Friday, March 28, 2008
PAY DAY!!!!
ok, i need to write new posts about a lot of things, but right now i just have to that it feels sooooooo good to finally be paid. No more surviving on PBJ's, ramen, and cereal, no more having to worry about school's shutting down and not paying, no more having to ask someone to cover my bills for a month, i can pay people back, i can pay for my own phone bill again, i can buy a frickin table and iron and real food. after i checked my account this morning i seriously felt like 100 lbs lifted off my shoulders and i could have cried. theres still other things to worry about, and i still need to make a budget and pay back lots of stuff. but for now, its time to CELEBRATE!!!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
the quest for a visa
my original plan in coming to korea was to teach english for a year, studying korean for a semester was more of a small detour. after i finished the semeseter i had a job lined up starting in february, and i just needed to get my visa in order for everything to be set. however, there was an incident recently in which a teacher was caught for being a pedophile. he was from canada, and i think they caught him when he was in taiwan or something. anyway because of that korea changed its rules on obtaining an E-2 english teaching visa. its kind of a good thing that they did because there wasnt a lot of quality control with foreign teachers. the problem though, is that its somewhat of a korean thing to get all caught up in an idea and do something drastic without thinking too much about the implementation of the idea (which means i had to go through a lot to get the visa now).
you already needed the original or a notarized copy of your diploma (and it had to be notarized by the korean consulate, not just anyone) and your transcripts. if i had sent these to my school before Dec. 15th i might have avoided a lot of trouble, but i didn't. now i also needed a criminal background check, which according to rumors could take months. and it wasn't until mid january that korean immigration decided if it was your first time getting a teaching visa you had to do it from your home country. so all of a sudden i was going back to america and was only able to buy my ticket 4 days before i left (= very expensive ticket). i went right away to get the background check, which i didn't really know much about. i went to the local sherriff's office and told them i needed to show that my background was clear of a criminal record. so they just gave me a background clearance letter based on my driver's license and it costs $40. then i had to take it upstairs to get it notarized for $20. then i had to get it authenticated in the next building over (which means they put a gold sticker on it) for $9. luckily i was able to do all of this on the same day as i was short on time. the i realized oh crap, what if i need a background check with fingerprints and i just wasted $70, but i called the consulate and they said what i had was fine. but i still wasn't finished. i then had to take it to downtown la to the state officea and get it apostilled (which i had never heard of, but makes it an internationally legal document) which burned another $26.
finally i had the background check out of the way, now i needed to get a new set of transcripts from my university. ucla has a stamp seal on the transcript itself, but doesn't put anything on the envelope. which i assume is usually fine, but not for korean immigration. they want some kind of stamp or seal directly on the envelope. in order to get that i had to go to the ucla office in person and special request it. the transcripts are cheap, $6 a pop, but then it costs $15 for them to stamp a signature on the envelope. anyway, they did it in like 5 min, so that was awesome.
i brought everything down to the local kinko's (the background clearance with a bunch of stickers and signatures, the transcripts with the signature stamp, a signed copy of my contract, a health form declaring that i was healthy, and a few passport size photos). because of time, i had to send it fedex international priority, which was $50. i think i sent it on a wednesday and so it would arrive in korea on friday, but korea is 17 hours ahead. so it didnt really arrive until the following monday. then there was a 3 day holiday that week because of the lunar new year, so they didnt submit my documents until another week later. then they called me and told me there might be a problem because the signature stamp for my transcripts wasn't directly on the envelope seal line!!!! seriously. anyway, it worked out. but then it took another week after submitting the papers in korea for them to go through. which meant i had to delay my flight another week (=$90). and my flight was a special deal where i could only stay 30 days until the return flight and i had postponed my flight to the last day possible. if i couldnt get it in time, i would have to buy a new flight and possibly lose $800. luckily i got my visa confirmation number, got an interview with the la korean consulate the next day and submitted my visa, and picked it up the day after that. so i was able to get my visa on thursday, and my flight was leaving on sunday. if it had taken more than 2 days for them to process my visa, i would have been screwed.
