"Victoria Teacher's Back is Ouch."

That's a direct quote from one of my students, in case you had any doubts.

I have a small confession to make. About two months ago, I got a mosquito bite on the back of my neck. I scratched it 'til it bled and have consequently been scratching it open again, day after day after day. I'm such a child, I can't even stand myself sometimes.

Anyway, I recently had some medical issues because I always have medical issues. I should probably start introducing myself this way. Just a little heads up. "Hello, I'm Victoria, and I am injured with comic frequency!"

"It probably won't stop me from working out, though! "

When I first arrived, in my first month I had severe dehydration and a stomach infection (and overwork). Back in November, I sprained my ankle and needed three months of recovery (and overwork). At one point, I had bronchitis. I am generally a physical mess, and despite my hardest efforts, it hasn't been any different abroad. But on the whole, everything was okay...until April.

Something bad happened in April.

I have some good ideas about the contributing factors. First of all, in January, I started working out with intense regularity and passion, but in late February, graduation happened at my school, and it was a month of craziness and exhaustion, so I stopped exercising almost altogether. So all of my muscles - specifically in my naturally weak back - stopped being worked out regularly. (Contributing factor 1!) Living in Korea destroyed what posture I had, because beyond just being tall, my waist is super high (and my torso is super short). My sink, my desk, my stove, my everything is designed for someone a whole lot shorter than me. After a while I was not very careful about bending my knees and supporting my back. (Contributing factor 2!) I work with very small children all day every day and bend over a lot. (Contributing factor 3!)

1 + 2 + 3 + some nonessential impact + my medical luck = a herniated disc!

And guess what? It was initially improperly diagnosed. I suspected, but who was to know for sure? It began to self heal, as they do when you're 24, so we rolled through it.

Exactly one month later, the same pain came back, more terrifying and more painful than before. I couldn't move. All the muscles in my back started spasming incessantly. I guess they were trying to figure out how to hold me in a way that wouldn't hurt. Nobody told them there wasn't a position to find, poor muscles.

As it happened on a Saturday morning and I wasn't sure what was happening exactly, I kind of  hoped it would just...go away by the end of the day. It didn't.

By that night I was so scared by my pain that I was a little hysterical. Ellie stayed the night to take care of me. She is awesome.

The next morning I couldn't get out of bed.

So here is the worst thing about Korea for me: medicine! The hospitals close on the weekend. The ER's exist but you have to wait hours just to get a bed. So basically, I waited all weekend in pain and semi-horror at what was happening. My boss agreed to take me to the hospital on Monday morning. Unluckily it took several hours to get me seen (and I couldn't be in a sitting position without sobbing, by the by). Then it was consultations and x-rays and an MRI and nobody would give me any painkillers.

KOREA WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU.

There is not a lot that is positive about the American medical system, but if you walk into a hospital crying from days of incapacitating pain, the absolute first thing they will do after you sign yourself in is give you some damn drugs. The hospital never once addressed my need for pain relief. Can you imagine sitting in an MRI machine for half an hour, unable to move without ruining your test while having UNCONTROLLABLE BACK SPASMS. It was a world of no.

After five hours, I just started kind of crying in the waiting room. This is an unsettling thing to do anywhere, but I definitely scandalized everyone in the immediate area. My boss immediately tried to calm me down, telling me that slipped discs aren't so bad and that I shouldn't feel emotional. I honestly had to tell her three times that I was not upset, I was in incredible amounts of pain and no one was doing anything about it. The doctor even mentioned that he was surprised I was up and walking around because it must have been so awful. Aaaaaaaaaand still didn't give me any drugs.

'I'm in a hospital,' I wanted to scream. 'I know they're here! GIVE ME THE DRUGS.'

Nope. Never got them. I got a prescription for them after they gave me physical massage therapy which was awful because my muscles were still protesting their abysmal care thus far.

A few days later I got an epidural and I have been attending some pretty confusing physical therapy, blah blah. I am looking forward to getting some good PT back in America and I am definitely improving now, so that's good. If you know me, you'll know I am not a stranger to physical setbacks. Just another day in the life.

America Needs: PATBINGSU

Tonight I've decided to start a new writing segment for myself, roughly paraphrased as "shit America needs". Because there's a lot of cool shit in this world, and I wish I could take it back with me and make it a thing. Maybe if I get enough people on board? Make it so, America.

