아프다고 말하면...*

* = If I say that I'm in pain...(ah-peu-dago-mal-ha-myeon)

So something that is decidedly not fun about being in a foreign country: getting sick.

I suppose my body picked a fortunate time to go haywire on me, as I'm on my aforementioned week-long vacation; however, this time was supposed to be spent doing productive studying, not sleeping off whatever stomach bug I seem to have acquired. The odd thing is that I feel 100% normal; no headache, bodyache, fever, etc; I just can't seem to digest anything properly. I've spent a good portion of the past 5 days in severe pain as a result of stomach cramps. This is my one and only symptom. I saw a doctor yesterday, who seemed kind of baffled; this may have been because of communication difficulties (I went with one of my language partners, but her English is not very good, so we had some trouble getting meanings across). I was given a prescription and told to take 15 pills a day (WHY ARE THEY ALL NECESSARY I HATE SWALLOWING PILLS). They don't appear to have helped, though, and I'm thus forced to conclude that my unhealthy diet may be catching up to me. Fruit is really expensive in South Korea, so I never eat it (except on 받빙수, an ice cream dessert that comes mixed with fruit), nor do I get nearly enough fiber. I guess I'll just be taking it easy for the next couple of days and trying not to eat anything too stimulating. Jihye unni, Jihyang unni, and Philip Gant all told me to eat 죽, which seems to be the Korean equivalent of congee (rice porridge, for those unfamiliar), so I suppose that is what's on the dinner menu for tonight.

Funnily enough, if I do have to be sick in South Korea, Sogang seems to have best equipped me for stomach trouble, as chapter 3B's vocabulary is all about stomach ailments and hospital-related terms. No kidding - I can say things like, "I have indigestion," (속이 쓰려요) "I feel like I'm going to throw up," (토할 것 같아), and "Please give me digestive medicine (소화제를 좀 주세요). Thank you, Sogang University + Choi/Lee/Yang Sunsaengnim. If any further trips to the doctor or pharmacy are needed, at least I sort of know what to say.

I expect to update again soon, when I'm feeling better (which will hopefully be soon, because I think I will get sick of eating saltines rather quickly). Home in 2.5 weeks. Sad face.