life on the edge
you already needed the original or a notarized copy of your diploma (and it had to be notarized by the korean consulate, not just anyone) and your transcripts. if i had sent these to my school before Dec. 15th i might have avoided a lot of trouble, but i didn't. now i also needed a criminal background check, which according to rumors could take months. and it wasn't until mid january that korean immigration decided if it was your first time getting a teaching visa you had to do it from your home country. so all of a sudden i was going back to america and was only able to buy my ticket 4 days before i left (= very expensive ticket). i went right away to get the background check, which i didn't really know much about. i went to the local sherriff's office and told them i needed to show that my background was clear of a criminal record. so they just gave me a background clearance letter based on my driver's license and it costs $40. then i had to take it upstairs to get it notarized for $20. then i had to get it authenticated in the next building over (which means they put a gold sticker on it) for $9. luckily i was able to do all of this on the same day as i was short on time. the i realized oh crap, what if i need a background check with fingerprints and i just wasted $70, but i called the consulate and they said what i had was fine. but i still wasn't finished. i then had to take it to downtown la to the state officea and get it apostilled (which i had never heard of, but makes it an internationally legal document) which burned another $26.
finally i had the background check out of the way, now i needed to get a new set of transcripts from my university. ucla has a stamp seal on the transcript itself, but doesn't put anything on the envelope. which i assume is usually fine, but not for korean immigration. they want some kind of stamp or seal directly on the envelope. in order to get that i had to go to the ucla office in person and special request it. the transcripts are cheap, $6 a pop, but then it costs $15 for them to stamp a signature on the envelope. anyway, they did it in like 5 min, so that was awesome.
i brought everything down to the local kinko's (the background clearance with a bunch of stickers and signatures, the transcripts with the signature stamp, a signed copy of my contract, a health form declaring that i was healthy, and a few passport size photos). because of time, i had to send it fedex international priority, which was $50. i think i sent it on a wednesday and so it would arrive in korea on friday, but korea is 17 hours ahead. so it didnt really arrive until the following monday. then there was a 3 day holiday that week because of the lunar new year, so they didnt submit my documents until another week later. then they called me and told me there might be a problem because the signature stamp for my transcripts wasn't directly on the envelope seal line!!!! seriously. anyway, it worked out. but then it took another week after submitting the papers in korea for them to go through. which meant i had to delay my flight another week (=$90). and my flight was a special deal where i could only stay 30 days until the return flight and i had postponed my flight to the last day possible. if i couldnt get it in time, i would have to buy a new flight and possibly lose $800. luckily i got my visa confirmation number, got an interview with the la korean consulate the next day and submitted my visa, and picked it up the day after that. so i was able to get my visa on thursday, and my flight was leaving on sunday. if it had taken more than 2 days for them to process my visa, i would have been screwed.
life on the edge
Monday, January 14, 2008
random things in korea
i don't have my own refrigerator, so i keep the milk on the windowsill. its so cold outside that it works and i am able to feed my cereal cravings
when i run out of clean socks, i just buy a new pair at one of the street vendors
sometimes i overhear people talking about a foreigner and i try to listen in and eavesdrop on what they're saying. although my korean isn't that good yet so i usually can't understand.
there are some korean restaurants where you kind of do some of the cooking yourself at your table. but because i'm a foreigner sometimes the worker will come do it for me and serve me. maybe because they think i don't know how? or they just want to be nice?
when i see other foreigners i'm never sure if i'm supposed to greet them, and if i do whether i should greet them in english or korean.
two of my nicknames when i was working with kindergarteners were pinocchio and dracula.
in relation to the previous one when people tell me i have a big nose, i ask them why their nose is so small.
in korea, there is always a sauna or jjimjilbang around. they're a cheap place to relax and spend the night. so one time i couldn't get home because it was too late, so i just took a taxi to the nearest jjimjilbang and slept there and then went home the next morning.
i live with a family that has six children - five girls and one boy. the father is korean and the mother is japanese. the kids wake me up every morning for breakfast "samcheon samcheon bop mokja!" (uncle uncle lets eat)
the starbucks in korea is actually more expensive than in america (as is virtually every coffee shop in korea)
dunkin donuts and baskin robbins are really popular, and krispy kreme is rising in popularity
addresses aren't in order by location, but rather by the order in which the building was constructed (at least in some areas)
i you want to get a seat on the bus or subway, you have to be ready to push and shove. especially against older women.
