11/11 in Korea

I had been feeling really sick allll weekend, so I decided to go to the doctor today. Jane, my boss, called and made an appointment for me. A girl from work walked me there this morning. When I walked in I was surprised, because it was much dirtier than I think a doctor's office should be. But hey, when in Korea... right?? There were two woman sitting at the desk with these metal rods, and they were twisting cotton around the ends, making metal Q-tips! (Of course they were not wearing gloves.) I gave them my insurance card, and they sent me straight back to the doctor, who was sitting in a huge room. He had a desk on one side of the room, and what looked to be a torture chair in the middle. I sat down, and of course the first thing he did was stick one of those unsanitary metal Q-tips down my throat! He looked around a little, swabbed a Q-tip in something, and stuck it to the back of my throat. It tasted awful in my mouth and hurt. He wrestled my throat a little, and then sprayed some crap in my mouth that tasted even worse! He got up and told me I had tonsillitis! He then instructed me into this tiny closet with a bed, and a nurse (one of the girls from the front desk) told me to lay face down on this little bed with my pants down a little. I thought about pulling a "Jim Campbell" at the doctor's office, but I really just didn't want to embarrass myself! (Sorry dad!) So she slapped my butt a few times, and then stuck me with a needle, and then rubbed the spot where she stuck me for a few minutes. It actually hurt like hell!!! Then I had to go to the weird pharmacy, where they gave me three little pouches with 4 pills in each packet. I had to take one packet (4 pills) three times a day. The pills were not in bottles, or separated by what they were. They were 4 loose pills in a little wax paper pouch. They also came with vitamin C tablets that look like condoms. I took a picture of how they came, and I will post them in a future blog. The doctors visit was $3.90, and the pills were $1.60. I have to continue this shot in the butt, tons of pills routine for 5 days!!!

Today was Pepero Day in Korea!!!! On 11/11, kids bring in Peperos for their teachers, and they exchange them between friends. Peperos are a cookie type stick. They are long and thin, and come in three varieties. There is the green box, which is the cookie stick with almonds and chocolate on it, the red box is just the cookie stick covered in chocolate, and the tan box, my personal favorite, is a cookie stick with chocolate inside. It tasted VERY much like a chocolate covered pretzel! MMMMMmmmm delish! It is definitely a holiday created by a company, since Peperos are a name brand, and it is celebrated on 11/11 because all of the 1s and the / looks like Peperos. Many of you may be getting Peperos for Christmas this year!!!

The reason I decided to write a blog this late, was because I was inspired by a dear aunt of mine! I have been trying to hang up the calendar that Katie made for me before I left alllll month, but it will stay up for a few days, and then fall. I decided I should just crazy glue the hook to the wall so it can't fall, because even three hooks are too weak to hold it up! I bought this weird crazy glue tube, but I couldn't get it open, so I went to use my mouth, and thought, oh wait, this is NOT a good idea. Then I thought back to the days when I was a small child, and the thought of crazy glue in someones mouth made me laugh. So aunt, you will go unnamed, but you know who you are!!! I will never forget the days of crazy glue! By the way, I still can't open the crazy glue, and I know there are directions on the package, so I will bring it to work tomorrow and have someone translate for me!

Amanda and I ate at a very special restaurant for dinner tonight, and I'm excited to tell you about it, but at the moment I am way too tired, and I have some good pictures, so I will perhaps devote an entire blog to it!

I almost forgot to tell you about the highlight of my day(Besides getting a shot in the butt)!!!
After the doctor I was able to talk to my mom on the phone for the first time in a month!!! She later compared it to getting a call from heaven, which was lovely! I talked to her before the doctors appointment on the computer, and after the appointment I had some time before work started, and was at work so I was near a pay phone, and I called her with my phone card! She didn't answer the first time, but I know how easily the phone gets lost in the Campbell house, and I know that my mom and dad usually waste 2 rings on deciding who the call is for(meaning who should get up to answer it), so I tried back right away and sure enough she couldn't find the phone the first time. I was glad I called back a second time because I was able to talk to her for quite awhile. This is something I have forgotten to mention, and my mom got to witness on the phone today. In Korea, they love to use loud speakers and megaphones. They announce sales with them, tell people where to park with them, and all kinds of other weird things. Even when you walk into Homever, there is a girl standing with a microphone and she says something(Probably welcome to Homever, enjoy your shopping) and then does this magical jazz fingers thing with her hands, and bows, all while on a mini loudspeaker. She does this for everyone who walks in the store......... When I hear a megaphone, I always think of movies about the Holocaust, when the Nazi soldiers would drive around and order all the Jews out of their houses and onto trucks. Sometimes trucks drive by with a man talking on the megaphone, and I wonder if he is demanding that all American English teachers get on his truck...... But anyway, the phone booth was near a "big" sale, so sure enough there was someone standing outside with a megaphone yelling, and my mom could hear it. Oddly enough, she said the same thing about the Holocaust thing, so I guess we are cut from the same cloth!!! Talking to my mom on the phone was very very nice.

So I had a pretty exciting day, between talking to my mom, Pepero Day, my first Korea doctor, and the super dinner I had(that I will talk about later). I am exhausted and ready for bed! Goodnight, and Happy Pepero Day!!!!!!!!!!