Shopping in Seoul

If you thought Japan looked bright in "Lost in Translation" you've never been to a big Asian city before. It's the same in every town, city and metropolis. The only difference is the height and density of the neon.

Lovely!

Jeju-do

Our sad little Jeju friend looked like he needed a bit of Canadian-style affection.

(There is no hugging here in South Korea. I tried to hug one of my young students once and I was almost accused of attempted assault. NO JOKE! There's not a lot of love over here. I take what I can get!)

The Hard Truth

Adventures in dealing with ESL doctors means that every so often there are little grammatical misunderstandings that don't seem important when they are first transmitted, but can lead to surprisingly uncomfortable circumstances in the long-run. Such was the case with the supposedly "soft" cast I was to receive on Friday to replace, what seemed to me to be, my hard splint.

In fact, I didn't even realize that I was supposed to see the doctor on Friday and just dropped by his office to confirm my appointment the following day, when I was whisked into the "dressing room". They removed my splint, revealing my still black foot, and then proceeded to wrap my leg in cotton. The green gauze rolls they then brought out looked pliable enough, leading me to momentarily believe I might be receiving a deluxe tensor-wrap. Once wet, however, the mesh solidified into a rock-solid cast which now encases the majority of my lower leg. I will be wielding this walking weapon for 3-4 weeks, says Dr. Cho, which is just great...

On Monday I'm going to look into taking some relaxation and stretching classes to help deal with the discomforts of living life in a cast. Showering is just a picnic, as is getting caught in the rain (it is monsoon season), and climbing stairs. Fortunately, biking is more comfortable than walking, so I'm going to be doing that even more than I was before.