when riding the subway and especially the bus you need to have a good sense of balance. there is a lot of jerky movements. its always fun to watch the mass of people sway in the same directions.
some shopping areas become so crowded that i literally had my arms shoved against my sides and was awkwardly pushed against the person in front of me and could not move for 5 minutes. this was only resolved by the people behind us pushing so hard that we were forced forward.
there are as many words and signs in english as there is in korean.
when i take a shower i lift up the toilet seat so that when i'm finished the toilet seat isn't covered in water
instead of heating through the air, heating comes through the floor. and it gets so hot that my butt will start to feel painful
when i run out of clean socks, i just buy a new pair at one of the street vendors
sometimes i overhear people talking about a foreigner and i try to listen in and eavesdrop on what they're saying. although my korean isn't that good yet so i usually can't understand.
there are some korean restaurants where you kind of do some of the cooking yourself at your table. but because i'm a foreigner sometimes the worker will come do it for me and serve me. maybe because they think i don't know how? or they just want to be nice?
when i see other foreigners i'm never sure if i'm supposed to greet them, and if i do whether i should greet them in english or korean.
two of my nicknames when i was working with kindergarteners were pinocchio and dracula.
in relation to the previous one when people tell me i have a big nose, i ask them why their nose is so small.
in korea, there is always a sauna or jjimjilbang around. they're a cheap place to relax and spend the night. so one time i couldn't get home because it was too late, so i just took a taxi to the nearest jjimjilbang and slept there and then went home the next morning.
i live with a family that has six children - five girls and one boy. the father is korean and the mother is japanese. the kids wake me up every morning for breakfast "samcheon samcheon bop mokja!" (uncle uncle lets eat)
the starbucks in korea is actually more expensive than in america (as is virtually every coffee shop in korea)
dunkin donuts and baskin robbins are really popular, and krispy kreme is rising in popularity
addresses aren't in order by location, but rather by the order in which the building was constructed (at least in some areas)
i you want to get a seat on the bus or subway, you have to be ready to push and shove. especially against older women.
when riding the subway and especially the bus you need to have a good sense of balance. there is a lot of jerky movements. its always fun to watch the mass of people sway in the same directions.
some shopping areas become so crowded that i literally had my arms shoved against my sides and was awkwardly pushed against the person in front of me and could not move for 5 minutes. this was only resolved by the people behind us pushing so hard that we were forced forward.
there are as many words and signs in english as there is in korean.
when i take a shower i lift up the toilet seat so that when i'm finished the toilet seat isn't covered in water
instead of heating through the air, heating comes through the floor. and it gets so hot that my butt will start to feel painful
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Slightly Boring "this is an update on my life" Post
When I first started learning here at Sun Moon University, I had a lot of free time and not enough activities to fill it. I'm staying at a separate campus than the main one and there are almost no organized activities. So after two months I've finally gotten really involved, and now I travel to the main campus 2 or 3 times a week. Mondays there is a small group that meets together to discuss an important topic in english, such as racism, and gives korean students who want to come a chance to practice english. Wednesdays the same group watches an american movie with korean subtitles and we talk about the movie. This is also for korean students to practice english. I go because they wanted more native english speakers and it gives me a chance to talk and meet new people. Thursdays are culture nights in which a few people give a presentation about their country and we play some games and eat some food and then talk about what we could learn/gain from presentation. This is a chance for students from different countries to interact and meet each other, and the goal of the organization is to create a global family (which is also the name of the organization).
I've also started meeting with one or two korean students a few times a week so they can practice english conversation. And I do it just to be nice and to have fun talking to people. Then just this past weekend I picked up a job teaching english to a group of middle schoolers and a group of high schoolers. Its on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 6:30, so its good chunk of time. Another teacher suddenly quit and so they were looking for someone to fill in. I decided to keep working for the rest of the year. Its gonna suck not being able to go do things on the weekends, I won't be able to visit Seoul for a month, but right now I could really use the money. Last week I found a one time job where they video recorded me reading children's books in english. It wasn't nearly as easy as it sounds (i had to improvise in making a story cuz it was mostly pictures, and i had to make it fun even though i was only talking to a camera and was surrounded by a studio set up) but I'm supposed to get like $200 for the 2 hours it took. Of course they won't be able to pay me for a month. Theres a few more things going on too: our class is practicing a song for a school festival and I'm supposed to make the dance, I'm supposed to be in a dance for a speech contest later too cuz they need foreigners, theres a thanksgiving dinner on thursday for westerners, and who knows what else.
