"pee, pee, everywhere!"

may 4th and 5th:

This was my first long weekend since the end of January and a long-overdue break. I now realize that I didn't appreciate the earned time off I had at my last job, or the ability to call in sick or take a "mental health day" when needed, (which was quite often.) At GDA, you can't be sick or take time off. It's just not an option. If you are sick enough to be in the hospital, they will dock your pay 1.2x the usual rate, 1.5x without a doctor's note. I haven't called in sick yet. Although, I was sick my entire long weekend. Go figure.


may 9th: "d.j. festival"

I went to the 3rd Annual Seoul World D.J festival on the Han River. It was mainly techno music, which all starts to sound the same to me after a while, but all in all, it was a great time. The crowd was groovy, I danced a lot and saw some people getting loose. It was nice to see Koreans in a different light and meet more people that are part of the music scene in Seoul.

Most memorable event at DJ fest:

I lost my camera and left a description at the lost-and-found desk with a guy named Frederick. Later that night I had gotten separated from my friend Jessica. I called her around 2am to say I wanted to go home. I found her in a dark parking lot. She had fallen into a concrete pit, suffered a large gash across her foot, and had been sitting there gushing blood for over a half-hour. I ran from the parking lot back to the festival and went to the english-speaking booth where I had earlier reported my lost camera. After a few failed attempts, I did find the paramedics. It appeared to me that the people the paramedics were busy helping were just drunk. After politely asking for help and trying to look desperate, I demanded their attention. I squawked that my friend needed help but I couldn't carry her. (I use "squawk" because I think I was literally flapping my wings up and down at this point.). Blank stares. I shouted, "These people are just drunk! Give them some water, they'll be fine. Please help me! Pee, pee, everywhere!" (because "pee" is Korean for blood). Frederick, the guy who had earlier taken my information about my camera turned around and recognized me. He asked me where my friend was and we took off running. This sweet, super-skinny Korean boy gave Jessica a piggy-back ride back to the paramedics. Awe.

Jessica had stitches the next day, but was okay. Later that night, Frederick called saying he had found my camera. I asked him to hold on to it for me until I could pick it up. I got my camera back a few weeks later. Strangers aren't always this nice to people here, but I've found the return of lost items is standard in Korea. I wanted to share this story because it's just plain sweet, and it gave me a bit of relief that there are still people that return things to the lost-and-found and carry strangers through parking lots on their backs.

may 16th - "dance, dance competition"

My recruiter organized a mixer for his recruits and their friends in Korea, just designed for new people to get connected to other foreigners in Seoul. We went for the food and drinks. They had some cool prizes though, like a trip to Je-ju Do Island for two. There was a dance competiion for the tickets, and my friends urged me to compete. I made top five and had a "dance-off" with the other top competitors. I say I got third place. :P