Sunday April 13
Today Korea - or at least my little part of it - is beautiful. My perspective might have something to do with the fact that I just got home from a work-out, which often puts me in a good mood! The sunshine and bright pink flowers bursting forth from bushes beside the sidewalk that I took home from the gym, might also have something to do with my mood!
Today I went to the gym again. After my cardio I went to the bathhouse part of the change-room. It’s a pretty nice bathhouse - I speak like I’m an expert when really this is only the 3rd one I’ve been to, ha ha. Big windows looking out over the city, some stained glass windows and skylight, a cool tub, cold tube, hot hot hot tube, several hot tubs, a steam room, sauna, standing and sitting shower areas. Pretty sweet for my neighbourhood gym and bathhouse! I was kinda self-conscious going into the bathhouse b/c although EVERYONE is naked I was the only naked WHITE girl there. Actually I was the only non-asian and probably only non-Korea female in the bathhouse.
Speaking of which, I had a really weird moment in the bathhouse. After spending about 45 minutes just seeing Korean females I did a double take when I caught sight of my face in the mirror. It was a surprise to see a non-Korean face looking back at me. It must be a small, small example of how some members of visible minority groups feel in caucasian dominated cultures. It was a split second of my eyes not recognizing myself in the mirror. Like I felt like I was IN my body, IN the moment, a part of the bathhouse scene, but when I caught sight of myself it was a little recognition that “whoa ellen you stand out in here”. I also caught sight of my body and it looked so BIG after seeing the Korean women. Not all of them are skinny but my body type is so much more solid than many of the Korean women - at least those who were in the bathhouse.
I’m off very shortly to meet Rhys at the airport - WOW! The really big wow is that the weekend is over. I think b/c I didn’t do anything substantial and basically spent the whole weekend by myself, it feels like it didn’t really happen.
Speaking of which I didn’t post yet about what I did yesterday. Well yesterday I started my day off with 4 hours on the “phone” ie. Skype! I talked with my family for 3 and then a friend for 1. Then I did yoga and then I had brunch … at 3 pm!! By the time I got out the door, heading to the market, it was 5 pm. The market I wanted to go to closed at 6 so I almost didn’t leave my house but I was like “ellen, you have to get out of here [here being my apartment] for a little while.” I decided to go back to the Gukje market area b/c there are another two markets to the left of Gukje, one of which has an aisle of “gruel” shops! I LOVE oatmeal and goopy foods so I was super pumped about trying this Korean meal :) Koreans, as far as I understand, don’t really use maps [unless it’s GPS in their cars!]. They just go by “knowing” and landmarks. So it really shouldn’t have surprised me that the map I had was close to reality but not exactly exact! I spent a while wandering the market areas trying to find the gruel shops. I was starving so during my hunt I had a little baked treat in the shape of a fish with red bean in the center and a cob of corn. Although I have to say that the corn was rather disappointing! I found out later that they cook the corn in water that has a sweetener in it so the corn is not crispy and refreshing but rather chewy and kind of sweet. Weird. And filling! By the time I finally found the gruel shops I wasn’t really hungry BUT I wanted to experience this $3 “meal” so I bought a bowl.
wow fake grass pieces - you never know what you’re going to find at the market!!
After the meal I wandered around a bit more. I was trying to orient myself on my map and a Korean girl came up and asked me “can I help you find something?” She spoke with barely an accent and after chatting for a few minutes we discovered that we were both just wandering the area and she asked if she and her sister could accompany me around - a free conversational English class for her! After freezing my butt off, figuring out where I was on the map, buying another “doughnut” - actually called hoe-duok, like hot dog but not quite! - and buying another scarf/pashmeena [black with silver woven through] I was ready to head home.
PEACE - E.
Ps OH YA! Yesterday while I was on the phone with my mom my care package/requested items showed up at my door. I finally opened it tonight and was delighted/made homesick by its contents! More on the delighted side!! My brother included an AWESOME belated bday present - a plastic cube with photos on 4 sides. Some of the pictures are hilarious - we are such goofs when we’re together. He rocks.
a-store-named-after-one-of-my-favourite-grains
Posted in April
