Vacuum Ventures

Ever since I moved into my apartment, I’ve been having battles with the dust bunnies. It seems that the previous owner didn’t have a problem with them, but the constant flow of particles really irritates me. I’ve washed my floors twice but still have constant reminders of the bunnies hiding under my bed and furniture.

I decided that it was time to take action! Seeing as a mop could not get the job done, I went online and found a guy who was selling his vacuum cleaner for very cheap (the ones in the store were out of my price range seeing as I will only be here for a year). I arranged to meet with this guy yesterday to pick it up. Initially he told me to go to his apartment to get it, but I felt more comfortable meeting in a public place so we agreed on the Subway Station.

When it was time for me to head over to get it, I found his area on the map and realized that it was quite a distance away. Normally this is not a problem because I have become quite comfortable taking the subway in my area, however in order to get to his location, I had to switch over Subway lines and continue for a few stops.

Now, one must realize that I have never taken a subway in an English speaking country, so I really don’t have that much experience, but adding to the fact that everyone speaks Korean here made this quite a challenge.

When I reached the point where I needed to switch subway lines, I got very lost, especially because it was overly crowded and people were pushing around to get to where they needed to go. I had almost lost all hope of finding where I was supposed to go when I spotted a white guy!!!! I literally ran to the other end of the station and approached him panting saying “I can’t believe there’s another white person here!”.

To my relief, he was able to help me find the right stop to continue on my journey. FINALLY I made it to where I was supposed to be (this felt like a major accomplishment, even though it’s nothing big for the locals). I met Dan the vacuum guy (who happens to come from Toronto) and completed the transaction and went on my way to return home on the subway.

Now something I’ve noticed during my time here is that people stare at me almost constantly because I look different. When I’m walking down the street I get honked at probably 15-20 times… It’s like the ‘honk at the white person’ game here. So you can imagine at how people stared at me taking the Subway home with a vacuum cleaner slung over my shoulders and both hands holding separate ends! It was quite the challenge maneuvering in and out of places being such a ‘wide load’ but I made do.

At one point on the subway, a little old lady took my bag from my hands. Initially my reaction was ‘someone is stealing my bag’ but she was like 80 and smiled at me. I realized then that she wanted to help me and lighten my load… how nice! Even though there’s a language barrier and people stare at me like I’m an alien, they are very kind and helpful.

(side note: many of my little Korean students always tell me “teacher, you have very big eyes!!... so beautiful!---- they’re captivated by Caucasian eyes)

Walking back to my apartment with my vacuum, I continued to get many honks but finally, I arrived home!

Today I tested it out--- Was it worth it? DEFINITELY!!! My place is spotless and feels so much cleaner. Although it was quite the trek to get, I am very pleased with the end result!

In an hour, I’m meeting up with friends to go to Centum City which apparently has one of the largest shopping complexes in the world… fun!

Hi to everyone back home--- I love your messages!