To those people who have posted comments recently… thanks! :) I have responded in the form of more comments, so you may want to check the posts where you commented.

In brief, answering the basic questions once more in general: my computer keeps crashing because I have bad luck. I am otherwise settling into Jeonju well enough. I had a horrible time at the Jeonju Immigration office today. The particular officer I got was making issues out of everything (including how I handed him the forms… I did so with one hand, but with the other hand ceremonially drawing back the (nonexistent) sleeve of my robe, which is a very polite thing to do, and normally adequate for social politeness. But he insisted I should hand it to him with two hands, presumably because he is my elder and because it was a very formal situation (ie. because he holds power over me in that particular situation). He complained about things that very obviously did not matter, asked me random questions that had no bearing on the case at hand, and finally delayed everything until September 1st… despite the fact that I actually begin teaching first thing in the morning on that day.

The less I have to deal with bureaucrats, the better.

I plan on buying a washing machine and some furniture tomorrow, including a bookshelf and a wardrobe into which I can put all my tons and tons of clothing. I also am considering having my bed sent back, because this morning I woke again with a backache. I really think sleeping on a yo on the floor is better for me. That’ll give me more space in my flat, which ould be nice even though it’s quite a big place to begin with… 13 pyeong is my guess, I don’t know for sure, but it’s about as big as the single rooms I lived in my first few years in Montreal, and somewhat nicer. And NO COCKROACHES. Whee.

I am posting this from a wondrous place called a Jim Jil Bang, a kind of bathhouse/sauna/relaxation center with rooms dedicated to things like sleeping, watching TV, lying on a heated floor covered with mats woven from what I think is rice plant stalks (but I don’t know for sure), and just hanging out with people. I came too late to get a haircut (I am wanting another shave, so I shall have to get it done tomorrow), but they offer haircuts and massages here too. I think it’s a good place to come on a Sunday afternoon just to relax and treat my body nicely.

I’ll probably go to Seoul sometime this week in the hopes of having someone fix my d#&!$ computer.

I’m a little lonely here, not truly but I guess I imagine I will be for a while, once the novelty of a new city wears off, because I don’t know a lot of people here; and I miss being able to just walk out of my house into any number of wonderful restaurants, which were common in my old neighborhood but aren’t so common in my new one. Still, it’ll be good in that it’ll make me cook more. I’ll try to get busy with that.

It’s time for me to go before this computer runs out of coin-bought time!