Day 23: So Damn Lucky

Today was a wonderfully lazy and relaxing day. I slept in late, and then chatted to a bunch of friends online from all over the world - gotta love the internet's ability to connect kindred spirits all across the globe! I then stayed in my jammies most of the day, having breakfast in bed while watching Alias (courtesy of Barb, who mailed me a tape full of all my favourite shows - Barbie you're awesome!!!!) Laundry and groceries took up the rest of my day, as well as plenty of reading. Sometimes it's so nice to be so lazy....

My host family invited me up for dinner tonight and it was great. They prepared an absolutely delicious dinner of chicken, roast potatoes and carrots, fresh veggies, fruit, and rice - all food that they know I will eat.
I am so damn lucky to have such a kind and generous host family looking after me here in Korea. They really do bend over backwards to make sure that I'm comfortable and happy. Whenever we have dinner, they only make food that they know I will eat (which severely limits what Korean dishes they can make, as I don't eat red meat or most seafood) and have bought me so many things for my house. Dishes, blankets, laundry soap, a doormat, other odds and ends for my kitchen, as well as a constant supply of fresh filtered drinking water are just some of the things that they have bought for me over the last few weeks. And when you add on the TV channels, the internet, and all my utility bills, none of which they are required to pay for (but they do) according to my contract, it just shows how generous they really are.

You hear so many horror stories about Canadians who come to Korea to be English teachers and end up at nightmare schools with totalitarian dictators for bosses. You hear stories about people who teach at schools that close down suddenly mid-contract, or bosses who take advantage of their employees by overworking them, or about teachers not getting paid what was promised to them... I'm so fortunate that I don't have a boss like that! They've been very flexible and accommodating and have never once been rude or cheap or insensitive. Yeah I may be living way out in the burbs in kind of a crappy area, but I'm at a great school with an awesome boss so I really do have nothing to complain about. Everything else I can handle, deal with, or take care of myself.

Steven and his family have treated me like I was one of their own children - they refuse to accept money for anything, and invite me along to every major family event that goes on. They've even gone as far to invite me to spend Christmas with them and their relatives at their time-share condo at some ski resort here in Korea for this coming holiday season. And apparently when the next long weekend comes in April, Steven is going to take all the teachers at REI out of the city for some little weekend retreat. HE IS SO NICE!!!!

Another example of their dedication to my comfort... I had noticed that since Thursday's blizzard my apartment has been absolutely freezing. I have tried numerous times to turn up the heat using the electronic thermostat on the wall, but no matter who high I cranked it up my apartment still felt like an ice box. And the floors in my bedroom, normally heated all day, were stone-cold... I thought maybe that it was just the low temperatures outside but eventually I clued in that something was up. I mentioned this to Steven last night after dinner and he and his wife came down immediately to have a look at it. For love or money they could NOT figure out why the heat would not come on! They spent the next hour and a half going through the furnace manuals, pushing buttons, turning valves, and trying absolutely everything to get it going again, despite the fact that it was late and everyone was tired. Susan even went upstairs to get me an electric blanket for my bed! Eventually they figured out that someone (probably Hye-Young when she was staying here and I wasn't home yet) had turned a wrong valve - one that shut off gas completely to my apartment. The point is that they could have easily thrown in the towel at any point, or have just said "deal with it yourself", but they laboured right through until they had it figured out and it was back in business. And then when it was done they insisted on vaccuming my entire apartment for fear that they had tracked in extra dirt from outside! WOW!

Like I said before, I really am very lucky to have ended up with such a good Korean family, and feel extremely grateful for all their efforts in ensuring that Korea feels like home for me.