I'm Pregnant, Not Paralyzed

I don't know really how it is in America, but oh my goodness, Korea.

When I mentioned to my doctor that I've been walking and riding my bike, she looked pretty mortified at the latter. "Oh, no! You shouldn't do that! It's dangerous!" My husband asked why, and I don't really think she ever clearly thought of why--she just "knew" that it was so. She replied with, "Well, you know, you could fall over...and the seat is uncomfortable..." I don't remember what else she said, but I just smiled and said, "Yes, doctor." I absolutely love my doctor, and she wants nothing but the best for us, so okay, no worries. It was a little silly, but okay.

Well today, I mentioned to the mother of one of my young students that we are expecting and asked just to have cold water when I arrived (this was after class). She always prepares apple juice, grape juice, lemonade, or some other forbidden fruit juice before I arrive that would have me scuttling to the bathroom after class, even if I had only taken a sip or two. (After I put two and two together, I always gave my juice to her son, heheh.) When I walked out of the apartment, she followed and saw my bike. You would think that I have been telling these people that I was doing drugs or something!

It might come from the fact that many women actually don't even know how to ride a bike, the teaching of which is a cliche scene in many Korean romance dramas (including my favorite!). I don't know. I am ridiculously cautious when passing by any sort of driveway or intersection. Pedestrians are able to surpass me there. However, it saves me a ton of time and us a bunch of money (not having to take a taxi**), nevertheless a lot of shoulder ache from lugging my bag full of books around!

**Ah, about taxis. I have a story:

This past Friday, we were taking a taxi to my morning class. It's taxi or bus for us, and taxi is just more comfortable. Ha.

Everything's going fine, but suddenly, a small truck is switching over to the right line, where we were. He was practically horizontal, and our taxi was not slowing down, even though the rest of traffic was stopped. He was looking over to the right side, perhaps checking his mirror, and I started screaming, "STOP! STOP! STOP!" Maybe he doesn't understand stop, but what else would I be screaming? Hee Suk starts yelling, too, and he thus stops. I thought for sure we were going to crash.

Yes, Korean drivers have a crazy sense for stopping at the right time. It's freaky as all goodness would have it. However, you can't just be driving 50km, looking out the side as you are quickly approaching a truck because YOU feel okay.

Do you know what he said after stopping? He started blaming us! It's hard to translate well, but basically, it was ,"Aish! Suddenly! (Referring to me suddenly yelling/screaming at him.)" He went on to basically say I shouldn't do that, even as my husband explained that I was pregnant and we just want to be safe. Who does that?? Hee Suk was smart enough not to continue arguing with him and wrote down all of his information. We also paid by credit card to get more info printed out, as well as wrote down his license plate number. He promptly called to complain, and some form of action is supposed to be taken.

Anyway, my point is riding my bike is infinitely safer than taking a taxi or even driving here! Hee Suk drove here for many years, but even he refuses to ever drive here again with how crazy it is. My goodness. (And thank God for keeping us safe!)

That's my rant for the day. I was going to tell other families today (much at the insisting of Hee Suk so they can "take better care of [me]," but I didn't want to hear anyone spazzing after seeing my bike. -.-; I'll announce it at the end of the week.

In good news, though, I bought a personal size lasagna at HomePlus yesterday that is loaded with protein. I decided to try it for lunch today, and it was amazing! Even Hee Suk smelt it and kept saying, "I can finish that for you!" It was so good. Yum, yum. I will be loading up on our next visit! I had also bought some muffins and a brownie, both of which are just absolutely delicious. Sesame is happy. I think Grandma's words might just have gotten through...

Although...he/she does have one complaint. Demand might be a better word for it. Baby wants a nice, juicy grilled burger. We might have to seriously splurge and go to Outback Steakhouse here to get one. (American restaurants here are pretty much double the cost of what they are back in the homeland.) I'm talking cooked on the fire. Baby is very serious about this. It must be slightly charbroiled on the outside, medium-well on the inside, and be topped with the correct proportions of lettuce, onions, ketchup and mayonnaise. I fear the repercussions if the burger deviates slightly... ^.~

Well, I'm off to shower. When Appa comes home, we'll be having steaks (not real steaks--Korean-style steaks, but they're good anyway), and I bought a can of green beans to whip up. I haven't had green beans in ages, and they weren't easy to spot at the store! I think baby is starting to realize the goodness that food really is. Shoot, I didn't buy butter. My dinner might be ruined. I'll figure it out...

Praise God, for we are truly blessed!