These days its a little too busy, especially after I was getting used to having so much free time. So I haven't been focusing on learning Korean as much even though its getting more difficult. But busy is good. I also still have to figure out how to get my money from my american bank account to korea so I can pay for my school tuition (yea, I still haven't paid yet) and I need to figure out what I'm going to do during the break and next year.
Besides my the going-ons of my own life Korea is starting to get REALLY cold. I bought some milk and left it on the window sill to keep it cold (we can't have a fridge) and the next day when I was eating cereal there were some ice chunks. And supposedly today it could have snowed (although it didn't). And its still just halfway through November. I don't know how people survive (especially all the girls wearing short skirts! they're crazy!). I'm gonna have to buy some long johns and a fat snow jacket soon.
Aright, maybe next time I'll write a more interesting and thoughtful post. And fyi, I usually don't write the next post until I get at least one comment on the previous one ^^
I've also started meeting with one or two korean students a few times a week so they can practice english conversation. And I do it just to be nice and to have fun talking to people. Then just this past weekend I picked up a job teaching english to a group of middle schoolers and a group of high schoolers. Its on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 6:30, so its good chunk of time. Another teacher suddenly quit and so they were looking for someone to fill in. I decided to keep working for the rest of the year. Its gonna suck not being able to go do things on the weekends, I won't be able to visit Seoul for a month, but right now I could really use the money. Last week I found a one time job where they video recorded me reading children's books in english. It wasn't nearly as easy as it sounds (i had to improvise in making a story cuz it was mostly pictures, and i had to make it fun even though i was only talking to a camera and was surrounded by a studio set up) but I'm supposed to get like $200 for the 2 hours it took. Of course they won't be able to pay me for a month. Theres a few more things going on too: our class is practicing a song for a school festival and I'm supposed to make the dance, I'm supposed to be in a dance for a speech contest later too cuz they need foreigners, theres a thanksgiving dinner on thursday for westerners, and who knows what else.
These days its a little too busy, especially after I was getting used to having so much free time. So I haven't been focusing on learning Korean as much even though its getting more difficult. But busy is good. I also still have to figure out how to get my money from my american bank account to korea so I can pay for my school tuition (yea, I still haven't paid yet) and I need to figure out what I'm going to do during the break and next year.
Besides my the going-ons of my own life Korea is starting to get REALLY cold. I bought some milk and left it on the window sill to keep it cold (we can't have a fridge) and the next day when I was eating cereal there were some ice chunks. And supposedly today it could have snowed (although it didn't). And its still just halfway through November. I don't know how people survive (especially all the girls wearing short skirts! they're crazy!). I'm gonna have to buy some long johns and a fat snow jacket soon.
Aright, maybe next time I'll write a more interesting and thoughtful post. And fyi, I usually don't write the next post until I get at least one comment on the previous one ^^
Friday, October 26, 2007
My first time on an Island
On Thursday and Friday last week our school had midterms. The speaking portion was on Thursday, and for my class it was basically just a one on one interview with the teacher. I enjoy talking so even though it was a test I had fun. Then on Friday were the writing, reading, and listening tests. The week before and leading up to the test I had been pretty busy so I hadn't studied so much for the test (and its just my nature) so I didn't do so well on these. I got a 93 on the speaking and the rest where in the mid/upper 70's. But who's counting?
To take a break from class and to give the students a chance to experience more of Korea, the school organized a trip to Jeju Island. There was about 270 students (120 Chinese, 120 Japanese, 50 other ^^) so it was pretty crazy. But many Koreans like to travel and go on tours so it was actually kind of normal to have so many. It was a 2 hour trip by bus to the airport and then about an hour flight south to Jeju. We stayed at this hotel, but it was kind of like a mini hotel village. There were a lot of small buildings that could hold 5 people and then a few bigger ones that could hold more.
