i think im in love...

With my air conditioner!  I finally plugged the beast in today, and I couldn't have done it any sooner!  It is my new best friend!  Seriously, after the day I have had, nothing spells relaxing like hanging out by my air conditioner watching Sex and the City.

I know you must all be asking yourselves "Whatever does she mean, after the day she's had?"  Well, I am officially a burn victim.  Yes, I am laying here, on my stomach in an interminable amount of pain, for I, Tara Smith, am a burn victim.  I couldn't take the pain anymore, I had to show my co-teachers how bad my sunburn was, and ask what I should do,  They almost shat themselves.

See, I woke up this morning, almost died in the shower from the pain, and then, oh, the topper on the cake... when I went to put my bra on, it hurt so bad I burst into tears.  Yes, I was in sheer agony.  I managed to wrangle my bra off again, there was no way in hell I was going to spend the day with that bitch on.  Luckily, I remembered that I have my strapless push up bra with me here, and luckily there was no chance in hell it would come in contact with my burn.  Yup, I may have been burnt to a crisp, but at least my tits looked amazing.

AAANYWAYS, enough about my boobs.  I wore a tank top and a button up shirt to school today; the tank top because it would be soft against my burn and it breathes because it's cotton, and the button up shirt, well, because it's loose.  Unfortunately, this did little to help me; by 3:30 I was in agony.  I had to do something, so, I asked my co-teacher if I went to pharmacy, would the pharmacist be able to give me something for my burn?  She replied that there's really nothing one can do about a sunburn, and that it would get better with time.  So, what else could I do?  I took my shirt off.

Yes, in the middle of the office in my elementary school with the door wide open, I took my shirt off, I had no choice.  Everyone gasped in horror.  Not at the fact that I had my shirt off, but at the fact that I was covered in huge, horrible, disgusting, blisters.  I was immediately informed that, at 4:30, I would be taken to the doctor, and that there was nothing that just a pharmacist could do about my burn.

So, 4:30 rolled around, and, after informing everyone that walked by that I was a blistery freak, I was on my way to the doctor.  Now, I normally hate going to the doctor.  Canadian doctors take for friggin ever, and it's not because they're providing good medical care and listening to you.  No, it's because I'm pretty sure they're getting high out back between patients.  Anyways, enough about my bitterness towards the Canadian medical system... Koreans have it all right, though.  For real.  Yes, you're in and out super quick, but your wait time in the waiting room is super quick, too.  And they actually listen to you.  See, their quickness is a matter of efficiency and accuracy, in Canada, not so much.  And it's cheap here, too, even for prescription drugs.

My visit today, however, was less than pleasant.  I showed my doctor my back, to which he did the air sucking in hissing thingy that Koreans do.  It makes me uncomfortable, I know it means something is wrong.  He then pulled out a huge friggin needle, at which point I started crying and tried to run away (yes, I am 22 and not 4, but needles scare the shit outta me!).  So, there he was with this big ol' needle, coming at me, as I'm trying to run away and half crying/having a panic attack and my co-teacher is laughing and trying to prevent me from running out the door, and he comes at me and starts jabbing all of the blisters.  Yes, boys and girls, mommy and daddy tell you not to pop your blisters because you'll get an infection, but crazy doctor man popped ALL of mine with a big icky needle!

After the needle therapy, I got treated to another needle... this time it was a shot in the ass.  This day was like my worst nightmare.  After which, I got pulled into another room, where I was treated to laser therapy.  So, here I was, laying on this uncomfortable table thing for almost ten minutes while a laser was being directed at my back to "help my new skin."  Maybe it's just because I'm not a doctor... but I don't think applying more radiation on top of radiation damage can honestly be all that helpful.

After the laser therapy, the cortisone cream had to be applied.  With a wooden stick, apparently.  Now, it's bad enough having someone touch a raw wound with their hand, it sucks, in fact, but using a wooden stick, that's just malicious.  And then patting them down with Vaseline gauze afterwards.  And tape.  And wrapping them in a tensor bandage.  I look like a freak.  I'm already a freak for being a foreigner in Korean, but now I'm a freak for being a foreigner in Korea wrapped up like a mummy.

I also had to buy antibiotics.  Something to prevent infection, and something to help with the pain.  The doctor's visit cost 8100 won, and the prescription cost 2100 won, and I get to do it all over again tomorrow.  And maybe a few more times after that.

The only consolation of the whole day?  I got a free strawberry yogurt drink when I dropped off my prescription.

And a certain someone may actually be attempting to put in effort.  I stopped arguing and started the communication, and he went along with it.  We'll see how long it lasts...

Oh, and for your amusement, the aftermath of day 1: