A-A-Adorable

 

"J is for Jaguar" *rawr*

New year promises of more cute art projects for the 2nd graders!

Birthday Suits Me

I could not (and would not) have a planned a more poetic way to spend my 25th birthday but in my birthday suit at a jjimjibang, or Korean-style spa. There was something quite liberating about it -- somewhere between bath time with my sister when we were kids and skinny-dipping at the lake with friends. 

Jjimjibangs are public bath houses where yes, you strip down to the nude and enjoy the hot-water baths, cold-water baths, saunas, massages, body scrubs, and more. Open 24 hours, it's a great cheap alternative to a hotel or hostel, costing around 12,000won (less than $12) for an overnight stay. Leaving your shoes behind in the shoe lockers, you get a wrist-band key for a locker that also acts as a credit card of sorts inside the facility, a pair of pajamas, and two hand towels. The changing rooms and public bath area is gender specific and at Dragon Hill Spa, one of the famed jjimjibangs in Seoul, the entrances are in separate areas of the building (to avoid a terrible, terrible mix up).

stack o' pajamas

I had brought my swim suit I suppose with the intention of wearing it. Even the threat of an ahhgumma yelling at me for not being naked didn't phase me. But once I got into the environment, I was just like, whatever. When in a jjimjibang, it's not weird. Dragon Hill had around six different hot tub pools, all held at different temperatures and some with massaging jets, two saunas, and the body scrubs I had heard about in America. Scrubbed pink with my dead skin all around me, my skin has never been softer (except perhaps on my actual birth-day).

After the baths, we got dressed in our pajamas and headed to the main area, where we could hang out with our guy friends. Jjimjibangs are a culture of their own -- complete with snack stands, small shops, yoga classes, an arcade, a fitness center, an outdoor heated pool, and a floor labelled on the elevator as "horse riding." I'm not sure if that was a "bad" translation, if there were actual horses on that floor, or if "horse riding" is something else (I have a feeling I'm missing a joke here haha).

The designated sleeping areas at Dragon Hill were all three: "women only," "men only," and co-ed. Bringing a small pillow (NECK PILLOW YAY!) is encouraged, and if you're lucky, you can snag a sleeping mat and/or blanket. One of my friends and I chose a co-ed sleeping room because it was a bit more airy than the others we had scoped out. We grabbed a spot on the heated floor and said our good nights. Probably one of the strangest experiences I've had yet in Korea was waking up next to a Korean man. Good times, good times lol.

That was the end of my birthday night. We started out with tacos & makgeolitas!

Me & Ashley
with our makgeolitas & beanies!

I had been craving so called "urban tacos" since my first visit to Itaewon in October, so for my birthday, we hit up the cool Vatos Tacos, Sinsa location. Great atmosphere, great staff, and great food fusions, including kimchi fries, galbi & baja fish tacos, nutella nachos, and the ever important makgeolita -- a mix between the popular, fermented, and alcoholic Korean rice drink called makgeolli 막걸리 and a margarita -- mango (delicious) was the flavor I got; I was very happy about it. And for ordering the makgeolitas, free beanies!!! 

Birthday shopping, birthday tacos, birthday alcohol, birthday GIANT barrel of beer, birthday fruit platter, birthday body scrub, and birthday waking up next to a Korean man. Perfect 25th birthday!!

Millie Bodger

Our family dog Bodger died on a Tuesday. She's dead and is never coming back because she can't come back. She's gone. I'm incredibly sad, heartbroken.

Her full name was Millie Bodger. She, among all the things a good dog does for a family, inspired the term "bodging for apples." Searching for something by way of intuition, smell, and curiosity. 

Millie Bodger {2008 - 2013}

The things I love about Korea

You may have heard that I wear winter extremely well. Scarves, hats, mittens, and yes, folks, I bought my first pair of leg warmers. I know, I know; you'll just have to get over how adorable this '80's baby looks. I love that Korea has put me in a situation at work that I can really wear my winter gear to its fullest. I love winter and now I am able to enjoy its chill inside and out. The cold allows me to enjoy the warm moments -- the warm copies from the copier machine, the warmth of having thirty-some bodies in a classroom, hot soup at lunch, and boiling water from the water cooler for my afternoon cup of joe. The sun, too. It's all very primal. I love it. 

Slippers, school lunch forever, and snacks. I adore the slippers my students wear. I can't help but feel how awesome a school full of kids, running around in slippers, is. It's a comforting culture, trading outdoor for inside shoes. One my fourth grade students has this pair -- monkey faces. They crack me up; I can't help but like him the best because of those slippers. So darn cute. And the slippers extend to teachers as well. It thrills me, wearing slippers at work. This absolutely trumps the joy I felt when I would slip on my crocs for work at the bagel shop (BIG deal). 

I'm still in a love affair with school lunch, because, sometimes, it's what gets me through a rough morning of teaching excitable monsters. It's about more than eating food; it's about nourishment. Factor in the school being so cold, it is about survival, feeding the body and soul. Soul food. Spontaneous pizza. Yesterday I was called down to the teachers' room for Domino's pizza. Snacks are the best at school because I get to try new foods (rice cakes, fruit I've never heard of) but also because of spontaneous pizza, oranges, and tea. 

Food in general is a good time for me in Korea. I like Korean cuisine. I went to market day, which happens twice a month in Icheon, with my co-teacher a couple weeks back, and my oh my, such a vibrant atmosphere. My co moved at lighting speed through the stalls, speaking about the different foods and making suggestions on what to buy. I love shopping and having conversations with her -- she's one of the smartest and funniest people I know.

The bars of soap in public bathrooms are laughable to an American foreigner because they are incredibly clever. First off, it's lucky to find soap in a public bathroom, and when it's bar soap, it just about makes my day. Extended on a metal bar, it floats in the air waiting for you to furbish those dirty hands. I smile mischievously every time I use one -- something about it being such a good idea (think about the life span of a bar of soap and how much less messy it is than liquid soap) and the Koreans, even though they fund the bar soap on a metal bar, not even knowing how brilliant it is. Best kept secret in Korea if you ask me. 

I love seeing an elderly Korean woman outside shoveling snow. I love seeing that old Korean man sprint across the street, not worried about falling and breaking a hip. And as much as I hate how crass and rude ahhgummas can be, I admit I love that they treat the world so brutally. I love hiking up mountains, out of breath, only to be passed by Koreans who are obviously a hundred years old, jammin out to music on their walkmans. I love seeing that life and vitality in people I can't help but think saw the last of the dinosaurs. Crinkled and wise, it motivates me and makes me excited for the wrinkles.  

Overall, I like my life in Korea. I like the song my laundry machine plays when the load is clean. I like floor heating and how fast my electric tea pot boils water. I like the walk to school with the mountains and farmland. I like slowly learning a new language, which lets me read snippets of the signs and posters around me. Hangul really is a beautiful writing system, the characters and strokes. I am happy and that's the thing I love most about Korea: that living here gives me so much perspective on the small things as well as the big, macro, philosophical things. It's great for me because I'm consantly thinking about impact, points of.