betrayal

recently, i had at least 50,000 won ($50) stolen from me. i say at least because i don't know exactly how much i had in my wallet at the time...the only possible place this could have happened was at taekwon-do. this is how my day went prior to the stealing taking place:

-i read and had tea at dunkin donuts right before TKD (my purse was with me the whole time)
-next, i went to TKD (my purse was in the changing room)
-afterwards, we all went to a basketball game (my purse was with me the whole time)
-finally, i picked up some dinner and realize instantly that money was missing from my wallet

the only time my purse/wallet was left unattended would be in the TKD changing room...therefore, it had to be one of the other 3 girls that was there. the thing is, i'm pretty sure it's the TKD masters daughter (who was also one of my 6th grade students). she was the only one who didn't dress/participate in TKD that day (we had our belt tests). i noticed her go into the locker room and i thought to myself she was going to change and take her test, but when she came back out she was still in her normal clothes. then, during the basketball game she randomly pulled out her wallet and showed me her "chinese new years money" (which was all crumpled up in her wallet) that she received. my university partner said that elementary kids do have a tendency to steal from their teachers at school (and that's why women put their purses in like a locker type of thingy in their classrooms). i'm just really shocked that any of those girls would want to steal that much money from me when i've only been really good to them. i've bought them dinner, ice cream, candy, bread and whatever else i could think of, and this is how they repay me. i don't expect anything in return for me buying them anything, but to be that shady and steal money is straight up betrayal. it shows whoever did it has no respect towards me or my property. i talked to the TKD master about this and he basically didn't do anything about it. i obviously don't keep a hidden camera in my bag, so i have no proof that anything got stolen...nonetheless, nothing can be done-which is a shame. now, i'm super paranoid about my wallet and always count how much cash i have and make sure that my purse is never alone with one person.

this is why i always hated carrying around cash back in the states, in case i lost my wallet or it got stolen, but in korea it's not smart to never have any cash. i've found myself in a lot of not so good situations at night where i had less than $10 and almost got really screwed because of it. rule of thumb for me is to have at least 30,000 won ($30) at all times.

these upcoming months will be a lot different. my one friend in my city has gone back home, and 2 new teachers will be coming in at the beginning of march. it's so weird to think that i'm really alone now during the week. no one to eat with, no one to go to emart with. i don't hate korea anymore, i'm finally used to the lifestyle here (doesn't mean i like or accept it). but, at the same time, i miss home every single day.

number of times an ahjussi asked me if i had a boyfriend within the first 5 mins of talking to them:
7