Quit staring! And other ramblings.

I'm currently sitting in Starbucks in Haeundae; the usual spot where I plunk myself down whenever Ken and I decide to have a healthy break from each other. He's usually a lot more creative with his Liz-less outings (exploring new parts of the city, going to the movies, etc.), whereas I usually make a beeline straight for Starbucks as soon as we part ways. I hate donating any of my paycheck to this place, but they're one of the few coffee establishments around here that supports my internet addiction--on top of my coffee addiction--by providing free wifi. (I have some issues.) Anyway, I noticed a woman sitting behind me a few minutes ago who won't stop staring at my computer screen. She's failed to realize that I can see her reflection clearly in my screen and can therefore see the way she keeps craning her neck to see over my shoulder. (I hope she understands English so she'll stop once she reads this.)

In some notable news, I've started my application process to obtain permanent residency in Canada (the plan is to move there come March when we're finished teaching in Korea). Honestly? The process makes me want to jump out the window... which is precisely why I'm updating my blog right now and ignoring the stack of application forms currently sitting next to me, waiting to be filled out. I have made some progress, however. I had the required medical exam done last week by a designated doctor (designated by the Canadian government, apparently) to prove that I'm healthy enough to depend upon Canada's health care system. The exam went relatively smoothly, but the blood test rendered my arm bruised and bloodied for a couple of days after. Ah yes, let me whine about that little story for just a moment....

It should be noted that I hate having my blood taken and I'm usually a pretty big baby about it, whether or not the situation warrants it. This time, however, it was slightly warranted (slightly). First, I was a little horrified to find out that I would be having my blood taken at a small table in the corner of the busy waiting area of the hospital. Much to my dismay, I was the only foreigner in the hospital and thus gained quite the audience for my blood-taking procedure. I was pleased, however, when the needle went into my right arm and the whole process went on without incident (read: without me fainting), and I couldn't help but look around the room proudly while mentally saying, "See? I'm a big girl. I can handle needles!" But (there's always a "but") when the nurse pulled the needle out of my arm, you would have thought she had just removed the cork from a champagne bottle. A stream of red went shooting out of my arm and all over the table in front of me. First of all, I had no idea my blood was capable of gaining such height. Secondly, it was quite embarrassing when the nurse let out a horrified shriek the moment it occurred and recoiled from my arm with a look of total disgust on her face. Needless to say, it drew a whole lot of unwanted attention. People were pointing and staring, and I wasn't just imagining it. The worst part? They couldn't find any band aids or tape to get my angry blood under control. Which led me to question: What kind of a hospital doesn't have band aids? Anyway, I was left holding a wad of tissue over my arm for half an hour before my vein finally saw it fit to stop overreacting.

Once I was finished with the above ordeal and I was declared perfectly healthy by the doctor, Ken and I decided to spend the rest of our afternoon at my favorite temple in Busan (Beomosa), which was conveniently located only one subway stop away from the hospital. Sadly, we realized upon our arrival that most of the temple was being renovated, so it wasn't nearly as charming as it usually is. Regardless, we took a couple of pictures before we meandered away.

(The green tarp provides a lovely background for this picture....)

(A big bell.)

In other news, Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and since most of my friends here (plus the husband) are all Canadian, we made a huge dinner on Sunday to celebrate. I've never seen a turkey in this country, so we settled on roast chicken for the occasion and it was the next best thing. The menu was complete with vegetarian gravy, mashed potatoes, a broccoli and cauliflower casserole, carrots, and rice flour rolls. It was the best meal I've had in ages. The dessert, as always, was by far my favorite part. There was pumpkin pie (thank you, Costco!), butterscotch pie, and apple crisp... and I ate an obscene amount of all three. Needless to say, I had a Thanksgiving-dinner-hangover the next day.

(Here's my plate on the first round... I think I had three in total--yikes!)

And here's a picture of Ken smoking our new hookah pipe that our friend Kevin brought back from Thailand for us:

It's small, but it works perfectly. It's great for cool autumn evenings like tonight. Yay for blackening our lungs!

OK, enough of this blogging business. I really should attack this pile of application papers.... Ugh. Oh, and the nosey lady who I previously mentioned no longer seems to find my computer screen very interesting. She just up and left.