I had dream in which I was riding around Ilsan in a minivan with some people I didn't know. The streets were dirty, more like Yeonggwang than Ilsan, and there was a row of decrepit and unhappy-looking palm trees along the street, such as you see in 2nd tier urban aglommerations here at the southern end of the peninsula but almost never in Seoul, where the few-degrees-colder climate seems to put a stop to such fantasies. I said I needed to stop at a bank.
We stopped at a bank, but it was only a collection of ATM machines – there were no employees inside. I went to an ATM machine, but there was nowhere to put my ATM card – no slot. The machine was very new and large touch-screen display. But how could I use it without knowing where to put my card? I couldn't find an "English" choice on the screen, either. I walked to the next machine – same problem. I turned around to see that one of the men from the minivan was following me around as I tried to find an ATM that had a slot for my cash card. He had a black and white beard (beards are very unusual in Korea). I tried to explain my problem, and he smiled sympathetically but had no useful advice.
I decided, in my dream, to go back outside. I walked over to the minivan with the bearded man, but some policemen had showed up. They were "inspecting" the minivan, and arguing with the driver. Suddenly, a man jumped out of the back of the minivan and took the policeman's wallet and ran off toward the bank. As the policemen turned around, the back of the van opened and 3 or 4 Mexicans (yes, Mexicans) jumped out and ran off among the apartment buildings of Ilsan. One of them was a grandmother. Whaaaa?
That's when I woke up. What does this dream mean? It means I shouldn't go to sleep listening to NPR with reports on Arizona immigration enforcement and the financial crisis. Or maybe it was the pizza I ate.
Yesterday I had dinner with my fellow foreigners-in-Yeonggwang at the Pizza Club in Yeonggwang. Dan is also leaving, returning home to Oregon. Donna (the other f-in-YG from my April "cohort") has renewed at her school, and is therefore staying. I will miss these people, although I acknowledge I didn't socialize with them that much. Perhaps some of them will come visit with me, some weekend, in Seoul.