Thank God I got my cast off last week b.c. even tho it's still broken- it's healed somewhat and I can walk a little and go places and oh my- have a life once again!! Wahoo!!
So Saturday I was real productive... I went to the community rummage sale and actually grabbed some good practical things for my apartment- it was EARLY in the am, obviously, but well worth it b.c. I def got some stuff I needed. :) I went grocery shopping for the first time in over a month b.c. I could actually manage getting there! I went back to Itaewon for another chiropractic appt. and then went to a Korean baseball game!!
It was pretty interesting.. very entertaining. There was a male cheerleader that lead the crowd in constant cheers and guys that walked around with kegs on their backs filling up cups o beer! :)
Koreans def take their time when playing baseball... it was SO long- much longer than a normal American game.
Afterwards, I went on the subway, by myself, to meet up with Berengere and go out to Hongdae (the happening university place).
After driving halfway around the city b.c. the cabbie misunderstand the location we wanted, we eventually ended up where we wanted and walked down the street drinking beer and meeting lotsa people to talk to. It was random and fun.
On Sunday we went to a Jjimjjilbang which is like a mixture b.n. a Roman public bath, Turkish sauna, and a spa...
Tips for the JjimJjilbang (... I didn't see this before I went...)
A description:
"
The spa experience in Korea is a way of life for Koreans. It is a place for young couples to court away from the gaze of parental eyes; leisure time for the whole family to retreat for Sunday afternoon or an environment for fathers to bond with their sons. It’s a place for the elderly to come and maintain their health and for those wishing to relax in the early morning before they prepare for a full day’s work. In short it is a necessary part of the culture for young and old. Spas are widespread in Korea covering every corner of the country and can be found in idyllic mountain settings or within an office complex building in the city centre.
Most spas have private areas for men and women, where every item of clothing is left at the door; this ritual of de-robing is itself a means of freeing oneself from the daily grind and into a peaceful zone of hot saunas and even hotter baths. These are very quiet places where remarkably few words are ever spoken. This is probably no surprise bearing in mind one is baring all."
Ok, so this is the process:
You walk in and take off your shoes, of course, then go into a little room where you strip naked and put the provided tshirt and shorts on and this weird funky (and small) hat thing on. So Berengere and I got real up close and personal from the getgo.
We then head to the first sauna which was the "Amethyst stone sauna" (yes, real big fat Amethysts lined the entire cave!! musta been pretty $$) We ducked through the little hobbit-like entrance (and no, it's not b.c. "Koreans are short" b.c. they really aren't) and laid down for about the 10 hottest minutes ever! Supposedly this amethyst was produced in the Ural mountains and it's a good mineral for the human body..
Next we went thru another hobbit-sized doorway into the "germanium sauna" which was not AS hot, but still hot indeed.. It was supposed to dissolve the sugar in the body to promote blood circulation and release the body's fatigue in order to get back to powerful skin. who knows if that actually worked.. i was too hot to notice.
Next we went into the big showering area where we stripped naked (getting close and personal once again) to shower off the sweat from the 1st 2 saunas only to then go into our 3rd sauna!!!
This next one was a "vacated ground earth cave sauna" that we sat in for another 10 minutes (yes, NUDE!) and it was supposed to decompose the body fat and make the blood circulation smooth.. however, I didn't feel skinnier afterwards, so who knows!!
We then took another shower.
We then got into a hot tub in the center of the room and waited to have our number called.
The elder Korean woman called on me, took me to this plastic table and poured cold water on me. She then took scrub brushes and scrubbed my ENTIRE body!! (Weird!!) She def. had NO qualms about scrubbing the dead skin off all parts of my body, yowza.
I was also shocked to see the amount of skin that came off- considering how I've never had that done b4.. it was a lot!
Then I got another shower.
Back on the plastic table, I got a cucumber mask and oil massage- again, the woman had no qualms at all what-so-ever about my nudity.. wow.
After this, I took yet another shower.
Then she washed my hair and...
guess?
Another shower. ha.
Then I was done.
It was quite an interesting experience and I will do it again.. I feel amazingly smooth and clear skinned.. it seems to be quite healthy and real good for your skin..
But, yeah, you can't do it unless you feel real confident being completely naked in front of other people AND having an older Korean woman getting real up close and personal with you, lol.
wow.. what a cultural experience!
After that I went to the Penpal Bulgogi dinner
with my penpal- Jo..
Basically she was in touch with me before coming here and gave me tips or any advice, she coordinated purchasing some things for me and keeping them til I could get them.. she hooked me up w. my adjumoney (aka housekeeper) and she lives right above me. (not to her benefit of course b.c. she injured her shoulder - see her sling?!?... and now we call ourselves the "Crip Crib" b.c. both of us are the injured ppl. here, lol. But it was fun, none the less. :) Nice to see all the newbies that I had orientation with b.c. despite living and working in the exact same place, we NEVER see each other! so crazy.
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