Yeosu

of the good:
+ being able to call home
+ wonderful home-cooked food
+ friends
+ friends who donate old cellphones
+ deadlifts
+ honest feedback
+ ordering on-line and splitting international shipping
+ bit torrent (*swoon*)

Of the bad:
- pace of public transportation
- not being as strong as I thought (when forced to use good form)
- headaches

The good most assuredly outweighs the bad.

I'm at a friend's in Yeosu, a nearby town. It should be noted that I have never lived someplace without a car and so when it comes to public transportation, I'm not well versed. When the directions aren't in Enlish and I'm sounding out city names like a first grader, well, let's just say mistakes were made in getting here, but I believe I've learned from them and this evenings return trip will go a bit more smoothly (fingers crossed), as will next weekend's return for a boat trip another person in my program is organizing.

Terri planned and orchestrated an amazing meal (vegetables!! that weren't pickled!), Brandon corrected my form at the gym and didn't complain too much about my exessive whining at having to go down in weight for correct form in squats, and I did reasonably well at deadlifting. I now have bit torrent on my computer (and I know how to use it!), an episode of "Real Time with Bill Mahar" waiting for me to watch tonight, and a used cell phone so I can set up basic phone service. Things are good.

I finally was able to look at a map online a couple of days ago in order to get a better idea of where I am in relationship to the surrounding area. My little nighborhood is fairly far out and it is kind of a pain to get out and around, but I think part of that has more to do with my feelings of lack of mobility do to lack of a vehicle and lack of familiarity with public transportation. MOM don't read the rest of this paragraph The suggestions of learning to ride a motorcycle or getting a car are fairly tempting right now, and while both are comparatively cheap to acquire here, I just don't know if they are worth the investment in the long run. We'll see. (and because I know you didn't listen to me, no Mom, I haven't been on a motorcycle, and yes I said you said I wasn't allowed.)

I'm feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago. There are still a lot of things I need to do to really feel like I'm settled in and at home here, but I'm getting much closer.

When the teacher who picked me up in Gwangju dropped me off in my apartment, she said something like, "this is poor people's apartment building. Lock your doors." And while from the outside, I'm assuredly living in the low-income housing complex, the other night I was walking to take out the trash (an amazingly complicated procedure, I might add, but that is a story for another time) and heard someone practicing piano. Every night about the same time, I can hear it, and it is coming from the third or fourth floor at the other end of my building. I live in a walk-up. Someone had to love that piano enough to get it up at least three flights of steps. This cannot be too bad a place to be.