So I failed to mention in my last blog post that Danny's "cold" was really swine flu. He went to the doctor the first morning he felt sick, and the doctor said he had H1N1. They don't do any special test in the doctor's office, so chances are he just had a regular seasonal flu. As soon as we found out we started wearing masks around the apartment. I cleaned the whole apartment and had Danny stay on the other bed on one side of the room. The doctor said he had to isolate himself for a week, so he couldn't leave the apartment (and obviously he couldn't go to work). His school directors were really on top of everything though and they had him go back to the doctor twice during the week to get checked. My school director was concerned too, so she had me stay in an empty apartment that my school owns for the week. I felt bad leaving Danny, but I made sure to leave him with lots of food for the week. I left my laptop too so he could watch movies, so that's why I haven't really been checking email and stuff this past week.
I stayed in an apartment in Eungam, which is a 10 min walk from my school. Since I was closer to school, I did get alot of prep work done. There was a nice stream running through the area with a jogging track along it, so I was sorry I didn't bring my running shoes. I actually had a really good week at school with my students. Wednesday was Peppero Day, a commercialized holiday similar to Valentine's Day. On Peppero Day, everyone gives each other "Peppero" sticks, which are long cookie sticks dipped in chocolate. They have all different flavors, but I like almond the best. I gave Peppero sticks to each of my classes this week, and some of my students gave me theirs to try too. If anyone is familiar with Japanese "Pocky" sticks, they are exactly the same candy. Korea does have two Valentine's Day type holidays in the winter, but I will get to those when the time comes. During my stay in Eungam, I had lots of extra time before and after work because I didn't have to commute as long. So one morning before work I took the subway to World Cup Park and walked around the park near the stadium. Inside the stadium they also have a huge mall, which I walked through. One night after work, I was really bored with no TV or computer, so I hopped on the subway to see where I'd end up. Well when I got off the subway it was alotttt colder than it was near my work, and I ended up almost getting lost. I walked through these cute, winding streets filled with art galleries, shops, cafes, and restaurants. If it wasn't freezing and I wasn't lost, I would have enjoyed it much more. It turns out I was in a neighborhood that borders Gyeongbokgung Palace. I will definitely have to return in warmer weather with a map and Danny.
I went home Friday after work. Let's just say taking a huge duffle bag, pillow, and blanket on subway Line 3 on a Friday night during rush hour is a stupid idea. I got shoved around in the most crowded train I've ever been on in my life and had to lug my heavy stuff up and down the stairs in the subway stations. Danny was looking and feeling much healthier when I came home. So I guess the Tamiflu and rest helped.
On Saturday, Danny had to go to Cheongdam-dong in Gangnam-gu for more training. He will be teaching the highest level, "Junior Masters", at his school next term. The training center was in the same district of Seoul where our hotel was during training week. We met up with his head instructor outside the training center and grabbed some coffee. While they went to the training session, I walked to COEX mall. On my way I finally found Bongeunsa Temple, which we had tried to find during training week. It's hard to miss because there is a hugeeee Buddha on a hill overlooking COEX. I'm kind of glad I didn't find it until now, because it looked so beautiful with the autumn leaves. After walking around there a bit, I went to COEX. I bought some books at Bandi N Luni's, a huge bookstore that has a ton of English language books. I had my favorite roasted kabocha squash with candied sweet potatoes at Hyundai Department Store. And I shopped around a bit in the mall. When Danny got out of training, we went to the Chungmuro area of Seoul to meet up with Danny's roomate from college, Dave. We had so much trouble finding Dave's hotel, and luckily we can read Korean, because the hotel name was only written in Korean. Dave just arrived in South Korea on Friday, and he will also be teaching for CDI. We met 3 other people in his training group who just arrived Friday. We went with them back to Gangnam to meet up with Danny's other friend Cormick. Some of them ate dinner at a bar, but we wanted some real food. So we took some of the new people for their first Korean meal of bibimbap. It was my 5th dinner of bibimbap in a row because that's all I ate during the week by myself. Yet I wasn't tired of eating it. Dolsot bibimbop (served in a scorching hot stone pot) is so comforting on a cold night. Afterwards Danny and his friends went to an arcade in the subway station to play some video games. While the boys played I discovered a huge mall sprawled out in the subway station underground. Most of the clothes were $5 or $10! Unfortunately most places don't have fitting rooms, and Korean clothes fit me a bit odd, so I didn't buy anything. Most shirts seem to be too short on my arms and torso. Anyway today we might try to see a movie (in English). I'll let you know how that goes soon! Anyung!
