Dear Sal,
I'm very sorry for my lack of letters over the last couple of months. Korea has change my life in ways I could never have imagined, for good and for bad. I won't bore you with the details now, but I will explain as best as I can one day. For now I will tell you about this weeks escapade. After being told by many people that I was drinking too much when I first arrived I have manged to out do myself over the last two months, but worry no more. I am unable to drink, doctors orders.
Since coming to Korea I have not cooked at home once. Arriving in my apartment to find nothing in my kitchen, not so much as a chop stick. Lack of money and getting to know people has meant I didn't have the need nor the the time to. However, gradually over the last few months I have been buying kitchen utensils, pots, pans (and yes, even food)with the ultimate goal of cooking a meal for myself. Sounds simple enough.
I went shopping, brought some fresh vegetables and tofu, I don't even know why now, to be "healthy" maybe. I placed them out on my kitchen table, made sure I had everything prepared and that my first home cooked meal in Korea would be perfect, or nice at least. I started by picking up the onion, which I place on the chopping bored and begun to chop, like I have done, many, many times before with no problems what so ever... but not this time.
The next thirty minutes kind of when by in a blur, as I made do with a makeshift plaster made of tissue and tape. Clumsily I dressed myself for work and stumbled my way down the road. This journey normally takes me about ten minutes, but I somehow managed to lose almost half an hour as I stopped and started. i ventured into a shop to ask for plaster. I waved my, literally, bloody finger in the woman behind the counters face. She shock her head, pointed down the street and said something in Korean. I took this to mean, I can't help you.
I just need a coffee and some sugar I thought, that will help get me through the work today. The Korean work ethic means that you have to be dead or dying to not come in to work, so I assume quite rightly no amount of blood loss would justify my absence. However, after getting my finger caught in something and an eruption of blood over my desk, I was swiftly taken to hospital, which are every where here.
Shortly within arriving they had tied a rubber band round the base of my finger, and had me hold a fabric bandage round the tip. I lied on a gurney in a room full of moaning Koreans and stared at the clock waiting for a Doctor to see me. I hoped that this whole process would take a while and I could even miss a bit of work, they might even send me home. No luck. I was all stitched up and ready to leave all in time to start work at 4...
I spent most of the day in a daze sat down behind my desk not really too sure what was going on. so, not that dissimilar from a normal day. I have to return on Monday to have my finger re-bandaged and I was given some pills to take. Heaven knows what they are.
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