Another week down. The weeks really seem to fly by here. This week was fairly busy with activities. Monday we had a visit from Hyun. He works for the company as part of the reinforcement team. He is the original Moon Kkang member who picked us up at the airport when we arrived. Britt lost her cell phone, so he made a trip from Daegu to sort that out. We also had a lunch date with him since we lost a bet. Before we knew who Kim Yuna was, we bet she would NOT win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Now we know she is amazing and should of never bet against her, but at the time we had no idea. Monday was a regular work day. A new Jaeshi (detention) teacher was hired at our school. Surprise surprise she is Korean, so Britt and I are still the only foreigners. The new teacher does live in Gumi and speaks English, so it will be nice to get to know her. Tuesday was our weekly massage date and work. Tuesday after work we enjoyed a couple drinks at Waegook. It started snowing Tuesday night, and for what we consider a storm in Canada it was nothing. For Korea Tuesday night brought a significant snowfall (maybe 5cm). Many teachers were hoping for a snowday, but no such luck. Wednesday after work we went out with the staff for supper and wine. We tried a new Korean meal called Bossam, which is steamed pork. You traditional eat it by wrapping the pork in a green leaf with kimchi. It was good, but not my favorite Korean meal, although even at home I am not a big pork eater. Friday was Sumin's (my co-teacher) birthday, so Britt and I spent Friday afternoon walking around trying to find a gift for her. At work we surprised her with flowers, sparklers, cake, and balloons. She is in a major rut since she is now 34, not married, no children, lives at home, and no boyfriend. By Korean standards she is pretty much alone for life now. Here once you are pass the age of 30 it is very unlikely you will get married if you are not already. For her getting older if some what depressing so we wanted to make her feel special on her birthday. We were also quick to remind her that if she wants to be younger she just needs to come to Canada. Koreans believe you are 1 year old when you are born, so really in Canada she is only 33 not 34. Friday was another night out at Waegook. Saturday I enjoyed a me day, and I also crossed another thing off my Korean bucket list. I spend the afternoon reading at one of the cafes near my apartment, followed by an eventful trip to the jimjilbang (public bath house). This was my second go at the bath house experience, although this time I was in for the TRUE Korean experience. Most Korean go to bath houses with family or friends, and as part of bonding they wash (scrub) each other. When you walk into the bathing area you see people scrubbing each other from head to toe. Since I am a foreigner I cant say I have anyone to scrub me from head to toe. Nor would I want my friend doing that, but you can pay an older Korean lady to do it for you. So after about an hour of watching and taking notes I decided it was time. I went for it, I had a Korean lady scrub me from head to toe. When I say scrub I really mean scrub. After getting over the awkwardness of the situation I have to say it is extremely worth it. Once she was finished my skin felt amazing, no dead skin, no rough patches just smooth like a babies bottom! Felt good to get rid of the winter layer and have fresh skin for the spring. I think I will mentally prepare myself for a good scrub at the end of each season. Only in Korea! It's all part of living and experiencing their culture.
This week I also booked time off for another vacation. May I will be taking a trip to Taiwan for 5 days. Something to look forward to in the coming months.