An Update

I forgot to mention how I went shopping last Friday. It was a madhouse, I tell you. A maaaaadhouse. Everyone was out getting their ingredients so they could spend Saturday preparing for the big day. I suppose it's a bit like Christmas and Thanksgiving COMBINED, because not only is there a big meal shared by family, (though, I suppose that usually happens at Christmas back home as well, but maybe not so much) but also people give each other presents. NOT ME! They don't give ME presents, but they give each other presents. Lotte Magnet was so very crowded, they had to have on of their employees stand at the bottom of the moving walkway going from the 1st floor (food court and clothes and the like) to the basement (grocery store, music, toys and housewares)and he HAULED the people off, by way of their shopping carts. I stood in the liquor section at the bottom of the walkway watching in awe for a few minutes. If buddy hadn't been there to encourage people to move it along, they would have ended up in a massive heap running from the bottom of the walkway all the way up. People were just stopping as they rolled off the moving people conveyer and standing there, looking at all the rest of the people. Has that happened to you? Being behind someone on a escalator, and they just stop at the top once they stop being propelled, and you knock into them like a bowling ball? What's up with that?

I mentioned the lack of Chuseok gift in the previous paragraph, but in truth I've decided to get over myself. I thought about the fact that Karen doesn't get the Korean teachers birthday presents at all. She gets me one. So, whatever. Not worth stressing out about by any means. This morning when in went in, Kevin, Karen's son, rushed up to me with a present. It was a funny yellow pen with a duck on top. Everytime you write with it, the duck lights up. Cute. Karen gave me a very nice pair of brushed silver hoop earrings and a heavy brushed silver heart pendant. I love silver.

I went downtown and bought myself some flowers, tiger lilies and pretty little yellow daisy type things. I hope their heartier than the roses and mums I bought last Friday - as they were pretty well dead by Monday - and pretty much entirely rank when I threw them out tonight.

I'm going to go write some e-mails and see if I can conjure up some interest in my life from my friends and family back home. Sometimes, I ask them if I should wrap up my contract and head back home. They always say "Of course! Jellybean, please come back home!" It makes me feel all warm and wanted and missed. But, what else are they supposed to say? "Shit Jenn, I don't care! Never come back, if that's what you want!"

They're all far too polite for that!