This past weekend was the last 3 day weekend in my shortening stay here in Korea. While I didn't go on a long weekend holiday or do anything especially out of the ordinary, it was an excellent one nonetheless.
Due to the fact that the upcoming month is filled with weekend trips to random festivals and other cities in Korea that I still have not fully seen to my liking, I had a very low key weekend with close friends.
Friday was spent at a jjingabang (a pubic bathhouse of sorts) with two of my favorite ladies, Emily and Anna. It is basically a place to be naked (calm down people, it's just with the girls), enjoy the multiple saunas and steam rooms, get massages and generally relax. We worked our way through the different levels on the big daddy jjing in the nearby neighborhood of idong. Rooms with scented oils. Rooms with temperatures upwards of 122 degrees. Some below 12 degrees. After we had relaxed ourselves into oblivion (with a nice bottle of wine), we headed our separate ways . The girls went home to rest up for a morning swim. I went home to rest up for my impending police station visit.
That's right. I had to visit the police station on Saturday about my scooter accident. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. After being picked up by my Korean co-worker, we were on our way to see the future that the Korean government had in store for me. Almost five hours later (i'll spare you the ridiculousness of the actual proceedings), it was decided that I was at fault and that I needed to apologize, sign some papers and wait for the insurance company to decide just how much of my hard earned Kids College cash was going to be sacrified for this. Super.
Our next stop was the palce where my scooter was. Or I should say, what was left of my scooter. For $100 and endless debating, I was able to convince the owner of the shop to transport the remains of my bike to my mechanic near my house. It's not that I didn't believe the joe schmoe downtown, but the guy near my house has been taking care of foreigners for years. I trust HIM. I will know by the end of the week if my bike is truly ruined beyond repair or if I will be able to salavage some kind fo money from it. Stay tuned.
The rest of my weekend was a quiet one. I met up with friends for drinks on Saturday night and then headed off to the Marine base on Sunday to spend the day with Dan. A relaxing day of movies, American food (be jealous teachers in Korea) and time with the love of my life. How can it get better than that?
My upcoming weekend is going to comprise of heading to the nearby city of Jinju for the annual lantern festival. My coworkers, Lia and Brendan went yesterday. They also have a blog and wrote about their experience here. I hope to see as many beautiful lanterns as they did.
Showing posts with label Scooter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scooter. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Accidents in Korea
Last Thursday (9/22) began like any other. I went to work. I came home. I hopped on my motorcycle and headed off to see the boyfriend for some dinner and to finish a puzzle we've been working on. Went to my friend Emily's to get weighed and measured for Pohang's version of "The Biggest Loser." Pretty standard. Pretty ordinary.
That is until my ride home when I was thrown 20 feet from my bike in an accident caused by a crazy Korean driver. It came out of nowhere. I wasn't driving erratically. I wasn't drinking. I was driving through a green light that was turning yellow as I came to the intersection and then "BAM!" Literally all I can remember is slamming on my breaks, hearing the sound of smashing metal and plastic and being hurled across the intersection. Cars around me were honking and angrily swerving around me as if me laying facedown and bloodied on the cold concrete was in someway a hindrance to them. People were stopping their power walking to take a look at the waygook (foreigner) on the ground. The sound of crunching bike parts and headlights was pounding in my ears.
I was eventually able to do a quick evaluation and apart from a bloody nose, gashed cheek, one hell of a sore leg and scraped up hands and feet I was able to determine I wasn't broken and nothing seemed to be seriously wrong. I shakily picked up my phone and hysterically called Dan and asked him to come find me. I couldn't handle dealing with the surrounding Koreans, police officers and paramedics that I knew would be along in a matter of minutes. He eventually found the lights and the mob of Koreans and accompanied me to the hospital where (a few hours and a million x-rays later) I was declared extremely lucky and thankfully (though painfully) only battered and extremely bruised.
Upon getting home I realized more than one thing. I was unbelievably lucky. So many unforeseen circumstances helped me survive this accident. A few weeks ago the strap on my summer helmet broke so I was using Emily's full face winter helmet. It is because of that helmet that I only ended up with a bloody nose and gashed cheek. Because of the unusually cold weather I was wearing a sweater (that Emily also lent to me that night) and that is the reason I escaped with only a few cuts on my hands and feet. The bruises on my legs (though painful they were/are) would have been exponentially worse had I been wearing the usual dress or skirt usually worn during those mild September nights.
I immediately called my family, cried myself to sleep and spent the next few days recovering in the capable hands of Dan, the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. Even though my bike is totaled (there goes $1,000), my bruises have bruises (I seriously think they've multiplied) and I may have to pay for the damage done to the other car (stupid Korea), I know I was one of the lucky ones.
It could have been so much worse.
That is until my ride home when I was thrown 20 feet from my bike in an accident caused by a crazy Korean driver. It came out of nowhere. I wasn't driving erratically. I wasn't drinking. I was driving through a green light that was turning yellow as I came to the intersection and then "BAM!" Literally all I can remember is slamming on my breaks, hearing the sound of smashing metal and plastic and being hurled across the intersection. Cars around me were honking and angrily swerving around me as if me laying facedown and bloodied on the cold concrete was in someway a hindrance to them. People were stopping their power walking to take a look at the waygook (foreigner) on the ground. The sound of crunching bike parts and headlights was pounding in my ears.
I was eventually able to do a quick evaluation and apart from a bloody nose, gashed cheek, one hell of a sore leg and scraped up hands and feet I was able to determine I wasn't broken and nothing seemed to be seriously wrong. I shakily picked up my phone and hysterically called Dan and asked him to come find me. I couldn't handle dealing with the surrounding Koreans, police officers and paramedics that I knew would be along in a matter of minutes. He eventually found the lights and the mob of Koreans and accompanied me to the hospital where (a few hours and a million x-rays later) I was declared extremely lucky and thankfully (though painfully) only battered and extremely bruised.
Upon getting home I realized more than one thing. I was unbelievably lucky. So many unforeseen circumstances helped me survive this accident. A few weeks ago the strap on my summer helmet broke so I was using Emily's full face winter helmet. It is because of that helmet that I only ended up with a bloody nose and gashed cheek. Because of the unusually cold weather I was wearing a sweater (that Emily also lent to me that night) and that is the reason I escaped with only a few cuts on my hands and feet. The bruises on my legs (though painful they were/are) would have been exponentially worse had I been wearing the usual dress or skirt usually worn during those mild September nights.
I immediately called my family, cried myself to sleep and spent the next few days recovering in the capable hands of Dan, the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. Even though my bike is totaled (there goes $1,000), my bruises have bruises (I seriously think they've multiplied) and I may have to pay for the damage done to the other car (stupid Korea), I know I was one of the lucky ones.
It could have been so much worse.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Scooter Success
Today was an awesome day. I got an amazing apple pie from the mother of one of my devil children and I got a scooter. Yes, I know that they seem a little unequal on the levels of awesomeness but try not having a proper pie of any sort for a year and tell me what you think.
Back to items of the vrroom vrooom variety. This little gem is my new love. Brand new and easy to handle. Tomorrow after work I will begin the process of learning the basics of riding a scooter. Watch out Pohang. I've just gone mobile.
Back to items of the vrroom vrooom variety. This little gem is my new love. Brand new and easy to handle. Tomorrow after work I will begin the process of learning the basics of riding a scooter. Watch out Pohang. I've just gone mobile.
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