August re-cap

Oh man, what a crazy month August has been! One of the longest months of the year, mixed with the hottest month of the year does not make a good combination. I am thankful for how quickly time seems to fly in Korea though, because despite all the stuff that happened this month it has gone by extremely fast. Just like all the other months here.

So re-cap:

-August begins with 98 degree weather and 98% humidity on top of that

-I get back from Jeju Island vacation

-Extra summer classes get added to our schedule

-Franzi came to visit for a week

-We lost Shay, a New Zealand teacher at our school

-We gain Sebastian, the new Belgium/Korean teacher

-Heather gets bedbugs in our apartment

-Baron, an American teacher from our school takes Shay's apartment next door

-We trade furniture, it's chaos

-I find an apartment in the center of Seoul with an American girl

-I get kicked out of the apartment because the landlady is crazy

-Monthly test happens at school, it's chaos

-I have to fill out student evaluations to send home with my students

-I move back to Heathers and sleep on a cot

-I find another apartment with an Ausie girl and a Brittish girl

-The weather finally cools off, fall is on the way

-I move in, I try to catch my breath!

Lots of other things happened in-between the cracks, but those above are the main points of my August.

The apartment situation goes like this: Shay who lived next door finished his contract, so I asked my boss if I could move into his apartment after he left. I was told that another teacher would be moving into that apartment, but that I could try to find my own apartment elsewhere and then just get a housing allowance. So I got on craigslist and after a few days of searching and emails I found a place. It was a 3 bedroom with another American girl. Everything seemed great and my boss gave me the money to live there. So I moved all of my stuff across Seoul via taxi and a friend's car. After living there a few days the landlady says that the guys who lived there before us never paid their bills and she wanted us to pay them. We got in contact with the guys and they said to tell the landlady just to keep their deposit money. The landlady didn't agree but finally said ok and then told us that we had to pay new deposit money. She demanded that money the next day and when we asked for more time to pay it she became furious and said that she wanted us to move out! Every day after that she proceeded to march into our apartment and sometimes into my room and scream in Korean that we had to move out. It was crazy and ridiculous. I spent so many hours on the phone with an interpreter trying to smooth out the situation, but the landlady was just ecstatic and crazy and wanted us out.

So all of last week I frantically tried to find another apartment in the neighborhood so that I wouldn't have to move my stuff all the way back to Heather's place on the other side of the city. I had no luck though and had to move all of my stuff once again back to Heather's and my old apartment. Heather was not happy, I was not happy, and while all of this was happening, it was test week at school which means that everyone at school was uptight and chaos was everywhere.

So then I found the apartment that I have just moved into. It is with two girls and it's in the same neighborhood as the last apartment. It's at the top of a huge hill, its a street level apartment and my room is pretty much a shoebox. I have come to the conclusion though, that this is truly all the space that I need to live. I don't need anything elaborate or huge. So this is perfect. The landlady is also very nice. She's Philippino, widowed, about 45, and treats me like the daughter she never had. :)

It's been a crazy time, but I have survived it and come out a better person. I almost wonder if life throws us these crazy happenings just to make sure we're not getting too comfortable. As much as I hate it when crazy stuff happens in my life, I do think I benefit from it. It's funny though, because next week I turn 24, but now I truly feel like I am at least 28. I feel much more responsible for myself and independent than I have ever felt before.