(12) 90 in 90: The one day vacations

Yesterday was Korean Independence Day. While it was an important holiday, most Koreans choose to spend the holiday relaxing and enjoying their one day chance to rest and relax before going back for one more day on Friday. Instead of staying my home, I choose to take a day trip to Seoul to visit my girlfriend.

Normally, these one day breaks I don't like to do anything too crazy or venture too far from my town. I always feel like if I do something too big and too adventurous I'll keep being distracted by the clock and knowing that despite all the fun I'm having, it all has to end soon and I'm left with the task of making sure I can make my way home in time to get a decent night's sleep for the next work day.

This was different though. I have plenty of experience traveling and walking around Seoul and Incheon. I've visited my girlfriend many time before and have become familiar with both cities and what they have to offer.

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, a late lunch and a trip to the DVD room to watch a movie, along with dinner at a Mageli place. Nothing too exciting, but still immensely fun.

I think what made the day so enjoyable was a near perfect amount of relaxation, visiting someone I cared about and getting out of my own house and town. It's my ideal perfect day: spending time away from home so I don't get too stir crazy and doing something fun and relaxing as not to disrupt my peaceful state of mind.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy doing exciting stuff, but like I said earlier, one day adventure fests are never fun to me. I never have fun as much as I worry. Maybe that's why I disliked Majora's Mask, that damn time limit and the moon threatening to crash down on me.

We tried a mageli sampler. It did not taste as good as this picture may lead you to believe. 

Lately though, its getting harder to leave once the day is over. For me, there is still this longing to be there longer. My initial need to go home in a timely manner is suddenly replaced with a moment of illogical thoughts of staying longer, staying the night even and catching the earliest train back home in the morning, knowing very well this is very stupid and is worth more trouble that its worth.

My traveling mind makes no sense to me. It goes from being logical and on time to wanting to have fun and forgo all responsibilities the next. My adult, responsible self constantly at war with my immature side.

However, my adult side always wins, even if its painful for a few seconds upon departure. I know we will see each other again soon and I'll most likely have a lot of fun again but, I want to have fun now. Not later. Once again, my inner spoiled child starts crying again.

A few minutes later though, I'm on the train on my way home. Tired, knowing that I have a three hour ride ahead of me and knowing that by the time I get back, it will be way past my work day bedtime. I could have planned it earlier, but I just had to squeeze those last few minutes of fun out of my mini break day.

I guess in the end, the adult and the child can come to a compromise after all.

Chapter 9: Getting sick for the first time in Korea and the feelings that come with it

No one ever has fun getting sick. It’s a small period of vulnerability that leaves us feeling physically at our worst and looking for any form of relief or comfort to feel better. It’s easy to forget just how comfortable some chicken soup or some nice warm tea can make us feel when they are not longer available.

My first experience getting sick in Korea came quickly and out of the blue. I had been pushing my body to the limit since settling down in Korea, not wanting to waste a single moment during the weekend and staying out to the crack of dawn to see everything that there was to see. It was really no surprise that my body would eventually concede defeat and yield to the advances of sickness.

I awoke one morning feeling a little stuffier than normal, my throat dry and my eyes itchy. I shrugged it off to allergies and decided that drinking some water and staying away from pollen would be the cure for my most recent woes. As the day progressed and the symptoms begin to worsen, I noticed that what I had was more than allergies. Soon I was having difficulty breathing, my nose was completely blocked and my throat felt like I had just swallowed the contents of an ash tray.

Luckily, that day was a day that was devoted to all-day version of study hall, due to the approaching deadline of exams the following weeks. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to go to the drug store and purchase some temporary medicine. Unfortunately, the drug store was more than 15 minutes away from my school, and without a means of transportation and a lack of taxies coming my way, walking was the only option.

The hot sun beat down on me as I made my way to the store. I was used to feeling sick in the winter, battling a runny nose and a sore throat with the freezing cold as a companion. It seemed odd that weather that I normally associated with warmth, health and vitality was making me feel worse as I slowly made my way to the store. Everything seems to take longer, seem farther when feeling sick. My watch told me that I had only taken 14 minutes to reach the store. My body told me that I had been walking for days.

When I entered the shop, I handed the pharmacist a piece of paper with a translated request for over the counter medicine. With my little knowledge of Korean and my quickly disappearing voice, trying to speak would only bring about more complications and take more time, something that I did not want to deal with. Being sick means being angry, it means being impatient. Being sick means wanting everything right now and needing relief because your body demands it and as far as you’re concerned, the world needs to stop because you’re sick damnit.

However, the world does not stop, no one cares and you are left to fend for yourself. This was never more apparent than feeling like death and not being able to translate or articulate your symptoms to a doctor. If I was going to become any better, or at the very least not feel like a lifeless, diseased lump of flesh I was going to have to take things in my own hands.

I accepted the medicine and started the long journey back to my school. Once I made it back it was now noticeable that I was very sick and before I would even say anything, my vice principal kindly sent me home to recover, a very kind gesture and one that I have come to appreciate in a world where kind gestures can be scarce.

I once again made another trek back towards my home, my pace greatly slowed and my breathing labored. I remember telling myself that I was getting closer. I told myself that my apartment was only a few more steps and promised myself my comfortable mattress and soft pillow as a reward for making the journey back.

I made it back to my apartment and immediately collapsed on my bed. Exhaustion quickly won as I feel asleep for several hours before waking again. I sat up on my mattress, still feeling horrible and covered in a cold sweat.

There was no mother to care for me, no roommate to run to the store and bring you back some soup. There was only myself, my sickness and the quiet empty apartment.

In a country thousands of miles from home, I was on my own. The job, the food, the living situation never made me realize how much I needed to rely on myself and the responsibility of maintain your health, or rather how important your health was especially with a job responsibility. I would regularly blow off classes to stay home sick, but I could no longer do that. Getting sick was my responsibility in my body and even if it wasn’t my fault, it was my burden to deal with, no one else’s.

It seems that at moments of venerability we quickly realize the extent of our situations and how we will solve them. Its these moments where we grow the most and our true characters emerge.  

note: After nearly a week of dealing with illness, I am now feeling much better. Still not completely well, but significantly better everyday.