Sunday, May 17, 2009

Girl, you look like a movie star

In my last post I mentioned that a news network had visited my school because it won a "beautiful school" contest - check out the video below:

My weekend turned into yet another Korean party weekend - we sure did a lot more sightseeing when we didn't have any friends here!

On Friday George and I went out for dinner with friends at a burger place on Gwangalli beach. Finding a good burger here is quite the challenge, so I really enjoy Breeze Burns. The burgers are comparable to those at home, and you can't beat the view of Gwangalli bridge at night. It's all lit up and is absolutely gorgeous. After dinner we had a few drinks at Thursday Party and then continued drinking on the beach for a few hours. The carnival in the area was closed, so we bought fireworks from the ajumma who walks the beach at night for that purpose. Fireworks and drinking, sounds very intelligent, right? Don't worry, they're little hand-held ones ... and everyone is doing it hahaha.

Saturday was a rainy day ... perfect for sleeping in. Around 7pm I headed to Erin's for girl's night - what a blast! We all brought bottles of wine and snacks and spent hours eating, drinking and gossiping. Around 2 we made the trek to McDonalds, and then instead of going home decided to go to Noraebang until 5am. You'll remember that my last Noraebang experience was hell for me. I really can't sing, and was forced to perform solo, infront of coworkers and strangers - awful! Saturday night was not like that. The majority of it was spent singing girly songs, with all 6 of us dancing around at the front ... that's my kind of Noraebang! I am shocked to admit it, but I had a lot of fun.
Yesterday was another lazy day, but I decided to try something new, and went to my local Jimjilbang 찜 질 방 (Korean bath house)!!! It was quite the experience. I've been told by so many people how great it is, that its something you must try while in Korea, that its relaxing and fun - I just didn't believe them! I mean, how can being naked around a bunch of size 0 Korean ladies be fun??
Well, I actually enjoyed myself. I was really nervous, because as I checked in at the counter the Korean ladies working started gigging uncontrollably at me. I hoped that wasn't how everyone would react. I was given 2 little towels (hand towel size) and a locker key. You then strip down and carry your towels into the main spa area. They weren't big enough to cover ANYTHING so I didn't bother trying. It was definitely awkward at first, but everyone ignored me and I felt comfortable enough to enjoy myself. There were 3 different cold pool, 3 hot tubs, saunas and steam room, and I basically spent an hour rotating between them. There are also massages and body scrubs available from a Korean lady in her bra and underwear, but I wasn't up for that on my first visit. I could have spent longer but it was late and I was tired. I think that this week George and I will check out the spa at Shinsegae, the largest mall in Korea, with the largest spa in Asia (I think?). It's supposed to be incredible, and I think now that I've experienced a smaller neighbourhood jimjilbang I'm ready for the big leagues!
Aside from that, not much is new here. My charades skills are improving by the day since I rely on them for most of my communications with kids at school, Korean teachers, shopkeepers, waitresses etc.

My chopstick skills have also improved drastically. I think that this is due to the fact that there are onions in EVERYTHING and I am still not enough of a "grown up" to eat onions - I really hate them. I have to pick tiny pieces of onion out of the majority of the dishes I eat.

Tonight George and I went to Korean class in Haeundae beach. Finally! I'm frustrated by not being able to communicate with people here and I think these classes will help me to improve quickly. Tonight we learned who, what, why, where, when and how as well as the verbs to go, to buy and to meet. By combining these we are able to ask some basic questions and respond. We also covered how to ask how someone is feeling, and how to answer that we're good, okay, not well or tired. I am excited to try out some of these new phrases tomorrow at school :)

No comments:

Post a Comment