was how slowly the ground was moving underneath my feet because I wasn't sailing by atop my bicycle.
I can't wait to get it back in shape so I can ride it everywhere again! Hooray!
When I left Korea last time, I left my favorite Korean thing with my favorite Korean friend. She kept it all this time and gave it back to me today! It has a flat tire, the kickstand is a little rusted, and the seat needs readjusted for my height, but otherwise it looks about the same. I walked it back to my temporary apartment today and was delighted with how good the handlebar felt under my glove. I told my neighbor friend that rolling my bike back felt beautiful and perfect in a way I couldn't describe, that it was almost like a hero cowboy reuniting with his horse. Naturally, he laughed at that (or, probably more accurately, me), but words cannot express how good and right it feels to have my own bike back.
Unfortunately, this weekend is Seollal, which means the bike shop's closed. I guess the earliest that I can get it "up to speed" again (har har?) is Tuesday.
Today I went to a coffee shop for breakfast and then the store to get some groceries (this whole time I've had nothing food-wise in my apartment because it's just been way too cold to warrant going all the way out there at night), and all I kept on thinking about was how slowly the ground was moving underneath my feet because I wasn't sailing by atop my bicycle.
I can't wait to get it back in shape so I can ride it everywhere again! Hooray!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Don't Get Used to This
The main reason I've been able to post so much since my arrival is because I'm still suffering from jet lag. I wake up in the middle of the night or early morning and can't go back to sleep, at least not for a while. So I take advantage of my free time to pour new posts onto my blog. Once I start getting back into the swing of things, however, my posting may die down a bit, at least until I get my smartphone service back and can troubleshoot my blogging app.
The Evidence of Her Affection
I promised there'd be pictures, so...
I've spent my whole life overlooking native English speakers' inability to spell my name correctly, so I think that I can let the pirate slide this time.
I've spent my whole life overlooking native English speakers' inability to spell my name correctly, so I think that I can let the pirate slide this time.
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