It was pretty nice except it was a Korean style hotel. Which means you sleep on mats on the floor and the floors are heated. Heated floors are nice as it the weather is getting cold, but they get way too hot during the night. Honestly, I slept the best when we didn't use them. Also we were supposed to share blankets, but some of the guys didn't really. So I just used my jacket as a blanket. The first night I didn't have a pillow either, and because the floor made the room too hot I opened the window. Then I woke up around 2am because it was too cold and then I couldn't sleep because I had been bitten 5 times by mosquitos and was itching all over. The second night I had a pillow and made sure not to open the window, but something else strange happened. I was sleeping on my own mat and there really wasn't room for another person. But for some reason of the Mongolian guys came and laid down next to me at about 2am. He had already been sleeping in another spot, so I didn't know what was going on. Maybe the guy he was sleeping next to was snoring too loud. At first I thought ok, I'll just scoot over a little and it'll be fine. But after I scooted over, he took up more space. So then I turned to the side to move away more. But then he turned to the side too and started putting his arm on me. That was too much so I moved to the TV room and just slept on the floor with a shirt as a blanket and my backpack as a pillow. At around 4 or 5am the guy from Cameroon got up to watch soccer (cuz of the time difference some soccer games are really early in the morning) so I woke up and took his bed. Luckily the third night was uneventful.
Anyway, back to the trip. Jeju was very beautiful and we visited a lot of wonderful places. First we went on a short hike up a mountain. The veiw from up there was very beautiful and there was also something like a sniper pit. I'm not sure if thats what it really was, but it definitely could have been. It was a concrete structure built into the side of the mountain so that it was basically part of the mountain. And then inside were small rectangular windows to look out of, perfect for sniping enemy troop trying to come up the mountain. Just like in Counterstrike.
Then we went to a waterfall. Also very pretty.
We visited this huge Buddhist temple. Very tranquil. Drank some water thats supposed to be good for health.
And finally we got to go to a real beach!!!! Oh the beach was so wonderful. Not too different from beaches back in LA. The sand was nice and smooth, the water was clear. And you could walk out at least a 100 feet and the water was still less than a foot deep. The beach was definitely my favorite part of the visit.
We also visited some other coastal areas that were amazing. Jeju (I think) was originally a volcano so you can buy volcanic rock and they have these funny statues of men with big noses they make out of the rock. Mmmm we went to some other nice nature-y type places. And to a museum about how Jeju was created. A bunch of korean high school girls took pictures with me there, it was pretty funny. And we went to this folk village that is being preserved. They have this thing about feeding poop to pigs. And then they eat the pigs. I don't know. But I ate some pig that ate some poop. Hahaha, sometimes its fun being immature. Anyway. Jeju island was a lot of fun and we did a lot of things. I took a little over 200 pictures, but it takes too long to upload them here. Sorry, you'll just have to go there for yourself.
To take a break from class and to give the students a chance to experience more of Korea, the school organized a trip to Jeju Island. There was about 270 students (120 Chinese, 120 Japanese, 50 other ^^) so it was pretty crazy. But many Koreans like to travel and go on tours so it was actually kind of normal to have so many. It was a 2 hour trip by bus to the airport and then about an hour flight south to Jeju. We stayed at this hotel, but it was kind of like a mini hotel village. There were a lot of small buildings that could hold 5 people and then a few bigger ones that could hold more.
It was pretty nice except it was a Korean style hotel. Which means you sleep on mats on the floor and the floors are heated. Heated floors are nice as it the weather is getting cold, but they get way too hot during the night. Honestly, I slept the best when we didn't use them. Also we were supposed to share blankets, but some of the guys didn't really. So I just used my jacket as a blanket. The first night I didn't have a pillow either, and because the floor made the room too hot I opened the window. Then I woke up around 2am because it was too cold and then I couldn't sleep because I had been bitten 5 times by mosquitos and was itching all over. The second night I had a pillow and made sure not to open the window, but something else strange happened. I was sleeping on my own mat and there really wasn't room for another person. But for some reason of the Mongolian guys came and laid down next to me at about 2am. He had already been sleeping in another spot, so I didn't know what was going on. Maybe the guy he was sleeping next to was snoring too loud. At first I thought ok, I'll just scoot over a little and it'll be fine. But after I scooted over, he took up more space. So then I turned to the side to move away more. But then he turned to the side too and started putting his arm on me. That was too much so I moved to the TV room and just slept on the floor with a shirt as a blanket and my backpack as a pillow. At around 4 or 5am the guy from Cameroon got up to watch soccer (cuz of the time difference some soccer games are really early in the morning) so I woke up and took his bed. Luckily the third night was uneventful.
