"Jim-jil-bang"

(yes, I know- too many posts for one day, right? Sorry. I just have the time and inclination today... :) ) Today I did something new in Korea. Tracy and I went to a "Jim-jil-bang." These are scattered throughout Korea, in every city. I guess it's basically a spa/sauna/bathhouse. But it's oh so much more. Maybe the best way for you to get a picture of it is for me to just give you an account of our time there... This particular one is quite new in Dangjin, it opened a month or so after I got here. It's a 6 floor building, and is open 24 hours. We walked in, removed our shoes, paid at the counter, got a key, some towels, and lovely orange shorts and t-shirts, and were directed to the 3rd floor. There, we entered the ladies only area. After undressing we went into the wet area. I started with a shower (there were showers all along one wall), then climbed into the jacuzzi-esque pool that was calling my name. There are several pools there. Three hot ones, and one cold one. Another woman in the pool with me started talking to me. It turns out that she spent 3 years in Australia, and her son attends Mirae. So, we talked for awhile until I got too hot and moved on to cool off a bit. On the opposite side of the room from the showers is an area with mirrors, hand held showerheads, and stools where you can get very scrubbed off. It was cute to watch some children help their mothers and grandmothers scrub their backs. I was surprised how many people were there on such a big holiday. It seemed like some came as families, though. There's also an area where you can pay extra and get a massage or other skin treatments. Finally, there are doors to two rooms- one is a sauna, and one is a cold room. The room was so cool looking. All lined with wood (maybe Japanese cypress, if that's what the sign was talking about...) and then near the cold pool there are windows that look out on some fake rock formation. Made me feel like I was under a waterfall or something. Once we felt finished being wet, we changed into our orange outfits. Man, they were hideous! I went from feeling like an exotic mermaid or nymph or something to feeling like an innmate. Anyway, after we were dressed we headed upstairs to check out the other floors. The 5th floor had an area for sitting and watching television, a pc room, a sauna room, a cold room, a snack counter, and some massage chairs. Tracy tried one out. It was funny to hear her talk while it was going- it was like she was talking through a fan :). After that we went to the 4th floor which is a resting area. Half of it is dark, and half was lit up and had a tv. There was also a pile of mats and pillows you can use. Because these places are open 24 hours, you can sleep there. It's cheaper than a motel, but not as comfortable or quiet. There was also a restaurant right there. Today, though, we just laid there watching tv for awhile. We were SOOOOO relaxed after the lovely hot tubs. When the movie we found was over, I went back into the wet area for another dip in the bubbly tub before getting dressed to leave. It was definitely a good experience, and one I plan to have again. I just can't believe what I've been missing these past 7 months! I came home feeling SO clean and SO relaxed.... mmmmm! Lovely!

Happy New Year!!

"Wait a minute- isn't that a little late? After all, it's been 2006 for almost a month now!" According to the Solar calendar, you would be right. But today is Lunar New Year. And while for all practical purposes Koreans follow the solar calendar, the traditional holidays of the lunar calendar are still important here. "Sol-al" is one of the two most important holidays of the year. It's a family holiday- most people travel to their hometowns to celebrate with their parents and siblings and nieces and nephews. The celebration involves lots of food and playing games, just like what you'd expect over the holidays in the states. But there are some aspects that are very uniquely Korean. First, the food. The traditional dish to eat today is "dok-guk," or rice cake soup. Sue was a dear and made us some yesterday, so we could have some of the "Sol-al" experience. It's quite bland, but still tasty. Secondly, the games. Many people play "Yunnori" (explained below), and another popular game is "Go-Stop", which is played with a special deck of cards. Perhaps the most "foreign" tradition is the one the children like the most. Children, up through high school, will bow to their grandparents, their uncles and aunts, and their parents, and receive money from them. Usually the younger children will dress in "Hanbok" to do this. Other family members may also dress up in "Hanbok" for the day, but that seems to be less and less common. So, that is what I know of Lunar New Year in Korea. Us "Way-gukans" are taking it pretty easy since we knew the traffic would be horrendous this weekend and our Korean friends are all quite busy with family things. But we did eat "dok-guk," and we even bought a "Yunnori" set to play sometime this weekend. :)

Yunnori

This picture shows a family playing "Yunnori"- a traditional Korean game. There are four sticks with two different sides that you toss up. The way in which they land determines how many spaces you move, or if you can toss again. It's played in teams, and while luck is the biggest determiner of who wins, there is some strategy in how you choose to move your pieces. The most fun, however, is rooting for the sticks to come up in your favor. If you've ever played "Left, Right, Center" with the Bucks, you have an idea of the kind of passion that can go into such a game :) 

Hanbok

This is the female version of a Hanbok. 

