Well, today started out just swell.

I'll preface this by saying that last night I got some really wonderful news. That is that my high school classes next week are cancelled due to exams. I'm thrilled about this because I am at about my wits end with this stupid evening class. With next week being cancelled, I currently have 5 more days of classes. To make it even sweeter, one day is a final exam (each student will do a speech), and another is preparation for the speeches, so really I have just 3 more days. Aaaaaaaand, the last day of class, I think all the teachers will combine our classes and have some kind of big fun game or scavenger hunt or something. So that leaves today and tomorrow. I'm so happy I could just cry tears of joy.

Anyways, on to my day starting out just swell (while via the internet this sarcasm is hard to convey, I think you, my readers, will understand shortly).

Last night I was sleeping soundly (with most of the lights on and myself still half-dressed in my clothing from the day... my high school wears me out so much that I can hardly manage to change into pajamas some nights) until 4 a.m. when I abruptly woke to the screech of multiple sirens that sounded frighteningly near my apartment. My initial thought was oh my god, North Korea is attacking Incheon and I'm gonna die tonight. I literally thought that I bolted upright in bed and tried to get my bearings in what I presumed was a warlike attack on my house. I got out of bed and thought I have to figure out how to get out without dying in the shellings. I peeked out my bedroom window and with that my fears were allayed. The sirens were, in fact, not bomb sirens as I had imagined, but the sirens of 4 fire trucks approaching and parking immediately across the street from my apartment building.

While the thought of a nearby raging fire (which I couldn't actually spot from my window, warning sign #1) is not pleasant, I'd say that I felt thoroughly relieved when the only other possibility I had imagined was hundreds of artillery shells razing buildings and shredding limbs.

So, I laid back down in bed as the firetruck sirens died down to a low mew, and just as I rested my head upon my pillow I was startled once more by an even louder, closer alarm. Welp, I thought, maybe North Korea is attacking after all. And stood up, more annoyed the fearful and I discovered the source of the alarm was my own building's alarm system (not labeled as or resembling a fire alarm by western standards). This unnerved me given the plethora of fire trucks outside my window. And I cracked open my door to discover a thick cloud of gray smoke.

OH. MY. GOD. I'm gonna die in a fiery apartment accident. Lovely.

I raced back inside and grabbed a coat and my cell phone and stepped back out into the cloud of smoke to see about 10 firemen whom I half-expected to sweep me up and rush me down fire ladders to my safety. Instead, they brushed past without so much as an acknowledgement of my presence. As I rounded the corner by my door, I discovered the smoke's source. A room a mere two doors from my own was emitting volumes of smoke and I just stood there thinking, do I need to run down the stairs or is this under control. No one was talking to me, but the sirens were wailing, and increasing, residents were poking their heads out the door and trying to figure out what was going on. I seemed to be the director pointing the other residents to the source of the commotion and the firemen finally said, it's okay, go to your room.

So through the smoke I trekked again, and went back into my room which now faintly smelled of smoke and climbed back into bed remembering to be thankful that both I and the country I'm living in remain safe for another night.

It was fucking scary though. I couldn't sleep until 5:30 or so, and I had to wake up at 6:30, so that was awesome. Today my students are bitches and are totally like teacher, you have dark circles, and I was like, yeah, well, that happens when you almost die.