Hooked Up

I can't even begin to explain how excited I am right now. I can't even keep my hands steady while I type this. I just got hooked up to the web!!!! While that may seem like peanuts to most of you, it is something that has been eating away at me since I've been here. Finally, I can surf on the information super-highway without interrupting my roommate's IM conversations with random Korean ladies (he meets and chats with women non-stop; it's hilarious). I'm a new man!
I feel like it's been a while since the last post. Let's see... I had a decent stay in Osaka. I'm not crazy about that city. It could have been the nagging intestinal responsibility that kept me close to my room, but I just didn't have a great feeling while in the city. It's a concrete jungle that is more crowded with people than my back is with hair, which makes everything feel very claustrophobic. At one point, I got stuck trying to cross a sidewalk because there were so many Japanese gamers crossing in front of me on their way to which ever computer or game room that had space. It was a human version of frogger. When I wasn't in the middle of a sweaty heard, I was trying to find a place to exchange money or an ATM that would accept my card. You would think that such a technologically advanced and international city would have ATMs that take cards with the PLUS or STAR on them. Nope. Finally, I found a Citibank that worked. Unfortunately, all that money was spent in about a day because Osaka is not cheap.
I did manage to meet some good people though. I hung out with a great Irish couple that were traveling through Japan for six weeks and a British guy that was in the first month of a two year traveling adventure that will take him through Asia, Australia and New Zealand. I love the travelers.
Now I'm back to the heat and humidity of Seoul. I can't believe that it can be this hot here now and be below freezing in the winter. Everything has got to change. My school is at the base of a long outdoor market with tons of vendors selling everything from kimchi to bedding on the street. What happens to them in the winter? We'll just have to wait and see, huh. I'll be sorely disappointed if all the fried chicken vendors disappear when the weather changes. There are about three in a row on the block, and it's mighty tasty. I'm avoiding eating too much of it (I have to watch my girlish figure), but it is such an easy option when most places don't have English menus and most of the food contains some sort of pork. The only vegetarian dish I really know is bibimbap, and I'm getting sick of that quickly. As long as I keep sweating away five pounds a day, I think I can afford to eat a little fried chicken here and there.
Well, I'm off. Until next time....