Hanbok

This picture shows a boy's version of a Hanbok- traditional Korean clothing. While they used to be worn all the time in Korea, now you only see them on special occasions such as Lunar New Year. 

"I love technology..."

The most exciting news of the past week was my computer getting hooked up to the internet finally! In classic Korean fashion, the computer guys suddenly decided to come set it up, so all three of us had to make a mad dash back to the apartment during a 10 minute break between classes. Still, it was worth it :) Another related wonderful development is the newest version of Skype- it has video! And, since Jason gave me a webcam for my birthday, it now works quite well to talk to people while seeing them at the same time! It's great! Less exciting news is that the head pastor from my church is moving on to a different church. He's a really cool guy and knows a lot of English, but God's leading him to help another church. Today was his last Sunday at our church. Everyone is quite sad. A few other pastors will also be leaving, but their transition won't be as sudden. We have at least a couple more months with them. It'll be a lot of changes for the whole church. The new pastor coming in is pretty well known to the staff here, though, and was part of bringing Benjamin here- so we expect he'll continue to support the English Bible Study and Worship Service. This coming weekend is the Lunar New Year- a BIG holiday in Korea. It's like Chusok (back in September). So, tons of people are travelling to be with family, we get a day off (it would've been 3 if it didn't fall on the weekend...), and most likely many businesses will be closed. I'm not sure what us wayguks will do since most of our Korean friends will be busy with family and the traffic will be so horrendous... But Sue's planning to come over on Saturday and cook us some traditional food, and Mr. Moon has invited me for some Chinese food, too! Other future plans... I'm thinking of going to Japan for an extended weekend. I have 3 vacation days left to take whenever I want, and since I'm already so close... we'll see. But Tracy suggested that I go just after she's finished her contract so that we can go together. Now THAT's a good idea :)

Kids!

Little kids really make teaching worthwhile First, as I was doing my lesson plans for the day, on Tuesday, a whole group of little 7-8 year old girls from my new class surrounded my desk. These girls know VERY LITTLE English. They don't even call me "Teacher," they call me "Sansangnim" (the Korean word for teacher). They were looking at all the stuff on my desk and asking me all kinds of questions in Korean, a few of which I understood, but most of which I didn't. One girl, "Betty," was being especially talkative. She liked to imitate what I was saying. Sometimes she'd repeat something I said, and other times when it was a long sentence she'd just make noises- "blablehblahbleh..". It was super cute. Then, I taught my more advanced 2nd graders. We played a new game that had the potential of getting mean and really competitive, but they all behaved themselves perfectly! And when I told them it was time to make a line, at least half the class helped me clean up (pick up cards, push in chairs, erase the board) without me even asking! I love those kids!!! And in other exciting news, my laptop is online!!!! :) :)  

January

January is marching on... The other week I made cupcakes with "Jenny" and her sis (both students of mine). I had given her a chocolate cake mix for Christmas, and she wanted my help baking it. And I've finally gotten pictures from my perm experience posted. See them in the December folder! We had a strange warming spell... with rain! I guess the midwest had similar weather, huh? We'd love if this would keep warming up to spring, but I'm certain that winter is coming back. Well, THAT was a boring entry! ;)

Sorry!

Hi everyone. I'm being quite lazy in the updates department this week... Recently... well, I'm teaching. The vacation seems to have given me extra energy and enthusiasm for the kids- which is great! Of course, there are still difficult ones... In sadder news, two of my favorite students are moving and aren't coming to Mirae anymore :( Oh, and in the continuing saga of what I look like, my new class of 2nd graders thought I was either French or British today (previous likenesses were: a Russian, Casper the friendly ghost, and Matilda). That class will be a challenge. They know NO English.

I think it would be interesting to study how the English of my blog entries has decreased in quality since I've been here. I'm convinced I don't speak English anymore- just Konglish. So please disregard any poorly structured sentences! :)

And, I'm ready for winter to be over. But, just like at home, they don't expect warmer weather until March.... boo.

Ok, there's a bit of an update, although quite the variety of random topics, and nothing about the trip. If you have questions about any of my pics, leave a comment and I can tell you about that part of the trip. I don't know if I'll get to a thorough account of my travels.

I'm Back!

Winter vacation was nice, but much too short. We had a good time seeing new things and getting away from the "Wisconsinish" winter weather here to something a little more mild. Now it's back to classes, and hopefully I'll soon catch up on all those wonderful emails people have been sending me recently. Someday I will post an account of at least some of our adventures in Gyeong-ju, but it's already WAY past my bed time, so (as Tracy and I are fond of saying), "Today is not that day." However, my pictures are posted and labeled, so go check them out! There are also a few new Christmas pictures in the December folder.