Mud Puddle

So I finally ventured out of Seoul for what has been dubbed the biggest party of the year. If enjoyed a weekend of sun, mud and beach at Mudfest at Daechon Beach. On Saturday the day started out a little spotty. We were on the beach and it was looking slightly overcast. Before we knew it, we were caught in a torrential downpour that ended up turning our umbrellas inside out. Eventually the sun made a second appearance and decided to stick around for the weekend. We got painted with mud in a variety of colours and spent the rest of the day lazing around the beach taking everything in. I didn't realize how much I actually missed the ocean and swimming until yesterday. Growing up by the sea, I suppose it's one of those things that's built into your character somehow.
On Sunday I woke up nursing a bad, and very spotty sunburn. The intense heat of the sun left me with no hope, and I ended up burning even worse. I'm going to blame it on the solid month of rain we've had in Seoul since mid June. My poor pale skin didn't stand a chance against the blazing hot sun above the yellow sea.
Overall, the weekend was a great time to catch up with friends, get messy and have fun on the beach! I need to make a point to get out of the city more often, there's so much to see out there!
Cheers for now,
Sarah

Stupidest Decision Ever: The Sequel

Have you ever done something so stupid to yourself that your continually repeat "WTF!" "Whhyy are you doing this dumb dumb!" over and over and over and by that time of course it's far too late to stop the hands of time.
The first time I ever really had this feeling was when Gord and I decided to hop in the car for a lovely winter walk (did I mention it was -30c inland on this particular day??) along blomidon beach. Of course, in Kentville, it was cold but bearable without appropriate winter attire. So I went to Blomidon sans hat, mittens or boots (I wore running shoes, yes running shoes - dumb dumb!) I had frostbite on  my hands and feet so badly from everything getting wet (I had to run through 4 foot high snow and ended up cracking some ice and getting my feet soaked again) we had to sit in the car for at least 30 minutes before the numbness ceased enough that I could hold the steering wheel, never-mind feeling the pedals.

So today I got up knowing I planned to venture over to Yongsan E-Mart to check out bikes. I've been renting one along the Han River the last couple of nights and it just seems like it will be cheaper (and a lot more practical) to just buy my own. Then I'm not restricted to a 1 hour ride along the river and I can take it to school, different parks, the grocery store, etc. My apartment was very hot when I woke up this morning so I knew it was going to be a gross day outside. I put on a light skirt sans leggings and ran out the door.

After school, as planned I took a cab over to Yangsan I-Park Mall. I checked out E-mart where they only had kiddie bikes, but I was able to pick up a 12 pack bag of my favorite yogurt! I then ventured into I-Park Mall remembering I had seen bikes there. I found the place with the bikes, found a city-bike I really liked at a reasonable price haggled a bit, got a basket and a lock thrown in and was on my way. I - Park Mall for anyone whose been there is a complete and utter maze. It's dizzying and can leave you completely turned around, upside down and backwards. I found myself outside, carefully brought the bike down a four- story out-door escalator and was so relieved to finally be outside! Little did I know things were just getting started....

I didn't recognize completely where I was in relation to the subway exits outside the mall. The map I had brought was useless so I took my best guess carefully made my way down the road. The sidewalks were packed, I was showing far too much leg so I walked my bike until I finally saw street signs for a bridge! Good news because Bridge = water = han river! I knew if I biked along the Han long enough, I could find the pedestrian under-pass bridge and make my way back to Gangnam on the other side of the river where I live.
If I was in a marathon, I would not only have failed miserably, but I would have been told I was banned for life. The river was quite breezy in a skirt and not only that, but I managed to get a gash on the back of my leg (The size of a toonie!) that was dripping blood everywhere down my leg and the heel of my foot. Such a lovely sight I'm sure! I had my yogurt strapped the the back of the bike, my big tote bag for school taking up the entire basket (and putting the front of the bike horribly off balance!) As I biked my skirt continued to fly up. I'm fairly certain I flashed half the population of Seoul on my ride home. That and I had to bike most of the way with one hand and a very unsteady front end (because of my bag in the basket!)to keep my skirt from flying up any further. To top it all off when I finally got to Sinsa (soooo close to home!) a bird shit on my arm! What are the odds eh? I also forgot to mention that the day still hasn't cooled off. The feels - like temp with the humidity had to be at least 30 this entire time. Several hours later I'm pooped (lets not forget lung infection, sinus infection and a broken rib are all currently still plaguing me!), thirsty with an arm covered in bird shit and a really bloody leg.

