Lazy day all day. Rob was flying back to Korea, so we were all going to take him out to dinner when he got back. So we were waiting outside of the GS. He got back and joined us there.
We went to a place called a jimjabong. They are popular in Korea. It is like a spa. There are 3 parts. The men, the unisex, the women. I only experienced the unisex and the men. When you check in, you get a pair of clothes and a key. First by the register, you check in your shoes and lock them up. Then the men go to the mens side and women womens side. Walking in the mens side... it is like a locker room. But nearly everyone is naked. We changed into the clothes and went to the common area.
The common area has different saunas. Ranging fom hell to freezing. The hell one may be the hottest thing I have experienced. 5 minutes in there I was drenched with sweat. I went straight to the cold one... I was steaming for a good 10 minutes before I normalized. They also have massage chairs. 2 bucks for a 15 minute chair massage that actually feels incredible. The only way it would be better if I were shorter or the chairs were made for taller people. One thing about jimjabongs is once you pay to get in, you can stay. One cheap way for families to travel in korea, instead of getting a hotel, just go somewhere and stay in the jimjabong. So there were families just sleeping on the ground on sleeping mats in the common area.
Our group split up and the women went to the women section, and the men, the men section.
The men section has the lockers and the spa/pool area. No clothes are permitted. Just dozens of naked men and boys. The shock is pretty big at first. Dont get me wrong, I love being naked. But sitting and relaxing and just hanging out with naked men is a bit different. But everyone is so naked... after the shock you just forget about it. They had a hot mineral bath, hot jacuzzi, hot tubs, hot pools, a cool pool, a cold pool, showers from the ceiling, jets of water, different saunas.
We all got back together in the common area, got chair massages, and left. Literally one of the most relaxing experiences in my life. The going between hot and cold, sweating out toxins, being in the water, massage chairs... It just relaxes every part of you. Either a great way to start the week or a great way to end it... or both. It only cost 11 bucks to get in. We were there for about 2.5-3 hrs. Easily could have stayed longer, but we had school the next day.
Monday June 24th
I got to school and set up the stage. Only problem was Ronnie and Stephen were watching. So not only was the gym hot, I was nervous. I sweated like a cow (though it only took less than 10 to set up). I was nervous because I wanted everything to work. Work it did.
Denmark Class: Joshua, Shawn, Angelina, Chloe, Eric, John, Erica, Soo
I set it up a little bigger than that and had it so people could be behind it. They made it smaller, closed the curtains, and moved it back a little. The next class session they had it bigger and the curtains rolled back. It will probably take them a little time to figure out what they want to do with it. You can see the top bar is bent. It is because I got the 3 section bar instead of the 2. I will change that. Also, if you look at the sign... It lights up on the outside edge and if you look closely, behind the yellow too. The school put the power puff girls and the cartoon stuff up too. This is a nice little improvement for the cartoon presentations. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of it. The kids were all excited, so that made me super happy. They left it up today because there is the Drama presentation tomorrow! I'm glad its getting used already.
My students did okay. Not great. But I taught them movements etc... but Christina just had them stand in a line. She also didnt have them do any of the other stuff I wanted them to do... Oh well
I had many great teachers growing up. Many of them went the extra mile for their students. I want to do the same for mine. And when I have kids, I hope their teachers do the same.
The rest of the day went pretty well. Nobody cried today. A few were close... but not close enough!
After school Rob and I went to Yongsan Electronics Market. He had to buy a power converter. He just texted me and said it was not working.
I signed a contract for Jeju and teaching in July. It sounds like it is going to be a ton of work... but 1 week of really hard work and getting paid 800 bucks is not that shabby.
I think there was more I was thinking about saying (I thought about it while riding the train) but I cannot remember what it was I wanted to say.
So I guess that is all for now.
Nice work on the stage!
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