The 3rd time's a charm...

...or so I hope, seeing as I've been in 3 car accidents now within the past 4 weeks (I'm really hoping my quota has been satisfied). It's a running joke among my co-workers that I have the worst luck of anyone, ever (one of them has even suggested taking me to her Seer). By saying that, they are not only referring to my recent car accidents, but also to everything else about my time in Korea - having moved 4 times in the past 6 months, having a constantly changing (and never desirable) schedule, being sick more often then not, issues with my boss not wanting to honor my contract and promising me things that were never delivered, etc. The kicker was when, after I got hit by a taxi and was in the emergency room, my boss started cracking up and saying that I have the worst luck of anyone he knows. Funny he would say that, since HE has been the reason for the majority of what people would call my bad luck (car accidents not included).

When I say it all together like that, it does sound like some higher power is out to get me, but it has all been delivered in doses and really hasn't seemed that terrible. In fact, as I've said many times, I've really enjoyed my time here and it's been a great experience. Given everything that has happened, I feel the need to keep reassuring everyone of that. Now, since I'm sure everyone's dying to hear the details of my most recent "bad luck," I'll share:

Car accident #1: About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I was in my friend Scott's car with him, his dog (Baker), and three other guy friends. Wewere in Busan traffic on the way back from a day of rock climbing. I was up front in the passenger seat with Baker, a big white husky, between my legs, and the other three guys were in the back. Driving in Korea is a bit crazy and we had already accomplished a series of maneuvers that should never be tried at home. When we hit ared light, one of the guys in the back noticed a box of rotting tangerines back there with them and decided that a grenade launch was in order. We had just so happened to have pulled up right next to a truck, so the guy decided to launch the tangerine from his window on the opposite side of the car, over the car and into the bed of the truck. As he was preparing to do this, the light turned green and a couple of us yelled at him to hurry up and go. Scott (thedriver), who was watching the launch, heard those words and thought they were directed at him, so instead of looking for himself, he pushed the gas pedal and we lurched forward...right into the car in front of us. Oops. His car was totaled but none of us sustained any serious injuries- just some whiplash and a bump on the head. No more car though.

Car accident #2 (about a week following the first one): This is the one where I get hit by a taxi. I got off of work around 6:20 pm, two days before I was supposed to fly home to Ecuador for Christmas vacation, and walked down the main street to a Korean restaurant where I like to get tuna (chamchi) kimbap. After eating, I decided to go to my bank to pull out some money. As I was walking a long the street (on the sidewalk), I noticed the pedestrian crosswalk light turn green, and decided to cross the street instead. Big mistake. I wrongly assumed that cars would stop at the red light, and was shocked to feel a sudden impact to my lower back. Before I knew it, I had tumbled onto the hood of the car, hit the windshield, and was flying through the air back towards the ground. The thought going through my head was, "this is not going to end well for me." Surprisingly, I hit the ground on my hands and knees and was able to stand up, very shakily. I was sure my back would be broken, or something like that, but when I realized I could stand, I then turned to the car (a taxi) and yelled very loudly at the driver (something that probably shouldn't be repeated). I then started gathering my things, which were scattered throughout the street. A number of people ran over to help me, and one man was trying to guide me across the street to the hospital when the taxi driver finally got out and took me instead into his taxi. I was still too shocked to make any decisions so I let myself be led to the back seat, as he had another passenger in the front. He then continued on his way, delivering his first passenger to theirdesired destination, while I was in the back wondering what was going on. When the other passenger got out, he turned to me and started asking me a string of questions that I didn't understand. I kept saying "chogum hongul" to him, which means "very little Korean," but neither of us seemed to be getting through to each other. I finally thought to call my Korean co-teacher and have her talk to him. He then took me to a hospital close by and she sent my boss over to meet me there. The taxidriver walked me in to the emergency room, explained the situation, and then gave his information. My boss got there and made sure I had ex rays taken and medicine prescribed, and then walked me home, laughing about my bad luck, which actually turned out to be good luck since he gave me the next day off of work (and that NEVER happens here).

Car accident #3 (about a week after #2, maybe less): This one took place during my Christmas vacation in Ecuador, with my family and family friend, Fransisco. We had already spent a couple days in the jungle, come back in time to spend Christmas day at home, and had been packing and preparing for our climbing trip to the mountain Altar. Kerry's friend Fransisco was coming with us, and my dad was going to drive his Chevy four -door truck. We left around 3 AM when the streets were almost deserted. At the start of the drive, someone made a joke about my dad's driving and Fransisco made a show of putting his seat belt on, while Kerry and Iignored ours. The three of us in the back (Fransisco, Kerry and I) fell asleep quickly andremained that way until about 2 hours later when we were awakened by my dad's voice telling us to wake up and brace ourselves. We all woke up in timeto see the taxi (what is it with taxis, anyway?) in front of us spin out of control and slide sideways. My dad slammed on the breaks but that caused our car to lose control as well and we went sliding (almost as if in slow motion) straight towards ANOTHER car which had already crashed into the side of a cliff and was surrounded by people. We all braced ourselves and our truck slammed into the little Fiat and all the people scattered. None of us were hurt, but it was shocking. We looked at the little Fiat, which was completely crushed, and saw a group of live pigs in the trunk that we had crashed into (which had been crushed open). Surprisingly the pigs all seemed to be alive and well. The cause of the accident? A mudslide in the road which hadcaused all of the cars to spin out of control. Try telling that to the Ecuadorian police, though. To make a long story short, since another car was involved in thecrash, my dad had to be taken in to the Ambato police station and was held there for the entire day and night, while the rest of us stayed in a nearby hotel. He would have been put in a jail cell had he not called a high-ranking official that he knows, who was able to speed the process along and keep him out of the very full jail cell. As it goes in Ecuador, you are guilty until proven innocent. Never mind the landslides and natural disasters. Needless to say, our climbing/camping trip was cancelled and we made the following day's newspaper (see picture). We ended up taking a lovely beach vacation instead, complete with beautiful weather and great seafood.