Anyway, back to the trip. Jeju was very beautiful and we visited a lot of wonderful places. First we went on a short hike up a mountain. The veiw from up there was very beautiful and there was also something like a sniper pit. I'm not sure if thats what it really was, but it definitely could have been. It was a concrete structure built into the side of the mountain so that it was basically part of the mountain. And then inside were small rectangular windows to look out of, perfect for sniping enemy troop trying to come up the mountain. Just like in Counterstrike.
Then we went to a waterfall. Also very pretty.
We visited this huge Buddhist temple. Very tranquil. Drank some water thats supposed to be good for health.
And finally we got to go to a real beach!!!! Oh the beach was so wonderful. Not too different from beaches back in LA. The sand was nice and smooth, the water was clear. And you could walk out at least a 100 feet and the water was still less than a foot deep. The beach was definitely my favorite part of the visit.
We also visited some other coastal areas that were amazing. Jeju (I think) was originally a volcano so you can buy volcanic rock and they have these funny statues of men with big noses they make out of the rock. Mmmm we went to some other nice nature-y type places. And to a museum about how Jeju was created. A bunch of korean high school girls took pictures with me there, it was pretty funny. And we went to this folk village that is being preserved. They have this thing about feeding poop to pigs. And then they eat the pigs. I don't know. But I ate some pig that ate some poop. Hahaha, sometimes its fun being immature. Anyway. Jeju island was a lot of fun and we did a lot of things. I took a little over 200 pictures, but it takes too long to upload them here. Sorry, you'll just have to go there for yourself.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Its a Parade!
This week in Cheonan (the city I'm in) they're having some kind of festival. I think its just to celebrate the city itself... Anyway the festival is Saturday and there will be a bunch of different dance performances. Its actually a competition and I will be in one of the dances. But I'll write about that later.
In addition to the festival, there was a parade on Wednesday. And they want everyone that will be in the competition to also be in the parade. They like to especially have foreigners participate in these events, which is why I ended up being in the competition in the first place. For the parade I they had me wear traditional Korean clothing.
Haha, I loved wearing it. The pants were huge and the tie on the pants made the top stick out. There were actually two parades in the same day. One was for the smaller nearby city of Asan. I think there were actually more people in the parade than watching it, and it was an overcast day. So the first parade wasn't so great. But it was fun seeing all the different costumes people had.
This was the dance the Japanese students did. SUPER funny.
More pictures =)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Bathing naked
One of the things korean is famous for (or infamous for depending on how you feel about it) is its public baths, or jjimjilbang (찜질방) in korean. This past week I had the opportunity to go to one in Busan. When I first heard of them, I thought there was no way I could go to one. But since I've been adjusting to the Korean lifestyle I was willing to try it out. The jjimjilbang was inside of a mall type building on the third floor, which I thought was kind of weird. The first thing you do when you walk in is take off your shoes at the entrance and put them in a shoe locker. One side is for boys and one side for girls. The lockers are free and you take the key with you to the front counter. At the counter you can then choose to either pay for just using the baths, or for using the entire jjimjilbang. Its about 8$ for the whole thing and $5 for just the baths, or somewhere around that. You give them your shoe locker key and then they give you another locker key that has a wristband. And if you paid full price they give you a shirt and pair of shorts. Then the guys and girls separate to different bathing areas. First you go to a locker area and undress and put all your things in your assigned locker. So now you are basically naked. And there are other naked people around you. It was weird. Then you can go into the bathing area. If you want to, there are also shaving razors and toothbrushes to purchase. On the way into the bathing area you grab a scrubbing towel and first go to the showers to scrub yourself with soap. Then there are various baths you can go in. Well, it was really weird just walking in all naked, and then seeing a room full of naked men of various ages, old to young. And of course I'm the only non-korean. First I went into what was basically a large jacuzzi. I was able to get over the anxiety/weirdness of being fully naked in front of other people. Just like everything else in society, if everyone else does it then it becomes normal and accepted. Being naked was actually kind of... fulfilling. You just feel a lot of freedom. Like when you were a kid and ran around naked all the time. After the jacuzzi, I went into a tea bath. Some days it is green tea, and other days like the day I went it was barley tea (I think). The water definitely looked kind of shady (there was brown stuff floating around in it) but I thought maybe it was the tea stuff? Better not to think about it... Then I went into this other super hot tub. Yea, it was really hot. This one was special because the tub was made with some kind of special Japanese wood or something like that, I forget the name. Next to it is a cold bath. Its supposedly good for your skin to switch between the hot and cold baths a few times. Definitely it was refreshing. Because it was on during the holidays, the jjimjilbang was actually not very crowded. And there was this young kid, maybe 13, who was by himself and he kept staring at me. So I stared back and then started talking to him in korean. It was kind of cool being able to just become friends with someone so easily even if he was just a kid(and funny because we were both naked).
