The OTHER news.

I've known I'd need to stay in Korea for at least another year. My only decision was whether I'd stay at my school, which I really like, or try to get into a school down in Bundang, because that's where all my friends live. (Anyang isn't far by US standards, but it is by... everyone else's, particularly the public transport's, which stops running at 11:45- midnight because Seoul made a deal with the taxi drivers. And while it's only about $25 or so to my place from Seoul, somehow it's $35-$40 from Bundang.)

In the end, I decided it's better to stay where I know the people and school are good. I love the kids, the teachers are, with one exception, great. I have a good apartment, especially for one I didn't have to hunt down & arrange the housing allowance for. 

Sue pulled me aside last week to ask what my plans were since my contract is up in July. When I told her I wanted to stay, she said, "You want to stay with me? Even with air pollution and crazy Trump and North Korea?" She hugged me, & I'll get an extra $100/month.

I ended up feeling even better about my decision when I was talking to my friends down in Bundang, and they were saying there aren't many jobs except bad ones there now because of the high competition to teach there. So no new learning curve next year!

The only other thing to add is I was surprised on Sunday with an invitation to Easter dinner with my friends Korelia and Simon. They'd been posting the baking that, well, Simon was doing the night before on fb. I guess they decided at the last minute to have more than just the 2 of them. I was not only honored to be one of the two guests they invited (and only have room for), but to my COMPLETE surprise and delight, they made the whole main dish paleo!! Roasted chicken with apples and cabbage and the, to me, show-stopping spiced squash. Dessert was almond apple pudding-- funnily enough I didn't eat the digestive biscuit crust, only to wisely I MUST say agree to try the hot crossed buns, which I'd never had before, and they were just great. So while I'm sadly no closer to my friends, I'll still be here another year not far from all the great people I've met.

Only other update is, what with my ENT guy's office being mysteriously closed for at least a week due to a traffic accident he's guilty of (? courtesy google translate), I tried the clinic down the street from my building. I'd say Dylan exaggerated that doctor's English a bit, but she prescribed... something. Probably exactly what my ENT guy did.

I also went to see if I could make sure the shin is just sprained rather than fractured. This got off to a rough start because the family clinic's nurses pointed up & held up 6 fingers for my leg. Going up to the 6th floor brought me to English underneath the Korean which told me I was at a coloproctology clinic. Not entirely sure what that was, though the proctology part seemed particularly NOT what I needed. 

I got back on the elevator & went up & down, waiting for google translate's camera to decide that it COULD handle the signs in the elevator. Not sure who helped the 6th floor clinic with their translating, because google assured me that clinic's name had orthopedic in it.

Naturally I couldn't figure out where to put my phone number or address on the ubiquitous slips of personal info clinics have, particularly since google translate was once again not up to the task of translating. 

This doctor seemed more comfortable with English, but I was still so frazzled by trying to explain problems and write in Hangul and read shit that doesn't mean anything that after telling him I think I had a sprain (note: shin splint, not surprisingly, doesn't translate), that when he asked if my shin, which looked completely fine & hurt very little (as opposed to the past 4 days, including when my shin actually WAS inflamed and swollen on Sunday night) had had direct contact, I just said yes. He felt it & said there wasn't a fracture, good news, & seemingly obvious now with the swelling & inflammation gone, but we were all of the decision on Sunday I needed to see a doctor about it right away. He declared it a contusion, but the ice pack and electromagnetic massage he prescribed was helpful.

I think that the 35 minute walk home is a bit too much for it right now, so I guess totally resting it before resuming mobility like a normal human being will be required for a bit.

So I guess shin splints really are JUST that fucking painful, & that walking as much as usual will result in the shin becoming swollen and inflamed. I suppose it's good to know, even if I'd preferred never having to have any idea about any of this at all.