So I've been pretty ill for about 3 weeks now, and I'm FINALLY feeling better! Praise the Lord! I have had some sort of flu bug/sinus infection/ cold/ allergic reaction thing/ annoying cough, and now I'm almost completely back to normal :) I basically spent the last three weeks going to work, blowing my nose, talking to Adam on Skype, and feeling miserable. I came straight home from work each day and went right to bed. I haven't done much in the way of exciting news, but this past weekend (today is Tuesday), I actually went out and had adventures!
So it all started on a Friday evening, when I felt like I was getting a weird head cold. I went to the doctor after work, hoping I could nip it in the bud before it ruined my weekend plans, which were to go to a Buddhist Temple and stay overnight doing Buddhist things. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to this for like, ever. I didn't make it there that weekend on account of my 104 fever I developed sometime that night. I had gotten medicine for the flu, but it wasn't helping. I stayed in bed all of Saturday and Sunday (Jaclyn and Leah went to the temple and had an awesome time, brought me back a lovely souveniere!) And by Monday when my fever was still at 103 consistently, decided to go hospital. I didn't go to work that day, my one missed day, and instead was lying in a hospital bed with an IV. It was super scary being in a hospital in Korea all by myself. I must have passed out during the IV because when I woke up, there were five Korean doctors standing around mumbling things in Korean and I was very afraid. I'm glad that's over. I went home and rested for the day, went back to work on Tuesday but felt awful for the next two and a half weeks, and finally felt up to doing things this passed weekend. The cough was persistent but it's nearly gone now! I can sing my songs in class again and life is good. I am sure I will make it to a Buddhist Temple stay before I go back home.
So this weekend: On Saturday, I went with some friends to Seoul where we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul which is the main palace here. It had a lovely English tour beginning right as we arrived so I got to hear all about the history of Korean's Empire. It was fascinating! They had a king who had many restrictions, hardly any freedoms, and tons of responsibility. Once the Queen had been chosen from the noble class, her main job was to have the children. Once the children were born, they stayed in the palace until age 5 or 6 when a successor was chosen from either the first son, or the most capable. The other children were married and forced to leave the palace at age 10. An interesting tradition was that they enjoyed their wedding night five years later when they reached 15. The Queen's job was not then complete, as she had power in the palace. When the King died, usually early from too much stress or illness, her job was to help the crowned Prince understand his duties and responsibilities. Then she had to stick around in case the Prince died childless, to which she was to rule until a more suitable King was chosen. All of the palace buildings had heat and air systems that ran under the floor for the King's convenience, but none of the rooms contained furniture as it was common to have assassins hide behind things to murder the king. Even the King's bedroom was completely bare until he was ready to go to sleep, they would bring in a mattress and blankets. He had lady servants around him at all times for further safety. They even had to taste all of his food before he ate it in case there was poison in something!!! Horrible job! Anyways, there were lovely gardens, it was a beautiful day outside and I loved walking around enjoying the sunshine. The palace was also connected to the Korean Folk Museum which happened to be having a cultural performance as soon as we got there! (talk about perfect timing!) I sat down and watched what should have been a very expensive performance, for free! I was stoked. There were beautiful hanboks (traditional costumes), singers, dancers, fans and scarves, and instruments. Then I ate ice cream. The perfect day. It continued when we went to Insadong and shopped along the busy market streets. I was enjoying watching the Korean people haggle over trinkets and see the pretty jewelry and artwork. When I have visitors here, we will visit there for sure! It ended with a trip to Itaewon to eat good old fashioned American dinner, I had a burger, yay. Still craving some Mexican food and I'd love it if I could get about 8 lbs. of dill pickles. I went to bed early as I am still pretty tired after a busy week with five-year-olds. Sunday I slept in, went to the park to grade tests and make report cards, enjoyed a coffee with my Korean Bestie! :) and then went to bible study where I shared lovely fellowship with an awesome group of inspiring ladies. Oh also, I'm working out again. Wish me luck. I'm doing Zumba videos and this redic. arm workout I found on Pinterest. IT HURTS. The weekend basically rocked and I'm sad that it's over.
All in all, life is pretty great when you're healthy and loved. Thankful for sweet friends who bring you milkshakes and pastries and awesome paper lanterns, yay for Moms and Dads who send you lovely medical advice and talk to you at all hours of the morning, evening and in between, yay for boyfriends who tell you you're beautiful even though your nose is red and your eyes are puffy and you're basically coughing up your lungs, yay for a bible study that sends you home with a full belly and lots of American cold medications, and yay for a job that has beautiful little germ carriers to cheer you up even when you're feeling your worst. I love being a teacher. Still can't say it enough. I love every day getting to spend time laughing and loving tiny people who will one day grow up to do amazing things in the world. I love getting to be a part of the future. Maybe one day, one of them will think back, (chances are slim since they're only 5 and you don't remember much from age 5,) and they will think of the teacher they had and how happy she was to see them each day. They will remember their childhood as being better because her. Even if they don't, I will remember my 20's as being better because of them and this opportunity. Loving where I'm at, loving who I'm with, missing you back home, and knowing you're missing me. More to come...
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