2 guys walk into a bar

A girl walked into our karaoke room last night and threw up. I happened to be in the bathroom when this occurred looking for a decent stall to use (ladies, y'all know the foot kick, hold your breath, and prepare to avert eyes stall check). Luckily vomit gal is all about inclusion, so she ran into the bathroom and splatted another load all over the floor. I had yet to prep for said bathroom activity so I took a quick breath of fresh stall air and ran the freak outta there. It wouldn't be over exaggerating to tell you I stifled a tear.

Edit for additional info: In case it wasn't clear, we did not know the girl. Just a random girl with an uncanny ability to bring a group together through disgusting and life shattering circumstances.

Wha tha fa?

Today marks the official three month anniversary of our arrival in Seoul. Living here for three months has taught us enough survival Korean to get along just great. When we do have troubles there's usually a picture to help us out. However, these notices went up in our elevator last week and we are at a complete loss as to what in goodness sake they are trying to tell us. I will attempt to translate as my time here does render me slightly more qualified than y'all.

This one is warning us of business men who may be bringing guns onto the elevator. We currently do not have metal detectors so we also believe this is also letting us know we should expect their installation soon. Remember to wave happily to any children you see bowing to middle aged school teachers. Lastly, plug your ears immediately in case the glass ceiling on the elevator gets too low for middle aged business women to hold up (glass ceiling to be installed soon as well).

Next set of instructions. Sing in Korean. Wait for a stewardess to talk and show you to the elevator. Then another reminder to bow to your teachers. Ah heck, stay in school too, kids.

Seriously, Nowon-Gu Sanggye 6 Dong Apt. 204, we have no idea what the scrappin' crap you want us to do. Obviously clip art in Korea can be just as grossly misused as it is in North America.

Magical Me

Foreigners do have special powers that allow them to perform simple, everyday, ordinary tasks. This power also aids in general decision making including, but not limited to, how to live life, etc. For example (K=Korean, C=Christy):

K: What is that you are eating?
C: It's red thai curry.
K: Where did you get that?
C: HomePlus (Korean equivalent to Target)
K: You went to HomePlus?
C: Yeah, we go there a lot.
K: Oh wow!

They really find it a small wonder we ever leave our apartments. When we went south to meet Sawyer, there was a lot of concern:

K: How will you get there?
C: By train. (abra . .)
K: How will you find the house?
C: The couple will tell us how to get there. (. .cadabra)
K: Where will you stay?
C: In a hotel, or at a friends place. (Christy swooshes her wand)

Likely the most frequent conversation we have:

C: We want to try (insert Western/Indian/Mexican food restaurant name here) sometime.
K: Oh no, that is too expensive!
C: Oh, like how much?
K: At least $12 for one dish!

Koreans obviously needs a quick lesson in eating out on the West Coast of Canada, where dropping $18 on a mediocre bowl of pasta is par for the course on a Saturday night. We get treated like children a lot too:

K: So you are going to get a dog?
C: Yes! I'm so excited!
K: You know that dogs need food and water and to go to the bathroom.
C: (silence)

So what's your story?

Yes, we adopted ourselves a little friend nearly 2 weeks ago. His name was Totto when we got him, but we're working towards Sawyer. He answers to it just as much as he answers to Totto, so we feel it's a sign for him to leave the old behind and start fresh. We did lots of research before adopting a pet and found out it isn't difficult or even expensive to bring them home, especially if they are small and can be brought in-cabin. So we started looking and found Sawyer on an English rescue website for abandoned and rescued animals in Korea.

He began life with a middle aged Korean couple, was given to a middle aged Korean woman, and then given to that woman's son. The son was a teacher at an English school and arranged for his American co-workers to look after Sawyer for a week while he went on vacation. The guy sent an email 2 weeks later saying he wasn't coming back, he just felt bad leaving Sawyer on the street. Thankfully for us the American couple kept him and posted him on the site.

He is in good health, but he's had it rough. He is terrified of clinking dishes, clapping, or really any sudden noise. He's not to good with Korean men and we're sure he's been hit by them in the past. When we leave for work he shakes and when we return he goes crazy like he was left alone for days. Hopefully over time that will all pass.

The best way to sum up Korean sentiment for dogs is: expendable, vermin, accessories. You keep it until the novelty wears off and you're tired of caring for it. Then let it run away, leave it at a shelter, or just pass it on to someone else. They have strange ideas about what is "cruel" to do to a dog (getting it micro-chipped, or fixed) but no regard for it's need to be socialized, go outside or be house trained. Every Korean friend has told us that he needs a bow. Are you kidding me? I'm already preparing myself for the fact that he will need to wear a sweater/coat in the winter out of necessity (he has a super thin coat and it gets pretty cold here). So no, no bow. Sheesh.

So that's Sawyer. Not a super "fun" or "goofy" post, but I thought his story was worth telling.

UPDATE

Two brilliant titles to add to the "masterpieces" we were blessed to have available for viewing last week:

iRobot
Elektra

What's my favourite thing about the "masterpieces"? Writing "masterpiece" in quotation marks every time I use the word.

So what's a classic?

Please note the writing to the top left of the TV screen:

And in case that screen shot didn't give away what the "masterpiece" is:

Home Alone 2. Other "masterpieces" we've seen this week: Nim's Island, and Step Up 2: The Streets. Is it any wonder we're heading to bed early and setting the alarm to make sure we don't miss a single moment of Thursday's "Masterpiece Week" gems? No, it really isn't.

Our New Best Friend

I think he's used to a flash because he kept squinting when I was about to take a pic. Pretty darn cute, and made for a priceless "winking" shot.


This is Totto. We love him. He will be our best friend forever.

Be Dareful

Third one down. Just some tips, no real procedures, use the tips if you like.

We are very lucky we hit the attraction during its operating hour!

(giggle)

No clue what a hair bank is. Not even a little bit.

Thomas has one as well and we drink our coffee out of them every morning. It's good for our relationship, and for getting informed taste. Why don't you try taking a rest with a mug cup?

This one is courtesy of Michaela (a fellow teacher). I think it's the funniest one I've seen. I particularly encourage you to say it out loud.

And because I can't resist a teaser, Thomas and I have something very exciting happening on Friday. There will definitely be photos as soon as possible.