Once you've had enough of bathing, you go to another area where there are sit-down shower stalls. Its a bit odd sitting on a stool naked. But anyway theres a removable showerhead and you rinse down. Then you grab the soap and scrub (which you arent the first one to use...) and scrub yourself down. This is the point where if you are with friends or something you can scrub their back and wherever else you want to scrub...
Thats the end of the bathing area. I then walked out, grabbed a hand towel to dry down and went back to my locker. Now is when you put on the clothes they gave you if you paid the full price. They were pretty comfortable actually, I liked them. After that I headed downstairs. In this area since everyone is clothed (and all the clothing is the same) both guys and girls can go. When you first walk down, there is a big open area where people can sit and talk or lay down. Along one wall are various rock igloo type looking structures. These are basically various types of saunas. Some are super hot, some are hot, and some are just warm. First we went into a hot one for about 10 minutes and came out with a good sweat. Then we took a break and got some juice. I had freshly made pinapple juice, it was pretty good. One of the people I was with got a peach drink, and it was in one of those pitcher containers where the lid has a hole in it that you can cover. Kind of interesting that they would give it to you in that, but I guess so they could put a lot of ice? Anyway then we went to the super hot room. It was seriously like an oven. After being in there for 15 minutes my shirt was soaked in sweat. To finish off we then went to the warm room in which the walls were gold and silver. Its also possible to stay over night in jjimjilbangs. Most of them are open 24 hours and have blankets and places to sleep. Some also have a karaoke room, a pc room, and a movie room.
Once you've had enough of bathing, you go to another area where there are sit-down shower stalls. Its a bit odd sitting on a stool naked. But anyway theres a removable showerhead and you rinse down. Then you grab the soap and scrub (which you arent the first one to use...) and scrub yourself down. This is the point where if you are with friends or something you can scrub their back and wherever else you want to scrub...
Thats the end of the bathing area. I then walked out, grabbed a hand towel to dry down and went back to my locker. Now is when you put on the clothes they gave you if you paid the full price. They were pretty comfortable actually, I liked them. After that I headed downstairs. In this area since everyone is clothed (and all the clothing is the same) both guys and girls can go. When you first walk down, there is a big open area where people can sit and talk or lay down. Along one wall are various rock igloo type looking structures. These are basically various types of saunas. Some are super hot, some are hot, and some are just warm. First we went into a hot one for about 10 minutes and came out with a good sweat. Then we took a break and got some juice. I had freshly made pinapple juice, it was pretty good. One of the people I was with got a peach drink, and it was in one of those pitcher containers where the lid has a hole in it that you can cover. Kind of interesting that they would give it to you in that, but I guess so they could put a lot of ice? Anyway then we went to the super hot room. It was seriously like an oven. After being in there for 15 minutes my shirt was soaked in sweat. To finish off we then went to the warm room in which the walls were gold and silver. Its also possible to stay over night in jjimjilbangs. Most of them are open 24 hours and have blankets and places to sleep. Some also have a karaoke room, a pc room, and a movie room.
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