The Battle Continues

The battle with my neighbor is back on. I woke up at five in the morning the other night to a roasting floor and sweat drenched body. What I don't understand is why they are turning on the heat in the middle of the night. I didn't get home till after midnight and the thermostat was where I left it earlier in the day. These people must have gotten up around three or four to blast the heat so they could lose a few pounds while they sleep. Also, a lot of people sleep on the floor in this country, so are these people sleeping on a hot bed? How is that comfortable? So it is now my mission to catch them in the act of turning up the heat and try to explain to them in sign language that it is too hot. Then, I'm going to find the dog that wakes me up by barking every morning and remove its tiny voice box.

I went to Everland amusement park yesterday. It was great! I haven't been on a real roller-coaster in years, so it was a true pleasure waiting in line for forty-five minutes for a minute long thrill. I didn't really mind the waiting though. I was in the presence of good company and the anticipation of each ride kept me interested. By the end of the day, my stomach was a little shakey, I had done all the rides, I had too much greasy food, and I was sick of the constant stink of butter and sugar. I don't know why we enjoy going to places that are designed to make us vomit, but they sure are fun.

Here's something kind of weird, sad, and interesting. One of the Korean teachers at my school had to suddenly quit the other day because her dad's business went bankrupt. The whole family is moving to the country because they cannot deal with the shame that comes with this. All ties are cut off with friends and they will start a new life. I don't know how they will deal with the legal aspects of the bankruptcy, but I do know that they won't be in Seoul to do it. This couldn't have happened to a nicer person either. Instead of making money to possibly help her family, she has to abandon her job, friends, and lifestyle to hide with the rest of her family. It's something that I really don't understand from a cultural aspect, especially coming from a country where going bankrupt is as common as fat people in the Midwest.

One last thing. I can't tell you how sick I am of being approached by Jehovah's Witnesses. They're unavoidable and relentless. Yesterday, a woman approached me in the subway telling me that Jesus will save me. What really pissed me off is that it was Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holy day, and she wouldn't let me atone for my sins in peace... OK, so I wasn't atoning or fasting or even observing the holiday in any way, but I am Jewish and am not going to accept Christ as my savior. I tried to explain all this to her, then told her that I was going to hell. She looked at me in pity and walked off. This was the third encounter like that this week. I told a different guy the whole Jewish thing earlier in the week and he tried to do a conversion right then and there. What is even crazier to me is that Christianity wasn't a major religion in Korea until recently. Now, there are neon, yes I said neon, red crosses all over the city. I'm sure Jesus Christ had it in his master plan to label every church with the most obnoxious neon crosses available.