Korean efficiency

Sunday afternoon and we were on our way back from our five day Jeju adventure  and what do I decide to leave on the bus ? After an 8 hour trip home from jeju  my brain was utter moosh and I just wanted to get home. With only 30minutes to spare until my train departed i rushed of the bus gathered my goods and made my way to the station. Feeling very smug with myself at this point as I had made it to the station on time with all my belongings I reached into my bag to check the time  on my phone only to discover  that it was not there and that I had infact left it on the bus . Now for those of you who are not completely dependant on yor phones I dont expect you to empathise with me . However for those of you  who are as dependant as me you will understand my utter horror when i realised  my baby was currently on a bus somewhere in Daegu and that the probability of me getting it back was rather small.

It's the only item that is constantly attatched to my body. The item that I can rely on to help me in times of trouble and the item that allows me to communicate with the world. I rushed back up the stairs to try and catch the bus ... there it was , The big red bus driving off into the distance. Gone. Thanks to my amazing tour organiser she phoned the bus company straight away who took down my school address and promised that they would have it posted during the week. Now coming from South Africa , a country where cellphones are not returned if they go missing but are rather disected of all its parts and sold on the black market , I wasnt extremely hopeful that my phone would be returned to .

Tuesday afternoon and my co teacher walks in with a box .... I kid you not , not even two days later and there it was my Samsung S2 wrapped up in bubble wrap in a giant box and all in one piece . I really thought I would never see my phone again.

If there is one thing that I have learnt about being in this country its that Soko is efficient , quick , reliable and trustworthy. Despite the many things that get on my nerves about this country South Korean people win hands down for their kindness and helpfulness. The bus driver didnt have to return my phone to me. He could have sold it and made some extra cash won but he didnt and for that I will always be eternally grateful. As for the Korean postal system,its in a le of its own. Posting cellphones across cities is not something that one could do in South Africa. Its the small situations like this that make me realise why this country is so great.