Kimchi for Maple Syrup

I started this post a week ago, but got a bit lazy about finishing it...

Mould in Korean is "gompangi". Why do I know that, you may ask. Our apartment does not have the best insulation and as a result, we've had mould growing in various corners and windowsills. We're on good terms with our landlords (an older husband and wife team), but the communication barrier makes it hard to explain when there are issues that need to be dealt with. So, Corey talked to his principal, who talked to our landlords, who came and put up fresh wall paper in place of the old mouldy stuff.

They went above and beyond just keeping things up to code. Once they were in, they repaired the caulking, replaced our shower head, and I think they may have swept our floor while we were out (even though I actually did sweep it the day before!) Throughout the winter and again this spring, our landlords have brought us an endless supply of kimchi as well. We gave them a small bottle of maple syrup that we brought with us from Canada. It was a sort of cultural exchange.

Corey also convinced me to explore Korean culture further by going with him to the local jimjilbang. I will try to explain what a jimjilbang is, but I know I won't do it justice. It's a kind of spa and community centre rolled into one and then put on steroids.

From the outside, this particular jimjilbang does not look like much of anything. It could be an office building or an apartment, except for the big colouful sign on the top that declares it is "Spasis". Inside it is a huge space with everything going on at once. I'll take you through it level by level.

On the first level, there's the women's area. This is where I changed into the T-shirt and shorts uniform provided by the jimjilbang. There are showers, large hot tubs, a sauna, massage area and a swimming pool. Most people walk around nude in this area and bathing suits don't really seem to be part of the jimjilbang experience.

The next level is the men's floor, which Corey tells me is basically the same as the women's area, except restricted to men only instead of women.

The third floor is a big open space with a small snack bar in the middle and hobbit sized doorways along the outer walls. There are many families sitting on the floor. Everyone is in the same shorts and T-shirt uniforms. Some people are watching one of the big screen T.Vs, while other are having a picnic, and others still are taking a nap on some pillows (which seems impossible with the number of kids running around, leaving ice cream trails behind them). But, where do the doors lead? Each one leads to a different kind of sauna. There's a coal sauna, salt sauna and others. There's also a sort of sun room that has extra oxygen pumped in or something and another room with a picture of an igloo on the outside that warns it is a human refrigerator (to sit in between sauna times). Corey and I ducked into several of these rooms to see what they were like. I was surprised that people were eating everywhere-- even in the hottest saunas!

The fourth floor has a bit of everything too. There's a fitness room, a library, a computer lab, and a cafeteria that's divided into regular table areas and traditional Korean tables that are low to the floor. Again, there are people in every section, and everyone is eating everywhere. There were a bunch of kids eating candy and ice cream in the fitness room, while jogging on the treadmills in bare feet. This is strange to me, but it's obviously a very typical Saturday afternoon for them.

Finally, the top floor leads out to the roof. It was still cold when we were there so we didn't go outside, but we could see out the window that there is a jungle gym, splashpad and a lazyriver-type pool out there. Very surreal.

Other than that, not too much out of the ordinary is going on. We've had a quiet weekend, enjoying Easter treats that Corey's mom sent (er...I mean that the Easter Bunny brought). I got to skype with my family for Passover and see how much my little cousins are growing! Teaching continues to be good. Textbooks with contrived dialogues continue to be a major part of my classes. The schedule keeps changing, but I've learned to just go with it.