It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Hey y’all! This was another week of being sick, although this time it was Buddy’s turn. He missed work every other day with not feeling well, thankfully he is now feeling better. With that said, we didn’t do anything too special this week. I volunteered at the USO a couple of days, and one day I even helped make about 300 sandwiches to take down to soldiers who were at the gun range. Instead of eating MREs for lunch, they had the option of ham, turkey, or peanut butter sandwiches and chicken noodle soup! I didn’t go to the range to give them out, but I know they enjoyed them as it was chilly last week!

On Wednesday, I had an appointment to get my hair colored. My roots were becoming more and more grey to the point I was almost embarrassed to go out. Mind you, I colored my hair on November 12th right before I left. My dad was full grey before 30, and his parents and grandparents also always had grey hair. I have colored my hair since I was in the 6th grade in 2006 because of my grey hair. I hate my grey sparklies as I call them. I also wanted to change my hair color back to brown and get rid of the auburn I had put in it back in November. I had several pictures from Pinterest that I showed to the guy at the salon and he said no problem. An hour and a half later, I walked out with the same color I walked in with, except he did color my roots! He told me at the end that the pictures I had showed him were not my natural, and the color I had right now looked more natural so he just enhanced it. I was not super happy, but it was snowing outside, like huge snowflakes, and at that point it was already done, so I paid and left to go enjoy the snow that was falling.

On Friday, Buddy went to work but messaged me at lunch time to come pick him up because he didn’t feel well. We decided since it had been a week, that we would go to the doctor. One of the hospitals in downtown Pyeongtaek has an International Clinic, but they were closed due to the Lunar New Year. So we went to a clinic in the Ville, but they were also closed for the New Year. Thankfully, the bottom floor of the medical clinic is a pharmacy, and they were open! We walked in, told the pharmacist Buddy’s symptoms, and he gave us two different medications that totaled up to 5,500 won. That equals to a little under $5.00. Within two days, Buddy felt so much better. We’re very thankful that the pharmacy was open!

We decided that we would go out to eat with Austin Anton (he who shall not be named who wants to be named) on Saturday. It had been 2 weeks since we went out with him due to me being sick and then Buddy being sick, so it was overdue. Plus, the boys really like when I go out with them because I drive the car so they don’t have to walk in the cold down to the Ville. We went to Taste of Thailand for dinner. I have tried Pad Thai and Beef and Broccoli there, and wasn’t a fan of those options. Those that know me know that I am a super picky eater. I have found though that they have amazing Thai spring rolls and amazing chicken wings. So that’s what I was ready to order, but Anton convinced me otherwise. He had me order Pad Khee Mao, which are stir fried noodles with vegetables and whatever protein such as beef, chicken, or shrimp you would like. They’re also called drunken noodles. There’s not alcohol in the noodles, but these noodles are wider than normal and they soak up the sauces. IT WAS SO GOOD. I ordered the chicken and he ordered the seafood, while Buddy ordered curry. There are different levels of spice, 1-5, that you can choose from. Buddy likes to go 4-5, Anton likes to go level 3, and I chose to go level 0. The waitress called it a baby level, but I didn’t care, I do not eat spicy. I probably will try a level 1 next time though.

Quick Korean lesson about the Lunar New Year, the Korean Lunar New Year is also called Seollal. It signifies the first day of the Korean calendar, and is one of their biggest holidays. It also lasts for a couple of days. That is why the clinics were closed on Friday, because it was basically their New Year’s Eve. Places in Korea were still closed today (Monday), many signs we saw around town said things were closed the 24th-27th. I really enjoyed it because the parking lot in the Ville didn’t charge to park all weekend. Seollal is a time for Koreans to pay respect to their ancestors while also celebrating life with their family and friends around them. Gifts are also purchased to give to loved ones, but they are gifts like local fruits or even toiletries. 2020 is the year of the rat, although I have also seen locals calling it the year of the white mouse.