Oh So Cold

There's been an extreme weather change in our neck of the woods and we can't say we're too happy about it. I firmly believe that October is far too early to wear all components of a 3-in-1 coat and gloves and to be seriously contemplating a scarf and toque. Fall is my favourite time of year and it feels so good to have jeans and sweaters on, to go for long walks and to feel the cool breeze. Days when it is chilly with the sun is shining are the best. We've had those, but the chilly part has been chillier than we expected.

Our apartment is heated by hot water pumped through the floors. This method of heating surprisingly works great (thank God!) and we've been toasty warm while at home. This was another motivation for the room switcheroo - our butts couldn't take the heat for too long while sitting on the floor. We leave the floor heater on all day so it is great coming home to a warm place after a cold day at work and an even colder walk home.

Yeah, about that cold day at work ... the school we work for is by no means poor but it is cheap. They do have working heaters that should have been turned on 2 weeks ago but weren't turned on until today. For the past 2 weeks we wore fleece jackets in the classroom and have even worn our gloves in the office because our fingers felt like they were falling off while working on the computer. All of my kindergartens would tell me how cold they were with their little chattering teeth and their coats on and it just about broke my heart that there was absolutely nothing I could do. Little Kate was so cold (and I'm sure she had a fever) that I wrapped her in my fleece and she crawled up on my lap and feel asleep. It was so sweet - she stayed there for an hour.

Anyways, about the apartment - we were staying toasty warm until Saturday when the water heater broke. We weren't sure what happened at first and thought perhaps it was something routine (a few weeks ago the water was shut off to clean the pipes and we had no idea it was going to happen even though there was probably a notice right on the front door). Well, that wasn't the case - 4 days later and still no heater. Oh, did I mention that the little heater also heats our water? This has not been a fun few days. Showering has been a real treat, hosing ourselves down as quickly as possible washing only the important parts. Not only is the water cold but we are sure it passes through a tunnel of ice before coming out the faucet.

To top this all off Darin has the most atrocious cough he's ever had. I think it's a combination of the weather and being around a hundred plus little kids that have gross little kid germs. I don't know if he's losing it but yesterday I caught him talking to the bottle of Barley Greens asking why they weren't working and could they please start working because he would really like that. Today our teaching partner, Brian, suggested Darin go to the Pharmacy to get something for the cold. It seems doctors here are just middle men that you can totally avoid going to. You can go straight to the pharmacist and get your drugs, no prescription required. Brian wrote out Darin's symptoms in Korean so there is no confusion and he can get the goods tomorrow on his way to school.

Which brings me to another point. We are trying something new. So far we have been going to and from school together everyday. I have 7 classes a day starting a 9:30 AM and Darin has 6 a day starting at either 1:30 or 2:30 in the afternoon. Every morning Darin gets up and makes the walk with me. This is so unnecessary but I totally love that he does, our morning walk is one of my favourite times of the day. My day ends at 6:30 and I hang around the extra hour until Darin is finished to make our walk home (my second favourite time of the day). The something new is that once a week I walk in alone (a little more than once a week when he is sick and I force him to stay home). This feels a little strange but it is good. It allows Darin uninterupted writing time and I am actually more productive during my break at work when he is not there. Why it feels strange is that we have been together every second since we got here. When we are not together we are only one room apart. I actually miss him when he stays home - even if we are only apart for 4 hours (sad, I know, but it's true)