N8's Bday

So I've been waiting for N8 to write about his birthday adventure so that he could choose what to say and what to omit....especially considering the photos that we have....
In celebration of his birthday, N8 decided to grow out his beard and shape it like the characters from the movie Gone With the Wind in order to be referred to as "Colonel Wildcat." If anyone slipped up and called him anything but Colonel Wildcat that person was obligated to have one shot of Soju. (yuck!)



N8's face went from a full beard to colonel then to just a mustache and MAN DOES HE LOOK LIKE HIS DAD!

We rented two vans and took people 2 hours north to Inje to play paintball and go white water rafting. It rained all day, but surprisingly it actually made the whole experience that much better! Paintballing int he rain made it very intense and difficult and everyone seemed to have a good time. Afterwards we were taken down to the river to raft down the quick waters and it was still raining. We all thought we'd freeze to death, but the rain was quite warm and it was a beautiful feeling to be on the river in the rain surrounded by lush mountains. The best part of rafting was that we were coaxed out of the raft and swam in the river and it carried us down stream for a while where we met people who were jumping off of the rocks into the river. We didn't get a lot of photo opportunities because of the rain.

When all of the events for the day were finished we got back into the van and headed back home to Gangneung. Some of us went to an all you can eat meat buffet. We ate, we drank, and we were merry! Once our bellies were full we proceeded to go out to a Korean club, which isn't my favorite thing...but its fun since we are the only ones who really dance on the dance floor.
This particular club usually has performances. That night they had a few singers and the D.J. also made a very public appearance by stripping all of the way down to his birthday suit...happy birthday N8! It was bazaar and we left...

The rest of the night was a bunch fun and a total success! N8 is now 24, his favorite number. <3

Murung Valley

Now that the weather is nice, we've been taking advantage of some of the natural beauty around us. On an impromptu Saturday morning, we decided to round up some friends to go for a hike. We got together at the bus station and took a 1 hour bus ride to Donghae (south of us). Our good friend, Graeme, taught in this area before and he is familiar with the city. We ended up going to Murung Valley, a popular hiking spot for Koreans because the hiking path follows a river that cuts through the mountain. Graeme took us off of the path to hike along the big rocks, we passed some Koreans that were having a quaint picnic by the river and they proceeded to tell us that we shouldn't go any further because there weren't any people up ahead...but that's exactly what we wanted!

We set up camp by a small swimming hole and enjoyed the sunshine. Later we were met up by some more friends who heard about our outing and once it got dark we built a fire and cooked up some soup and hotdogs. We suspect that some rangers found us but it was too dark to do anything about it. We camped out and stayed until the next day and ate our leftover hotdogs for breakfast, the rangers came back once we were all packed up and brushing our teeth. Two or three rangers came by to stare but because they don't speak English nothing was done about our mischievous behavior.

Its really wonderful to have such beautiful surroundings nearby.

I once was blind...

and now its still a little blurry- as expected~!!

This past weekend I went to Seoul, to a recommended lasek clinic, to have my eyes corrected. The staff was really wonderful, most of them spoke English and they were very sweet. The doctor warned me of the pain and recovery time but also of the safety of the procedure. My eyes were in pretty bad shape, so the effects of the surgery were expected to be a little more painful. N8 called off of work to come with me and be my seeing eye dog for the weekend. He was a wonderful support and really patient with the whole process. I had the surgery on Friday, I was super nervous and anxious, but the women prepping me were so kind that they helped me calm down. One of the ladies actually held my hand through the whole operation! Nate was able to see me in the operating room through a glass wall, he was also able to see the surgery on a monitor that they had displayed. The whole thing was utterly painless, just a little awkward and uncomfortable at times. The doctor talked me through each step which helped pass the time. The weirdest part, though, was that at the end of the operation the doctor told me he was finished and as he walked out the door, a song boomed out of the speakers singing: "CONGRATULATIONS! AND SALUTATIONS! ...." it was so bizzar.

I was amazed that I was able to see everything so clearly just minutes after the surgery! My eyes were a little tired and sore for the rest of the day but my vision was crystal clear. The following two days, however, were another story. My eyes were in so much pain, it was hard to open them. It was no fun but I was warned, so I wasn't worried. I went back to the doctor for a follow-up and he said that most patients regrow20-30% their epithelial layer by the next day, but my eyes had recovered by 50%. I tried to keep myself entertained by watching tv shows on the computer throughout the weekend, but the glare was too bright. But watching the screen was too bright if it was in the dark, so there I was, in my room with all of the lights on, the computer on a low light setting, watchign Dexter with my sunglasses on. classy.

By Monday, I was able to wake up without any pain but my vision is still a bit blurry. Today I will go to another doctor in my city so that they can remove the protective lens from my eyes. They say that my sight should steady out within a week or two, and that my eyes will not be fully healed for about 3 months. I'm very happy with my decision and the results!