A Very Korean Experience

Its been a busy week. Tim got back from China, this week so we were excited to have him back to show us around Gumi. We all met up on Thursday after work for some drinks, and then on Friday he took us around town and showed us some places we could check out on our spare time. We all went out for lunch and Britt and I bombarded him with our 101 questions about the city, life, food, and things to do/ see. Friday was also a big day for us, we finally got our alien registration cards. The A.R.C. is pretty much our key to the country, without it we really didn't exist here. We now have our bank accounts set up, and this week we will be getting our cell phones and Internet.

This weekend was a great time, Britt and I ventured to High 1 Ski Resort in Jeongseon, South Korea. The foreigner bar here "Waegook Cook" plans a bus trip every year, so we decided we would join in on the fun. It was a great opportunity to meet people who work here in Gumi. We left at 6:30am on Saturday, some people came straight from drinking/ partying to the bus. It was a pretty funny bus ride with lots of sloppy people. It kind of reminded me of pub crawl trips from Wolfville to Halifax. The resort was about 4 hours away, and those who didn't show up to the bus already drunk were drunk by the time we got there. Britt and I decided we wouldn't ski so we spent the day lounging around the lodge, and at the pizza parlor on site. Saturday night we drank and went to the casino. The casino was packed with Koreans who were very into their games, so after about 10 minutes we all made our way to the bar. For some people they were just too drunk to be in the casino and got kicked out/ breathalyzed, then showed up at the bar with us for further drinking. Needless to say the evening turned into quite a party. We had two condos rented for sleeping, and we all slept traditional Korean style...on the heated floor. I have to say, that by the time I was ready to go to bed, it didn't matter that I was sleeping on the floor. Sunday was a big day for me in my cultural journey here in Korea. I braved the public bath, and yes it is exactly what you think it is. You walk into a changing room, get naked and go bath with all the other women. There are 4 pools (hot, cold, warm, and massage). Women just lounge around naked in these pools and relax. We were calling it "mermaid land". They pretty much sit on the edge of the pools naked while bathing and looking at themselves in mirrors. After you are done in the pool, you can shower. Let me tell you Koreans take GREAT care in cleaning themselves. I personally was in and out. In total, I would say I spent 10 minutes in the pool and shower. Apparently it is relaxing, and I suppose once you get over the fact that you are naked in public it is. Very different culture, but an experience I felt I had to try. Britt and I also went to a Jimjilbang. You are given an outfit (shorts/ t shirt) and you walk into a room where you find men and women lying all over the floor sleeping and watching TV. There are smaller rooms that are set at different temperatures, and you can spend the day laying on the floor relaxing. Britt and I opted for the room set at 47 degree Celsius. We were the only two in that room, so we lounged and rested for awhile. It was pretty relaxing, especially after a night of drinking. We also took the gondola to the top of the mountain for a little photo shoot. Keep posted for picture updates, I hate to disappoint but there are no pictures allowed in the Casino or public baths so some of my weekend adventures are not photo documented. All in all a fun weekend, and a very Korean weekend...from public baths to sleeping on the floor. Its all very different from the culture I am use to, but I do enjoy experiences.