In Wales, I climbed iron bars jammed into a tree until I was 60 feet up on a platform that was shorter than my shoe size. I had on a helmet and a purple rain suit and a harness and Karen and Katie and Llion sang "Come on, Eileen. oh I swear well she means. At this moment you mean everything. You in that dress, oh my thoughts I confess, verge on dirty! Come on, Eileen!" I don't remember who was belaying, but I trusted them enough to leap from that ledge and grab the trapeze. Then I proper busted out five pull-ups before dropping to the safety of the belay system that slowly lowered me to the brush of the forest outside the Conwy Center.
That wasn't my favorite part about Wales.
I went to eight castles and saw where the Prince of Wales, an Englishman, was crowned. I saw fairy circles, ate Cadwaladers' ice cream which was delicious. I saw the tacky Portmerion, modeled after some Italian villa. I met Cat and Adam and Will and a lot of locals with funny accents. I went to Ireland, Scotland. Went to a Beatles Museum in Liverpool and took a picture of Elvis's leather coat. I joined the boxing club and lost about 20 lbs and got the snot beat out of me then afterwards we'd chat about the difference between biscuits, cookies, and digestives on the walk home. I watched fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, which I learned about from Professor Johnson and not that stupid movie. I saw one play, two movies, and they were all American ones. I walked High Street in the rain and ran the stairs behind the Main Arts Building and walked up Bitch Hill, Alt Glanrafon, and went kayaking, rock climbing, sea-level traversing.
But none of those were my favorite part either.
I miss the bread. America doesn't have good bread. It lasts a week or two because of preservatives but you bring it home on a Tuesday night, right after Wal-Mart stocked their shelves, and it'd already feel stale. It'd be crusty and it crumbled easily. Welsh bread was always soft. And cheap. You could've used it for a pillow. It only last half a week before it'd mold, but it was so good that it only lasted a day because I'd eat it all. It made great sandwiches and toast and it was good to eat alone too.
Korea's bread is like that too. I just bought a loaf and had to say something.
~
Late at night, I always stumbled to the bathroom for water. I'd fill up my glass, drink it, fill it up again and bring it back to my bedside. I did this at home. I did this in college. Tap water was fine. Some people dreamed up bad tastes and water is so neutral that it's easy to let your mind flavor it. Some people would only go for bottled water. Or water from fridges that was just tap water only "purified" by some crusty machine that never got replaced or checked on till there was a distinct bitter taste to it. Then that fridge was placed in the basement and a new fridge replaced it upstairs.
Some people couldn't afford new fridges to replace the old fridge's filtration system so they wasted their money on bottled water. A dollar or two for a small bottle that you could take running with you and it wouldn't affect your balance. Here, a dollar will get you 2 liters of Jeju Island mineral water. Jeju is a nice vacation spot but full of tourists during prime seasons. Maybe I'll go when it's cold and only the crazies and the cheapskates would bother going out. I don't know if it's actually from Jeju. All the brands seem to advertise Jeju and they use the same statue and mountain. Maybe it's a scam and it's actually from some other spring. I wouldn't mind. Maybe it's just tap water bottled, but let's pretend otherwise.
Korean tap water is no good. It doesn't taste funny, but I let it sit in a bowl for a few days. I meant to wash the bowl but I was swamped with doing nothing and lazing about so I didn't get around to it till just now. It had a red ring around it. Rust and iron had accumulated and even after dumping the bowl, the ring remained. I took some scrubbing to get it out. The water is safe to shower in and to cook with, but drinking it alone seems like a bad idea. I don't want kidney stones or a rusty stomach.
To get hot water in the sinks or shower (which is connected to the bathroom sink), I have to press a switch. I didn't know about the switch and left it on since I've been here. Oops. But I've turned it off now and I'm saving the planet and saving money.
It rains often here, but not as much as Wales. It's just lightly spitting right now. My window screens are streaked. I haven't been out in a real down pour yet, but last night when I headed to the grocery store 30 seconds from my apartment, my landlord stopped me. She's a sweet old Korean lady who lives next door and might not be the landlord but Canada told me she might be. And I did see her mopping the halls once. I always say hi to her and she says something in Korean to me. Last night, she was by the hall window and had her head out checking on the weather. She saw me approaching and stopped me with polite conversation that I didn't understand. I don't know if the conversation was over when I walked away but it felt like it was. When I went downstairs, there was another guy calming down a baby. He bounced her around and was talking sweetly to her. When he saw me, he chatted politely to me and I nodded and said "Hello" and smiled. I like how friendly the people are, even if I don't know what they're saying and they could be mocking me in a polite tone. But I realized after going outside what each was trying to tell me:
"It's raining outside."
