Polo

Ty is always posting about the nice people in Korea and how he's always amazed at how welcoming everyone has been.

So this morning, I was kinda feeling down, trying to decide whether I should spend the day lying in bed or whether I should get up and go do something. So I decided to walk down to the school where I have internet access (our home internet has been out for a few days now) and easy access to good coffee (there's a new Espresso Americano right next to the school) and visual reminders of all the work I have to do. So I stopped by the big house and got my bag (with my iPod and book of the week) and started to head down the hill. Now perhaps I should take a moment to describe the state of this hill. It has been raining lately here more that it ever has since I first arrived last May, and the road is a seemingly endless path of slimy, pasty, wet mud. Worse yet, the moto drivers seem to LOVE To splash walkers with mud and water, and they seem especially intent on hitting the gringos. Now, I am not the most coordinated person in the world, and I have trouble walking down this hill when it's dry, so walking down in it's current state always proves to be quite a challenge for me. I do it every morning, though (laughing and talking to myself every time I almost fall on my ass, or worse, off the bridge and into the creek) so I can listen to my iPod before school.

So anyway, I'm on my way down the hill this morning, slipping and sliding over the pasty bridge section, when a moto driver stops to offer me a jalon (a free ride). This has never happened. So I accepted, confident that if I didn't, today would be the day I ended up on my ass.

Anyway, the moto driver's name was Polo--I think he said it was short for Hipolito, or something like that; my Spanish has gotten horribly worse--and he dropped me off at the bottom of the hill, wished me a nice day, and sent me on my way. And now I'm in a good mood and happy I decided to get out of bed in the first place.

So, the moral of the story: Nice people are everywhere, and sometimes the little nice things people do can make a big difference. Wow, I sound cheesy. Oh well. Asi es la vida.