So is this deserving of stupidest decision ever installment 2? I think so. I mean, who in there right mind buys a bike wearing only a really light, flow-y not quite knee length skirt?? Dumb-dumb.

Lovely fold up city- bike! My new wheels :) 

Cheers for now,
Sarah

Fact or Fiction: You Can Break Bones from Coughing. Answer: Fact! (Unfortunately!!)

So, as you know, my sinuses and I have been at war for far too long (since the middle of March). About 2 weeks ago I got a fourth sinus infection within a 2 month period. Being absolutely tired of antibiotics (not to mention fearful!) I opted for a natural route to get rid of it. Needless to say, I ended up getting it cleared up fairly well (or so I thought). Whilst enduring the last few sinus infections I developed a pain in my left chest.. around my heart/breast. At first I was worried because of the area, then I decided it was pulled muscles. The ENT had told me in mid April when I mentioned the pain that it was from coughing and that if I drank tons of water I would magically aspirate away the post nasal drip and my muscles would heal (Which clearly never happened!).
Since the last two sinus infections, my chest pain has been completely unbearable - to the point I can't sleep and deliberate for 20 minutes how I plan to sit up in bed. I eventually bit the bullet, suck it up and deal with the excruciating pain mostly because of time... I can only lay in bed for so long because even laying down hurts.

For over a week I have been trying to go to a hospital, any hospital that would take me. Thanks to my Korean co-teacher, I got hooked up with an English Hospital with doctors that went to school in the US that were fully bilingual. So finally my appointment arrived today and I was thrilled to finally get all this pain dealt with. She did the usual stethoscope routine, thought she detected something in my lungs and ordered 5.. yes 5 x rays on different parts of my chest and sinuses to make sure. She couldn't figure out by feeling what the tenderness was so she needed the x rays to look further. After my 5 x rays were complete and looked over, the results actually shocked me. I left Canada extremely healthy, no major issues other than the stuffy nose from time to time in the past. Now I can't breathe or move with out pain, but at least I have an answer. I have a lung infection called pleurisy where fluid fills the lining of the lungs where it shouldn't be. She detected it on the stethoscope and had further evidence with the x ray. The other surprise (which explains my excruciating pain in the morning) is actually a broken rib, and not just a fracture, a clear break! I saw it immediately on one of the x rays and apparently for the duration of time and the severity of my cough, its not entirely uncommon to break a rib. The other bad news is my sinuses have basically checked out for life and I will probably need surgery because they aren't draining properly. All of my sinus infections stem back to the first one that never cleared out correctly, leaving the bacteria in my sinuses to keep on attacking whenever any little bug got into my system. It also explains my continued post - nasal drip. As the sinuses try to drain, they slowly leak / drip into my throat, resulting in the continued cough. Lovely. So next time you have a cough or a pain in your chest, take it more seriously than I did and get to a doctor - ASAP. It was a hard lesson for me to learn so far away from home.

The end result of everything I ended up having to deal with issues a lot more serious than a sinus infection, and  I still ended up on antibiotics (more because I have a lung infection now too!). So yeah, I didn't plan on having a hospital visit in Korea, let alone a broken bone, lung and sinuses. I have to go back in a couple weeks for further x rays and checking into my deeper sinus issues (and surgery potential) so I will keep you all posted on that. Just wanted to share, mostly because I'm still in a little bit of shock that so much is wrong... crazy a simple cold can turn into this! :(

Cheers for Now!

Sarah

Hoping it will be every-bit as enchanting as the photographs...

So, I have finally (and quite randomly!) booked my summer vacation. I ended up being easily persuaded to go to a country I never really thought about before or took that seriously as a vacation destination. That being said, every Canadian bone in my body can't wait! The landscape is incredible and the terrain is ever changing. It's not going to be a put up your feet and lay back in a lounge chair kind of vacation, but it will bring me back to nature and the wilderness that I so desperately miss being cooped up in a mega city. In my opinion, it's kind  of (very loosely) like the upper Canada of Asia and I'm looking forward to the adventure and challenge ahead. I'll post some teaser pics for now to leave you all guessing!
Cheers for now,
Sarah

Lotus Lanterns, Zuli's Story and Why Magic Perms are oh-so magical!

Alrighty, I'm willing to finally admit I have no real excuse for neglecting my blog other than being busy have a life outside of my computer. So to make up for it (some important things have happened!) I present to you a super blog (well, maybe its really just a 3 part-er with an over-exaggerated title).

