Monday Madness: Follow-up to the Mogyeoktang & our Weekend!

Alright. It's Monday, already. Where did the weekend go?

I know, we were home all weekend because the kids were sick! Ack! Well, ok, not quite.

Now mix a little 'cabin fever' being stuck indoors most of the time with some videos, and you get this video! {so, click it!} Just one of many posts forthcoming of videos and pictures taken during this oh-so-long weekend (indeed, we desperately tried to amuse ourselves with limited space, no t.v. and only ourselves and the computer for company!)

I'll tell you what though. For all those spicy mommas in foreign lands like me, one quick solution lead us out out to the local coffee shop. And it's only about a 5 minute walk from our villa. Now, you ask, how do you occupy young kids in a coffee shop? I've got the solution. It's called, you bring games! Indeed. One particular game we brought was a Korean style balancing game using green, orange and yellow wooden stars on top of a 'moon' block. It was quite fun! And yes, it helped to buy the kids their favorite 'snack' on the way over there: gum!

So as you can see, Ayden & Zynia did a fine job chilling when their momma so needed a little coffee-chill time. They were bundled up quite well, and they even listened to me when I told them they needed to hold hands and walk together on the way home (check out picture; cute, huh?) We even ran into an old co-worker of mine way back in the day when we worked together at Yeungjin~ Julian! So good to see old acquaintances, especially this holiday!

Boy, isn't it getting so cold lately? Even a trip out to the nearby tree-a-la-garbage-pile to dispose of daily waste gets to be a fingertip-numbing experience! And we're in Daegu! Gadzooks..imagine how much colder it is up in Seoul!

Ahem, side note. {Mom, are you reading this? Yes, I bet it's warm in Alabama where you are now. Sitting by the fire. Under Brandon & Amy's wonderful Christmas tree. Watching Carson and Camron, running around in joyous play, giggling and laughing, while Amy nurses Calen and Brandon sips on a beer. Lucky you! And Chelsea, the black sheep of the bunch, is sadly stuck in colder than a tit on a boar in the forrest, Daegu...Boo! Hoo! Well, at least my butt is warm with our floor-heating system! Sheesh!!} Now, what was I saying..

Oh, yes, yes..today. What's on the agenda today? Well, my Monday-off has been filled with working on my TESOL lesson plans (this is the last week, thank goodness!) and preparing some comedy-skits for my crew at Yeungjin to perform on Thursday's Christmas year-end party. This should be something--maybe a knee slapper or a sympathy clapper. I'm hoping for the former! We'll see. Stay tuned for an update on the matter! Until then, I'll be silently wishing I were home & with family for Christmas! :)

Until the next post, eat your pickles!
~ Chelsea

Three Korean Syllables = One great CLEAN weekend start!

So here it is. The weekend. Classes are over. Kids will be picked up from their Korean daycare soon. And you know what's on my mind? It includes getting naked, getting into something hot AND cold, and it costs roughly 9,900 Won for us to go. Any guesses?

Here's a hint: It involves doing something us Western folk would normally think of an activity we consider a private matter. Now you give up?

Ok, no more torture, my little pickles. It's called the mo'gyoek-tang(모굑탕). Otherwise, the public bath. And it's the kids' favorite Saturday morning activity! Who would have thought! And no, it's not quite the 'spa' experience, either. It's seriously a cleaning fest!

Check out this funny video I found on Youtube concerning Korean public baths. The animation is quite dead on with what you'd find in the women's bathhouse!

A lovely little thought back to when I posted about the Korean public baths  back when I was quite the newbie to Korea and Korean culture (and as a side note, I can't believe I posted that in 2005, well-over 6 years ago!) Rereading it made me snicker (and somewhat shutter!) from the memory of it. So, happy reading down memory lane :)

What is boils down to is that Korean absolutely love the idea of getting clean. In fact, I would almost call it a sacred, cultural act. But you don't have to take my word for it. Check out the following articles for some interesting reads about Korean Bath culture: the KNU times, fellow blogger, or even the LA Times.

Until the next post, happy scrubbing, and eat your pickles, kimchi and coffee!

~ Chelsea