Spring is in the Air

How did a girl who journaled almost daily for fifteen years and collected 15 handwritten journals during that time morph into an English teacher in Korea who only updates her blog every few weeks? My knack for detailing daily events is dwindling when it should be peaking. How the hell will I ever write my Great American Non-fiction Novel? Discipline, I suppose, it will take. Or perhaps, good health! Yes, folks, I've returned to the land of the living after a seven-day stay in the hospital and three-day home rest following that. Finally, about two weeks ago, I rejoined my fellow teachers and the kids that I teach.

It was a little slow-going for me to get back in the swing of things (1 p.m. hit and I was ready for my nap!), but overall, it wasn't too bad. I finally felt well enough this weekend to venture out and about in Seoul and so after helping a friend move on Saturday, I went into Seoul on Sunday with Justin to see the springtime cherry blossoms.

Logic might have told some of you to bring a map of the area we were visiting, but, hey, logic schmalogic. Besides, I was armed with meaty information: the cherry blossoms were by a lake. Using our crafty navigational skills and rudimentary grasp of Korean, J and I finally found Seok Chun Lake.

With a Disney-inspired 'Magic Island' theme park in the middle of the lake, Seok Chun Lake is pretty damn big... and I loved the cherry blossoms everywhere. Although it was overcast, the temperature more than made up for it. In the last week, the temp has finally climbed over 65 degrees and it has felt GREAT!

Oh yes, and how could I forget. On Saturday, I went to a hair salon (not in Seoul, though) to have my gray hair dyed. Not a lick of English was spoken and the process of dying hair was .... not up to American expectations. The hair dresser seemed nice enough, but extremely haphazard in how she applied the dye. It wasn't until she zipped an aluminum bag over my head and steamed my hair that I began to worry. And while that turned out to be ok, the color of the dye did not. Before, my hair was brown and gray. Now, it's brown and orange. But, hey, those colors compliment each other, don't they? :)

Back to Sunday: I went bowling with new-found English teachers! It was very exciting. If you're wondering, the bowling system is the same, but there's no food or beer to be had in the hall. Boooo. Other than that, eight lanes, same balls, same crappy bowling score (for me, anyway!). You know, same, same.

Work news: Apparently, we're hiking a mountain together on Friday. Nature is great, don't get me wrong, and I like hiking just fine... On my own terms. And in my own forest or on my own mountain (by that, I mean, not with 40 other people in my immediate vicinty with whom I should engage in small talk). Afterward, we're having dinner. As Katrina so eloquently put it: "There better be soju involved!" Agreed!

In other news, I've been trying to book a May flight to Japan for the last five days, but everything is booked. Turns out I want to fly on a major Korean, Japanese, and Chinese holiday: Children's Day. Not quite sure the origins of the holiday or the specifics, but I'll check it out and get back to you. The good news of it all is that I have a five-day (Wed-Sun) break from work the first week of May. Sweet! The better news is that a friend of mine found me a flight leaving on May 6 to Okinawa, so I will finally get to see my sister, bro-in-law, nieces and nephew after more than a year and a half!