That wasn't my favorite part about Wales.
I went to eight castles and saw where the Prince of Wales, an Englishman, was crowned. I saw fairy circles, ate Cadwaladers' ice cream which was delicious. I saw the tacky Portmerion, modeled after some Italian villa. I met Cat and Adam and Will and a lot of locals with funny accents. I went to Ireland, Scotland. Went to a Beatles Museum in Liverpool and took a picture of Elvis's leather coat. I joined the boxing club and lost about 20 lbs and got the snot beat out of me then afterwards we'd chat about the difference between biscuits, cookies, and digestives on the walk home. I watched fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, which I learned about from Professor Johnson and not that stupid movie. I saw one play, two movies, and they were all American ones. I walked High Street in the rain and ran the stairs behind the Main Arts Building and walked up Bitch Hill, Alt Glanrafon, and went kayaking, rock climbing, sea-level traversing.
But none of those were my favorite part either.
I miss the bread. America doesn't have good bread. It lasts a week or two because of preservatives but you bring it home on a Tuesday night, right after Wal-Mart stocked their shelves, and it'd already feel stale. It'd be crusty and it crumbled easily. Welsh bread was always soft. And cheap. You could've used it for a pillow. It only last half a week before it'd mold, but it was so good that it only lasted a day because I'd eat it all. It made great sandwiches and toast and it was good to eat alone too.
Korea's bread is like that too. I just bought a loaf and had to say something.
~
Late at night, I always stumbled to the bathroom for water. I'd fill up my glass, drink it, fill it up again and bring it back to my bedside. I did this at home. I did this in college. Tap water was fine. Some people dreamed up bad tastes and water is so neutral that it's easy to let your mind flavor it. Some people would only go for bottled water. Or water from fridges that was just tap water only "purified" by some crusty machine that never got replaced or checked on till there was a distinct bitter taste to it. Then that fridge was placed in the basement and a new fridge replaced it upstairs.
Some people couldn't afford new fridges to replace the old fridge's filtration system so they wasted their money on bottled water. A dollar or two for a small bottle that you could take running with you and it wouldn't affect your balance. Here, a dollar will get you 2 liters of Jeju Island mineral water. Jeju is a nice vacation spot but full of tourists during prime seasons. Maybe I'll go when it's cold and only the crazies and the cheapskates would bother going out. I don't know if it's actually from Jeju. All the brands seem to advertise Jeju and they use the same statue and mountain. Maybe it's a scam and it's actually from some other spring. I wouldn't mind. Maybe it's just tap water bottled, but let's pretend otherwise.
Korean tap water is no good. It doesn't taste funny, but I let it sit in a bowl for a few days. I meant to wash the bowl but I was swamped with doing nothing and lazing about so I didn't get around to it till just now. It had a red ring around it. Rust and iron had accumulated and even after dumping the bowl, the ring remained. I took some scrubbing to get it out. The water is safe to shower in and to cook with, but drinking it alone seems like a bad idea. I don't want kidney stones or a rusty stomach.
To get hot water in the sinks or shower (which is connected to the bathroom sink), I have to press a switch. I didn't know about the switch and left it on since I've been here. Oops. But I've turned it off now and I'm saving the planet and saving money.
It rains often here, but not as much as Wales. It's just lightly spitting right now. My window screens are streaked. I haven't been out in a real down pour yet, but last night when I headed to the grocery store 30 seconds from my apartment, my landlord stopped me. She's a sweet old Korean lady who lives next door and might not be the landlord but Canada told me she might be. And I did see her mopping the halls once. I always say hi to her and she says something in Korean to me. Last night, she was by the hall window and had her head out checking on the weather. She saw me approaching and stopped me with polite conversation that I didn't understand. I don't know if the conversation was over when I walked away but it felt like it was. When I went downstairs, there was another guy calming down a baby. He bounced her around and was talking sweetly to her. When he saw me, he chatted politely to me and I nodded and said "Hello" and smiled. I like how friendly the people are, even if I don't know what they're saying and they could be mocking me in a polite tone. But I realized after going outside what each was trying to tell me:
"It's raining outside."
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