So, I learned recently that I turned a year older when I landed here in Seoul.
Apparently, I am 32 years old in Korean age. That really stinks, don't you think? You see, it goes like this: when you are born, you are automatically 1 year old. THEN, you turn a year older during the Korean New Year, which is the same as our new year, January 1.
So all of you with birthdays in December get a double whammy. You could be technically 2 months old and be considered 2 YEARS old here in Korea. Bummer.

I tried (by myself) to get a cell phone the other day. It was pretty funny. I walked into the cell phone store all confident and such, and when looked at funny (must be the white skin) by the girls behind the desk, I made a universal sign for "phone".
"New phone," I said. "New number."
Blank stares.
"Saegot," I even whipped out some Korean.

The girl that I was sat in front of looked quite worried.
"New number?" she asked in broken English.
"Yes.... um, I mean Ne," I was trying to make it easier on her by using Korean. Little did I realize it wasn't working.
She began frantically making phone calls. One right after the other. She looked flustered as she apparently could not connect with anyone. After about 10 to 15 minutes, she finally appeared to get an answer. She spoke in very hurried Korean. Then, unexpectedly, she handed the phone to me.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hello. You have to take your business elsewhere," someone on the other end of the line said.
"Oh? Okay," I stumbled.
What do you say to that?

So I walked out.
The story goes on from there but it is long and drawn out and equally as frustrating. Needless to say, I still do not have a cell phone. I am going to register as an offical alien (hee, hee) today.... which will aid me in getting a bank account, cell phone, etc.
It is all very difficult to get anything done around here. The company seems to pretty much forget about you when you arrive. Luckily, I have made some very good friends at the office and they have offered to help me out.

I moved into my apartment... um, I mean my 10 x 14 square foot room over the weekend. I had to go shopping for all the necessary apartment accessories, so it ended up being a pretty good weekend. Had an interesting time in the supermarket/department store. Many odd, odd things that smell like fish.

I went out on Saturday night. First to the international area known as Itewan (It-tay-wan) that is right next to an American Military base. The American military presence is interesting. The only channel on TV that comes in without subscribing to cable is the AFN (American Forces Network). Not a bad channel, actually, they play Larry King Live in the afternoons and Survivor on Sunday nights. Too bad I don't have a TV anymore. Anyway, the Itewan area is weird. More white faces than Korean.... and you can find Mexican restaurants, scrambled eggs and country fried steak with gravy, and cheap Miller Lite. Like I said, I was weirded out by the whole thing, but was told I will be very appreciative in the future when I need my "back home fix." After Itewan, I went to a Korean hip hop club. It was actually very fun. I ended up dancing until 4 o'clock in the morning.