Cold, cold week

Can you tell Chris loves beer?

This guy's last night before the army!

This was last night

playing a game

My uncle when he was 20- handsome, right?

at my uncle's house in Cheonan

riding the last train home with drunken middle-aged men

wreaking havoc in Apgu

we had to take a picture with the lovely mural

I think Allen was trying to strike a pose

He thinks he's not in the shot

Cheers!

the usual: fried chicken and beer

ice cream & waffles!

It is freezing today!! Korea had been basking in the warmth of sunny, 60-degree temperatures the past week, and now it's just above freezing here. At night, it's frigid especially with the wind. Chris and I are sitting in our room at the guesthouse -this place is awesome, by the way- and I keep blowing into my hands to warm them up. :( It actually snowed for a little while, but it eventually stopped, mercifully. I thought spring was here?!

So, we've been at this guesthouse since the 16th. It's in a great location - plenty of people-watching, stores, and restaurants, but our guesthouse is nestled in a side alley away from the drunken clamor and blaring k-pop. When we wake up, it feels like we're in the countryside. It's only when we venture out of the guesthouse and onto the main road, that we remember that we're still in the heart of Seoul.

We haven't been getting much sleep lately. On Friday, I finally met a friend that I'd been conversing with online for about eight years- she IMed me out of the blue one day. Still unsure how she obtained my screen name. Anyway, she's Korean but was born and raised in Hong Kong. She attended a British school here and a slight accent still remains. She's been all over the world- lived in England for a while where her aunt resides, visited Switzerland often for family vacations, attended UCLA, did a semester in D.C., lived in NY for a while as well, and Hong Kong, Australia, Korea, and now Japan! We finally met, and I was initially nervous but it was so comfortable. After we had lunch and waffles & ice cream for dessert, we met up again later that night around 10pm for fried chicken, chips, and beer. Mmm... :9 We hung out again last night until 1am. We were going to go karaoke, but we said we'd save it for tonight.

Korea's been following the WBC, of course, and unfortunately the final resulted in a heartbreaking loss to our rival, Japan. I don't understand why Korea had to play Japan five times!! I guess I'm glad it's over, but I really wanted Korea to win so badly. I woke up at noon and went to the common room to watch the game. Chris woke up and joined me shortly thereafter. All I ate were 7 strawberries until 3:45pm when Chris and I, disappointed with the loss, ventured out to eat the first meal of the day. We popped into a Vietnamese restaurant. We love pho, but it's not that good in Korea. This place was better than the other place we'd been to. At least, the 'Bibim gooksu', or 'mixed noodles' were similar to the "American" version we so know and love.

Gah, it's too cold to be comfortable. I can't even sit in a relaxed position because my body is tense from the cold. Chris is reading a book.. I don't know how he does it so nonchalantly.

My parents are arriving in Korea in a few days!! It'll be so weird to see them here. Unfortunately, they're coming for a sad occasion. My maternal grandmother is dying- she's literally skin and bones- and they're coming to pay their last respects, and see our family. I rode the bus down to Cheonan last weekend to see her, and I lasted for about 5 minutes in her room. I had to leave because tears were streaming down my face, and I stood sobbing with the front door open so my wails could escape. She doesn't recognize anyone, and instantly forgets who you are as soon as you say your name. She kept asking "Who is that?" to my cousin and me, and she also kept asking "Why aren't I dying?" I'm just so upset that some people need to die in so much pain and misery. I don't want her to die, but I also do so she doesn't have to suffer anymore. My grandmother lived a hard life- my mom grew up in poverty basically so my grandparents had to work long hours in the field so that they could go to school. The crazy thing is, I didn't know my mom had brothers until a few years ago. I thought it odd that my sister only had an older sister, and when I asked her about it she finally revealed that she has THREE older brothers, but that she and her sister don't get along with them so she acted like they don't exist. I was understandably stunned. From what I hear, my uncles were terrible sons and brothers, and caused a lot of heartache and pain so my aunt and mom are still embittered over it. One of my uncles is actually dead, one lives north of Seoul and rarely visits, and the other lives in a house right next to my grandmother. I guess he's realized the error of his ways. I met him and his wife for the first time on Saturday, and all I can say was that it was an awkward family reunion. There was a big dinner with my mom's cousins as well.

Sorry to end the post with depressing news, but it was a difficult time for me. At least, Chris is here to comfort me when I can't sleep at night. It will be good to see my parents, but I fear for my mom when she sees grandmother in that state.