So first, lets talk lantern festival. Today marks Buddha's birthday for 2011. The weekend had lots of festivities to celebrate and I tried to feast my eyes on as much as I could. My travels in China sort of created a lantern obsession I haven't come to terms with so my camera and I tried to capture the events as best we could.

On Friday night, I ventured to Bongeunsa temple in the rain to see the exhibition of traditional paper lanterns. I have to say it was beyond impressive. Thousands of lanterns lit up the property. It reminded me of Christmas and also Halloween (so many outdoor lights and decorations!). The lanterns were massive towering above and around me. I was most impressed by the fact that the 'aquatic' lanterns were actually in water! The carp lanterns were in the stream lining the entrance to the temple, the lovely orange carp and frog/ lilly pad lanterns were in the pond. Some of the lanterns even had colored led's allowing the fragile white paper to change vibrant hues every color of the rainbow. I'll share my favorite photos from the exhibition and please note the photos are not in any way edited... it was enchantingly dark that evening (maybe that's why it felt a little like Halloween out there):

Carp lantern on the way into the temple grounds

This lantern had colored led's that changed the color of his ribbon 

Possibly my favorite photo of the evening. This lantern was situated in a pond.

On Saturday evening, the festivities continued. There was a massive 2 and  half hour long parade of lanterns that evening in Insadong. We arrived at the parade route in lots of time and enjoyed some delicious Subway (tasted just like home) and were lucky enough to snag some front-row chairs before the parade started. The parade was excellent and I was able to feast my eyes and my lens on even more towering lantern glory. We left the parade before it finished as it tended to be the same sort of thing after a while.

Happy Buddha's in a lotus leaf! 

This is the only shot I have of hand-held lanterns. They were all walking so fast, every photo I took was blurry. 

There was a fire-breathing dragon float! I thought this was pretty impressive. 

On Sunday there was a street festival in Insadong infront of Jogyesa temple. Here we were able to make our own lotus lanterns to take home and we even got to make a Buddhist rosary bracelet. I didn't realize how daunting making a lotus lantern actually was. Our small lanterns needed 24 pedals and 6 leaves, all of which we needed to shape, form, glue into a point and then glue to the cup. There was lots of glue, in fact TOO much glue. The sun was blazing hot and the glue kept drying to my hands and eventually my hands were sticking to my pedals and the cup and things got really messy. Over an hour later the final product did however turn out pretty good! 

Exactly how this delicate tissue paper lantern will make it to Canada with me remains unknown.

Next up, Zuli. So as you know after my encounters with a giant roach  I decided it was best to get a cat for protective reasons, of course. Well I found a lovely kitty on Animal Rescue Korea's website (http://www.animalresuekorea.org) and things worked out! I've had her almost two weeks now and things were a little shaky at first but she is really starting to open up. Zuli is an Abyssinian that was originally rescued from the meat market. So I still got to help out an animal from there, without having to subject myself to the horrors of that place. Sometimes things are just meant to be. Zuli is great company, loves to play, eat sleep and oh yes, act super cute at all times. 

And finally, why Magic Perms are oh -so magical. I have to say, I was a little skeptical going in, but friends that have had them done in Korea have said only good things. Since the rainy summer is approaching, humidity is starting to become a factor and because it was long overdue I made a special trip to Hongdae for Hair & Joy Salon on a recommendation that they were pretty fantastic. The perm and cut only took a little over 2 hours in total. It was essentially a perm (my hair certainly smells like a perm!) but instead of wrapping your hair in perm rods, they dry it and then use super hot flat irons to get it pin straight. For the first time in my life, my hair has come with very specific instructions. I am not allowed to get it wet or wash it for 48hours (it could screw up the hair bonds that were broken because my hair will want to curl) and I am not allowed to do anything that will crease or mark it for 1 week (tie it back, use elastics, pins, barrettes) which seems like a really long time for someone that constantly relies on a pony tail when the weather is so rainy! :( But on the upside, it looks fantastic and I love it. I have never ever felt my hair this soft or seen it this shiny. I have never been able to get it this straight. I'm sure it's pretty damaging, but it can't be worse than viciously attacking it with a flat iron everyday like I normally do. I didn't get the style changed, I just got everything trimmed and looking neat and here are the results:

I know, so many people think straight hair is boring. But when you wake up to an uncontrollable wavy, frizzy rats nest every morning, trust me - this is HEAVEN.

It flows and sits so nicely! I have never been happier with hair salon results in my life.

 So why is this so magical you ask? Answer: Because the results will last a MINIMUM of 3 months, which will get me through the hot, humid Seoul summer relatively frizz-free. HALLELUJAH!

Cheers for now,
Sarah.