I really love this city!!!! It is a big city with a small town feel. I think it's amazing that I go out and random people come up and talk to me. They are so curious about what I think about the city and the food. Today, I had a random lady walk up to me shake my hand and say, "Thank you" in English. It was weird because I couldn't figure out what she was thanking me for. Maybe she was just trying to say, "hello" and couldn't remember which one it was. It was sweet.
I really love the gym that I have been going to. Its called Daejeon MMA if you live in the city and you want to check it out. Its near Hannam University. The people are so fun! They crack me up. There is a group of high schoolers that like to hang around me which is cool. They are super curious about me and my lifestyle. They even talk about themselves. One is hilarious! He was talking about being one of Angelina Jolie's adopted kids. Then, he started in on Tiger Woods. He said that his uncle's friend was one of Tiger's mistresses. I was dying...everyone thought I was crazy because they had no idea what this kid was talking about. The people aren't the only reason I go to this gym though. I heard about the gym from a guy that does some serious MMA up in Seoul, and he said that it was a good gym. Several of the top competitors in Seoul trained under this instructor. The instructor is really good and very knowledgeable about BJJ. He does one class everyday at 7PM, and the rest of the time its open gym for kickboxing, weight lifting, jump rope, and whatever. He walks around and corrects your form. I really like it because the guys at the gym are really friendly and will help me out with my form too. Some of them speak English so they help explain what the instructor is trying to tell me. The instructor speaks a little English, but he doesn't like to use it. He tries for my benefit, but most of the time one of the guys will translate it for me.
I am seriously trying to learn Korean because I think it will be beneficial for me. I went to Korean tutoring this morning. I am hoping to be able to continue attending. I have also been studying my Korean-English dictionary and my Korean studies book. It's kind of hard because the sounds are so different from English, and the letters are different from English. It's funny because when I don't understand what people are saying, I use their facial expressions to make up what they are saying. It's never what they are actually saying, but it keeps me entertained...hahaha. Well, not much more to say so...Cheers for now!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Massage=Happy Melanie
Well, all in all my week was pretty good. On Monday, I decided to join a MMA gym across town. I have to take two buses to get there, but the gym is nice...the instructor is one of the best not too mention he's hilarious!!!! And I love the other members there. I got a three month membership for 180,000 won. So, if I still enjoy it after that I may keep it up.
The rest of the week went by so quickly because I went to the gym at night after school. It was relatively uneventful until Friday. At school on Friday, I had a girl pee in her pants. She had asked me twice to go to the bathroom and both times I said no. The first time she asked we had just come back from the bathroom, and I had told them to go to the bathroom and get water. The second time, we were getting ready to leave and before they leave they have to set their table for lunch; so I told her she had to set her table first and that's when she peed on the floor. I told my Korean partner about what had happened and she just laughed. She wasn't too worried about it, but later the mom called and was mad. So my Korean partner told the mom it wouldn't ever happen again. My Korean partner still thought it was funny and didn't care, but she told me that every time the little girl asks to go to the bathroom I have to let her go even if we have just come back from the bathroom. These parents baby their kids too much!!!
On Saturday, I went to the gym again and worked out for a bit. I talked to one of the guys there. He was really nice; he doesn't speak English very well but he wants to learn. I think he wants to hang out. He asked me how old I was and I found out he was younger than me. In my experience, in Korea after the guy finds out you are older he says we can be friends which I think means that he doesn't want to try to date me because I'm older. Which is fine with me because in all honesty I am not in Korea to find a boyfriend. I would prefer to just make friends. I took the bus home from the gym, and a lady from Japan started talking to me. She has just moved to Korea as well. She asked if we could hang out sometime, and I said sure. I feel badly because I think she wanted to hang out that afternoon, but I didn't realize that at the time. I told her that I had to change buses in order to get home, but we did exchange numbers. I messaged her today to see if she wanted to meet sometime for coffee. I think we are going to meet on Saturday. Anyways after I changed buses, I decided to take the bus to the subway and take the subway home. On the subway, I noticed that one of the stops was Yuseong Spa. I thought maybe the spa would have a masseuse or something. So I figured maybe I'd get a massage. So I got off at the spa stop. I didn't see the spa, but I did see a Thai Massage Parlor. So I decided to check that out. It was 70,000 won for an hour and a half massage which is a really good price since you can't get that kind of price in America for a 45 minute massage. So I decided to get the massage. It was really good! They even gave me a mini facial at the beginning, and they served me some tea at the beginning and end of the massage. I felt really relaxed and so much better afterwards. As I walked out, I saw that there was another Thai Massage parlor right by the subway exit so I might try that one next time. I may make this a regular monthly thing to unwind and de-stress. After the massage, I was so sleepy! I just went home and went to bed at like 7:30. I slept in late too!