If I had to pick one thing to take back with me from Korea, I would fervently, instantly, immediately choose patbingsu.

No questions, no takesies-backsies.

 So, patbingsu is brilliant. It varies a lot from establishment to establishment, but essentially, it is shaved ice, condensed milk, sweetened red beans, ice cream, and some kind of fruit and/or crunchy things. Sometimes it comes with milk, sometimes it comes with whipped cream. I don't want to use the term "crack" too loosely, but this is dessert crack.

General consensus is, you mix it up. You don't have to, but in Korea, you mix food. Aesthetics sacrificed!

And then you destroy it in a distressingly short period of time.

I am not quite sure how to describe it in a way that sounds appetizing, but honestly, it may be my favorite dessert in any form. It makes me feel crazy. I have eaten far too much patbingsu than I want to admit. Unfortunately it goes away from the fall, winter, and spring, so I have to cram it all into my summer.
Oh! And instead of red bean (pat)bingsu, you can also get coffeebingsu and berrybingsu and green teabingsu! You have crack options, guys, don't worry.

America, listen up! You need patbingsu in your life. It's decadent, fun, interactive ice cream that also happens to be mostly water, so you can eat more of it without feeling guilty! Probably. That's how I justify it, anyway. I'm going to miss it very much, very soon.

Gyeongju of Old

Halfway through our temple stay at Golgulsa, we got to take a day trip out to see some historic sights in the area. It was super fun. We were sleepy. I took pictures. ANd I don't have much to say about it, beyond the pictures. LAZY BLOGGER.

Cute Shit in Korea

Hey, do you like my blog? A little? Are you interested in learning more about Boon Companion Ellie and I? Do you like cute shit? Feel free to check out our blog Cute Shit in Korea, where we review cute places we like to go. And pester us to post more. <3

HERE IT IS!

Such Great Heights: Golgulsa

On April 20-21, 2013 my bosom travel companion Ellie and I finally tried out a templestay. Essentially, you go to a temple and agree to abide by (some) of the temple rules and regulations for a period of time. You can just stay the night (a cheap and comfortable option if you're ever traveling in Korea), stay for two days and one night (which is normal), or even stay up to a month.

Some people go on a templestay and never leave, just becoming part of the temple life. Living with monks! Six hours of sleep every night! Eating only the food you grow!

I was pretty excited. I had been wanting to try it since I moved here, but when I first arrived I was a.) too poor and b.) too shy, and then c.) the weather got abruptly cold. But then we found Golgulsa, near a city called Gyeongju. A temple where the focus is on meditative martial arts training.

Martial arts monks.

COME ON, GUYS.

No, I didn't entertain any notions that it would be like reliving The Shaolin Temple. 

And it was an hour bus from Busan! So we booked it and we took off. Ellie is crazy about Gyeongju, incidentally, and she raved about it for the whole week leading up to it. I'd never seen it, but as soon as we got there I knew what she meant. While it has its fair share of ghettos, it is unusually sightly for South Korea. Gyeongju is so into itself that even the gas stations have traditional Korean rooftops.

Would I lie to you?

The short of it is, my experiences doing a templestay at Golgulsa were transformative, in a way I couldn't express, then or now. Thus shall I do a photo blog and hope my camera phone can in some small way do my staggered speaking for me. Forgive my ineloquence on this matter. I am still sorting it all out in my head.

We took a bus out to area where the temple was, and we found....countryside! In Korea! I was shocked. And then the bus deposited us here.

You can imagine my surprise.

I know what you're thinking. This is not a temple. This is on its best days an unprepossessing stretch of rubble. Luckily we spotted a rusty sign that might have said "temple" and definitely had an arrow, so we walked thatwardly. And after about a kilometer, lo! We happened upon this large stone next to the road!

If your Hangeul is rusty, it says, "Golgulsa". It was a good omen.

We took a look around a corner and sure enough there were some lanterns leading up a short hill. There is, of course, a lot of religious significance to lanterns that I periodically Google. The lanterns led me to what I believe were the gates to Paradise.

THE WAY WAS MARKED WITH MARTIAL ARTS STATUES. HAHAHA.

Life has been so kind to you. But you are so unkind to others.

There is a poetry in that, but it's not the good kind.

And I have grown weary of it.

Like a Pebble in my Shoe

Ten years is a long time to miss someone.