In the Motherland

So....it's just after 10 in the morning here in Korea. Alot has happened since I last posted. Well not really, but it's somewhat interesting to read about.

I left off in my last post complaining about having to go back to Chicago to get my passport. Well obviously I did, seeing that I am now sitting in a semi-busy PC cafe with a whole bunch of gamer Koreans who like to play WoW.

Anyways, well while on the way to Chicago...my dad and I were closely monitoring the battery gague to ny truck to watch as it would drop then rise back up. Needless to say the trip to Chicago was a long one. That, and try as he might, my dad nearly gave me a heart attack with the way he drove. Half of the trip I spent with my eyes closed and my toes curled.

However, we made it about half an hour after the consulate opened. Making my way up to the 27th floor, I wondered if they would even be ready with the thing. Nope. As I asked about it, the lady got a bit miffed with me and told me that I had to give them at least 2 days to process the thing. Which meant that I had to come back at 3 pm. SO......there was a good 5 hour gap to fill. Which didn't make either me or my dad happy. We proceded to drive around the area to kill some time, getting lost a bit because I realized that I couldn't read a map as well as I thought.

So the boring bit short, we finally found a Borders, where we bought some books to read and pass the time. By the by, never buy smokes in Chicago. Too bloody expensive. At about 1, we tried again at the consulate but I got the same thing...come back at three. Boo. However, as I was walking out of the building, I saw Jerry Springer! Haha. He looks sooo old without make-up on. Needless to say, at 3 I got my passport and we finally left Chicago.

Now, things were going great on the way back. My battery gague didn't drop once and we were making some good time. Once we got into MI, I started thinking of all the things that I still needed to pack and hoped to god that my laundry was done. Just when I thought that we would make it home in plenty of time, my dad let out a curse. The battery gague dropped and didn't come back up.

My alternater had died. Being who we were, we decided to ride it out and see how far it would take us before the truck actually died. That only happened to be about 3 miles. So, we pulled off and into the lot of a Denny's just off 94. My dad shut off the truck and tried to re-start it with no success. Which concluded in trying to find people to come and jump my truck so that we could essentially ride the thing back to Detroit, stopping only to charge the battery again. 20 minutes later Dan was heading on his way to get us, and we were going to order dinner.

It was in that time that I found out that I still had AAA road service. Which means that Dan didn't have to come and get me....and we got a free tow ride home. 80-something miles that we were stranded. Then it was the mad-dash to pack and try to get some sleep before I had to wake up for my flight.

Skipping a bunch of stuff that's not really important.....

Once I made it past security, I promptly went to the bar and got a bloody mary. Sure it was 10 in the morning when I ordered it....but it was night-time in Korea :D Plus I had forgotten my sleeping pills and the only way that I was going to be able to sleep was if it was alcohol induced.

The flight was rather boring, and did involve sleeping on my part thanks to the alcohol. Food was.......eh....I suppose as good as it could get for an airplane. Once in Japan....I realized that everyone must have thin blood because it was boiling in the airport. But...I was able to buy a carton of smokes for like $23. It was amazing.

The flight from Tokyo to Busan was un-eventful as well, but I will say that I got sucked into watching the American Girl's movie...

Now....I've realized that driving with my dad is much safer than driving with a Korean. I completely forgot on how horrifying a short trip can be. Seriously. The man who got me from the airport drove like he didn't care and owned the road. It reminded me of what Dan said. The lines are only a suggestion here. You don't really have to follow them. And well, this guy was doing just that. Occassionally he would drive between lanes, even though there were cars.....

Thank god I was too tired to actually fear for my life.

Now....here I am in Korea....got situated in my temporary apartment and found me an internet cafe. Now...you all must be thinking....temporary? Yes. Temporary. In 3 weeks, I'll be moving closer to the school to a better place. The place I'm at right now currently sports a bathroom and bedroom/kitchen/dining room/living room. It's about as big as my living room (for those of you who've ever been to my house) which isn't that big at all.

Now...I need to find some cheap food and hold out until after I get back from Japan with some money to buy groceries. If something new and interesting happens, I'll be sure to post it :D

For now...

That's all folks.