I wanted to get up early enough to go to the Korean lesson at the church at 9:30 but I didn't wake up in time...I almost didn't make it to the service. I was running late, but I met a Korean girl outside that wanted to go to the English service but couldn't remember where it was so I took her to the service. Her name was Cherry. A lot of Koreans go to the English service to improve their English. I decided to stay for Sunday School this time. It was interesting. The pastor led Sunday School as well. He talked about the background information on the passages before we read them. I really enjoy that. He does that a bit in his sermons as well. It really helps you understand where the people are coming from when they are righting the passages. Between church service and Sunday School, there is about a thirty minute time frame to hang around and talk with each other. A lot of people came up and talked to me. There were a couple of young Korean college guys that came up and talked to me for a bit. They wanted to know how old I was. After they found out that I was 25, they asked if I was married. When I told them I wasn't, they asked me why not. I think it is uncommon in Korea for a girl my age to not be married unless there is something wrong with her. They said that I was too pretty to be single. It was funny. They were too sweet for saying that. It really made my day.
After Sunday School, I walked home and ate. Then I decided to go to the Wholesale Market in Nouen. I saw it on the subway stop list. So I took the subway to the market; it was right outside the subway exit. I walked through and they had a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables and other fresh foods. I picked up some bananas and strawberries. I want to go back and get some other fruits and veggies too. All in all this week was pretty good. I think I am definitely starting to find my place in this city!
The rest of the week went by so quickly because I went to the gym at night after school. It was relatively uneventful until Friday. At school on Friday, I had a girl pee in her pants. She had asked me twice to go to the bathroom and both times I said no. The first time she asked we had just come back from the bathroom, and I had told them to go to the bathroom and get water. The second time, we were getting ready to leave and before they leave they have to set their table for lunch; so I told her she had to set her table first and that's when she peed on the floor. I told my Korean partner about what had happened and she just laughed. She wasn't too worried about it, but later the mom called and was mad. So my Korean partner told the mom it wouldn't ever happen again. My Korean partner still thought it was funny and didn't care, but she told me that every time the little girl asks to go to the bathroom I have to let her go even if we have just come back from the bathroom. These parents baby their kids too much!!!
On Saturday, I went to the gym again and worked out for a bit. I talked to one of the guys there. He was really nice; he doesn't speak English very well but he wants to learn. I think he wants to hang out. He asked me how old I was and I found out he was younger than me. In my experience, in Korea after the guy finds out you are older he says we can be friends which I think means that he doesn't want to try to date me because I'm older. Which is fine with me because in all honesty I am not in Korea to find a boyfriend. I would prefer to just make friends. I took the bus home from the gym, and a lady from Japan started talking to me. She has just moved to Korea as well. She asked if we could hang out sometime, and I said sure. I feel badly because I think she wanted to hang out that afternoon, but I didn't realize that at the time. I told her that I had to change buses in order to get home, but we did exchange numbers. I messaged her today to see if she wanted to meet sometime for coffee. I think we are going to meet on Saturday. Anyways after I changed buses, I decided to take the bus to the subway and take the subway home. On the subway, I noticed that one of the stops was Yuseong Spa. I thought maybe the spa would have a masseuse or something. So I figured maybe I'd get a massage. So I got off at the spa stop. I didn't see the spa, but I did see a Thai Massage Parlor. So I decided to check that out. It was 70,000 won for an hour and a half massage which is a really good price since you can't get that kind of price in America for a 45 minute massage. So I decided to get the massage. It was really good! They even gave me a mini facial at the beginning, and they served me some tea at the beginning and end of the massage. I felt really relaxed and so much better afterwards. As I walked out, I saw that there was another Thai Massage parlor right by the subway exit so I might try that one next time. I may make this a regular monthly thing to unwind and de-stress. After the massage, I was so sleepy! I just went home and went to bed at like 7:30. I slept in late too!
I wanted to get up early enough to go to the Korean lesson at the church at 9:30 but I didn't wake up in time...I almost didn't make it to the service. I was running late, but I met a Korean girl outside that wanted to go to the English service but couldn't remember where it was so I took her to the service. Her name was Cherry. A lot of Koreans go to the English service to improve their English. I decided to stay for Sunday School this time. It was interesting. The pastor led Sunday School as well. He talked about the background information on the passages before we read them. I really enjoy that. He does that a bit in his sermons as well. It really helps you understand where the people are coming from when they are righting the passages. Between church service and Sunday School, there is about a thirty minute time frame to hang around and talk with each other. A lot of people came up and talked to me. There were a couple of young Korean college guys that came up and talked to me for a bit. They wanted to know how old I was. After they found out that I was 25, they asked if I was married. When I told them I wasn't, they asked me why not. I think it is uncommon in Korea for a girl my age to not be married unless there is something wrong with her. They said that I was too pretty to be single. It was funny. They were too sweet for saying that. It really made my day.
After Sunday School, I walked home and ate. Then I decided to go to the Wholesale Market in Nouen. I saw it on the subway stop list. So I took the subway to the market; it was right outside the subway exit. I walked through and they had a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables and other fresh foods. I picked up some bananas and strawberries. I want to go back and get some other fruits and veggies too. All in all this week was pretty good. I think I am definitely starting to find my place in this city!
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