Robert Who?

My friend, Tom, and I have had quite a few adventures since arriving in Korea. I should probably start a new blog, The Adventures of Redneck and Suji. This week's adventure is not necessarily the funniest, but it is, by far, the most astonishing.

Two weeks ago, I bought a fabulous new pair or Roberto Cavalli sunglasses from Shinsegae, which came with a one year warranty card and a carrying case about the size of a small country.

Last week, I encouraged Tom to wear my sunglasses as a part of his "robot" Halloween costume. He then wore them out Halloween night in Seoul, with which I had no problem.

The following Monday, I ran into Tom's class to see if maybe he had the glasses at school with him, to which he responded, "Um. Yeah. I think that are at my apartment. And they might be broken."

"What?!? They were really expensive!"
"Well, not really broken. One of the lenses just seems to have popped out."
"Oh. OK. I'm sure it will be fine."
"But they weren't really expensive right? I mean, they seemed to be just plastic sunglasses. I thought you bought them at the costume shop."
"No, Tom! They were Roberto Cavalli!"
"Robert who?"
"You're killing me, Tom."

Then I felt bad for reacting badly over a stupid pair of sunglasses, which I told him to wear, and I remembered that they were still under warranty!!! So I went back to Tom's class to tell him that there was nothing to worry about.

"Oh. That's great, Swilley. I'm sure we will be able to get them fixed then."
"Well, yeah. They're under warranty. There should be no problem."
"(clears throat)...um...yeah...I'm sure it will be fine."

Fast forward to 30 minutes later....Tom enters main teachers' office...

"So, Swilley, the glasses aren't so much broken as broken and missing."
"Wha..."
"But I'm sure I will be able to find them! Don't worry! All will be well!"
"OK, Tom. If you say so."

Fast forward to two hours later...Text message from Tom...
"Good start. I have the lenses. Now I only need to find the frames."

I was seriously cracking up at this point.

Fast forward to one hour later...Message from Tom to random friends on facebook....

"Just a shot in the dark......has anyone found the gold rim glasses that I was wearing on Saturday night? They belong to Swilley and I've found out that they have an equivalent value to a villa in Monaco.......any ideas give me a shout. cheers."

Fast forward to this morning's cab ride to work...
"Swilley, I've work out a plan. I'm just going to bring the lenses in the case, with the warranty card, to Shinsagae. I will just explain that my girlfriend was wearing them, and the frames fell off of her face into a river. I will bring Lynn, and she will cry threaten to break up with me if I do not replace the glasses."
"Tom, you don't speak Korean. That is NEVER going to work."
"Sure it will, Swilley. I'm English. They'll love my accent. I'll wear a trench coat and be very British."
"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."
"No, Swilley. It's golden. It's gonna work."

We continued to have the same conversation over and over again throughout today, and I seriously tried to talk him out of wasting his time, but he is one persistent Brit!

Lo and behold, I got the following text earlier this evening...
"Good news. Just saw them at Shinsegae. They're gonna put new frames on for you:)"

Now, seriously, raise your hand if you thought Tom was going to be successful in the previous venture. Oh, put you hands down, liars!!!! You know, as well as I do, that most stores in most countries, ESPECIALLY Korea would not have replaced frames that had gone MIA. I mean, the warranty serial number was on the frames, not the lenses!

I guess it just goes to show that Tom and Lynn are thespians extraordinaire.

Bravo, guys! And many thanks!

PRE-SOJU=LENSES

POST-SOJU=NO LENSES


(It's so crazy that the lenses, instead of the frames, made it back home!)

Hello, November!

I have passed the eight month mark! Some days, it feels like eight years; some days, it feels like eight minutes. I will be home for two months in March, and I can't wait, but I am also looking forward to another sensational year in Korea. Knowing more about the various areas, housing options, and schools has me really excited about "movin' on up!" I know that much of the rural area in Korea is beautiful and offers a higher salary, but I'm a city girl, and Seoul is where I shall be next year. Yongin has been nice, but I'm so tired of making the trek back and forth into the city.
I also can't believe it has been nearly two years since I have seen my family. I'm loving life, but man-o-man do I miss them, especially my nephew, Luke. The word on the street is he no longer answers to "Luke Swilley," only "Luke Skywalker." And I cannot wait to meet my soon-to-be niece, Ella Rose. It's unfortunate that my family won't move to Korea, but they have always been a selfish bunch!
And don't think for a minute that I have forgotten about my "Miller" family! I can't wait to see Steven and Savannah. I have a feeling Dar and I will be kidnapping them for a fun-filled afternoon; hopefully Sprinkles Cupcakes and Gelato Paradiso will be involved!!!! Michelle, don't start. I know you're cupcakes are awesome.

As the blog title implies, it is now November, a month in which a VERY important holiday occurs. THAT'S RIGHT......Pepero Day!
Pepero is a cookie stick dipped in chocolate. I won't lie. I'm a big fan. (No pun intended) And November 11 is Pepero Day because "11-11" looks like four Pepero Sticks. I did some research, and according to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero." That's what I like most about Korea culture, it's focus on intelligence.

I'm surprised there is not a Spam Day (maybe there is) because EVERY convenience and grocery provides not only tons of Spam but SPAM GIFT SETS! And I'm talking HUGE gift sets. SPOILER ALERT: Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas????

I almost forgot that Thanksgiving is this month, and it will be very odd to be stuck in a classroom teaching, instead of watching the parade with Dar (remember the slow moving panda bear? Yep. You're doing to motion right now, aren't you?!?), making mashed potatoes with Michelle, stuffing my face with Joel's bean dip, and watching the yearly James Bond marathon.
My friends and I really want to cook a turkey, but we don't know anyone with an oven. (Maybe this is where the Spam become necessary) There has been talk of frying a turkey, but we do not know how to find a large amount of peanut oil. Also, I'm pretty sure the turkey fryer would just be a huge pot on top of a bonfire on someone's rooftop. Errr...I'm gonna keep searching for an oven. Maybe TGI Fridays will let us use theirs.

Did I mention it's freezing?????? We went from 70 degrees to 30 degrees in 60 seconds! How did I miss autumn? I took a nap on Sunday, so maybe I missed it then. Thank god for my ondol (heated floor). It's cranked up so high at the moment, I could probably bake a turkey on it. Uh-oh! I think we have a solution to our problem! :)