Put your whole body in, put your whole body out.

I have a cold, a red face and a couple pimples on my face. So what? Generally I always have a red face and a couple pimples on my face. But today someone at work kept asking, "Are you OK?" And I kept responding, "Yes, I am OK." I'm not sure what else they wanted me to say. Did I feel 100%? No. But I am always OK. So finally they said, "I'm just wondering because you have pimples and a red face. Ironically, I had just looked in mirror this morning and thought to myself how much better my complexion was getting since my earliest weeks.
This sounds rude to anyone living in America, but I'm pretty sure she genuinely felt concerned for my health. Earlier in the morning, I had told her I have a cold and certainly must have seemed low on energy. People in Korea are dead honest when it comes to appearance and rarely does it seem people get offended by these straight forward comments. I, on the other hand, was offended, but new right away it was a cultural difference and tried by best to roll with the punches. I took some time to myself and decided that I seriously need to grow some thicker skin. Shortly after realizing thick skin doesn't grow over night and honestly, I don't know that's even what I need, I watched the last 4th grade class of the week "put their whole body in" during the hokey pokey dance. They think this is the greatest thing to do since Dak-ji (Korean pogs) and I think it's the greatest thing to watch. Their bodies squirm all over the place, they giggle uncontrollably, and i got to switch my negative mood off like a light switch.
For other reasons besides the above-mentioned comment, the day was a difficult one (mainly related to communication boundaries). Here in South Korea, there are difficult days and there are easy days. But it is important to recognize that even during difficult days, there are positive moments and those easy days, well they are all the more valuable after a difficult one.
After school, I walked out of the building, took in a deep breath of crisp fall air, put my headphones on (just so happened "Soul Meets Body," by Death Cab for Cuties was on the iPod), and looked upward, something I sometimes forget to do when walking through the city. Everything looked so big and I felt so small and, for some reason, this was a comforting feeling, one that I ever so much needed.

Found yet another path home from school.

Tomorrow, I will conquer Mt. Bukan. You can be certain that photos will follow shortly. And if you want to see the funniest thing under the sun, then click here.