livin' with seoul: feeling good

i’m feeling good today. so what you say. well, it’s big news, thank you very much, ‘cause it’s 11:50 on a seoul saturday morning & i’m normally death warmed up @ this stage of the week. & i’m also normally working. but nope, not today. i decided earlier in the week that i was going 2 be a good boy this weekend & take it easy on myself for a change.... well, for friday night @ least. i’ve no doubt i’ll undo all my good work later tonight (& probably tomorrow night 2) but for now i’m wallowing in my newfound, & all 2 infrequent ability 2 say ‘no’ 2 friday night beers & saturday morning hangovers. so what did i do last night instead? i went 2 somewhere i love going 2 but for some reason haven’t been there yet on this latest visit 2 kool-rea... the jim jil bang, the korean bath house. it’s somewhere korean’s go 2 sweat & wash... it’s somewhere foreigners go 2 sweat, wash... & get incessantly stared @. the sweating part sees you laying around in various communal straw-matted saunas of a set temperature while the washing part sees you walking around butt naked jumping into large, segregated hot tubs, again of set temperature. of course most of the staring takes place in the washing areas but my, or any foreigners presence in any area of the jim jil bang seems 2 be a source of great amusement & surprise 2 the koreans (bless them), especially the children. i’ve commented on my experiences in the jim jil bang in a previous blog so & you can read that here if you want. & take a look at this if you want to know more about the whole jim jil bang experience. i’m sorry i can't hang around 2 elaborate... i’ve a wedding 2 go 2.

‘livin’ with seoul’ weekend of celebration

5 reasons 2 celebrate this weekend:

1 - the she-male/she-ra/sheils/sheila is back in town... one night only,

2 - nkuli is back in town 2,

3 - it’s the ranga.... sorry, amy’s birthday,

4 - a korean collegue is getting married (& i’m going 2 the wedding),

5 - it’s saturday, i’m not working & i don’t have a staurday hangover.

‘livin’ with seoul’ funny label/sign watch

prime max beer markets itself as being as a,

'delicious idea,'

going on 2 inform anyone who actually reads the screwed up english on its label that it is a,

'rich and full-bodied taste beer made from all malt and fine cascade hop'

but that’s not all. no sir. it also claims that,

'delicious beer max gives rich taste and citrus flavour with all malt and cascade hop,'

before making the boldest claim of all, that drinking the beer will,

'please your taste and drinking atmosphere.'

i mean, who wouldn’t wanna drink the stuff?

livin’ with seoul’ by the numbers – an update

43 - days i’ve been 'livin' with seoul.'

12 - days until christmas day. jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.

16 - days until camp begins.

8 - days until i leave seoul for jochiwon, the location for camp.

58 - days until i go home.

18 - days until i learn if my contract will be extended beyond february.

0 - the amount of times i’ve cooked for myself.

45 - days since i’ve worked out. i’ve yet 2 get 2 the gym. of course if i knew where the gym was it might be a different story.

72 - weight, in kilograms, the bath house weighing scales told me i weighed (11.3 stone).

9 - entries so far in ’livin’ with seoul’

30,000 – amount, in Korean won, one is expected 2 ‘contribute’ @ a korean wedding (about €16). i'll report on what i get for that in my next entry.

12 - time, in minutes, i managed 2 stick it out in the hottest of the jim jil bang saunas, the 95° one. it's not a test of endurance or anything but just as an observation the average korean lasts about 4-5 minutes.

2 - weeks that mel has now been sick.

3 - amount of times i've been asked by different koreans why my face is "so red". without elaborating on the fact that it's 'casue the dry korean winter air tends 2 play havoc on the skin of fair-haired caucasians, i tell them it's becasue i'm irish... & that seems 2 pacify them.

1 - temperature, in degrees celsius, in seoul right now.

2 - temperature, in degrees celsius, in dublin right now. dublin wins.

whoops!

one has 2 assume this guy wasn’t watching where he was going. either that or he was just desperate 2 get on youtube.