Hodge-Podge

It's Friday again!

Last night I dragged one of my friends to Korean aerobics class with me. It was a blast. We steamed up the mirrors, we laughed, and we danced. It was perfect.

I want to talk about a million things, so I'm going to resort to point form. I'm sorry!

1. After dance class my friend and I took advantage of the bathhouse type area in my gym. You have to take your clothes of in the change room, and then you walk into this humongous steaming room. (oh and no modesty allowed. Korean towels are the same size as hand towels back home). In the very middle of the room is a massive hottub, that usually has about ten women lounging inside (and the hottub-type thing is still mostly empty). On the left-hand side, there are rows and rows of sit-down showers (maybe 60 women were using these). There are only about 10 stand up showers, which is what we used. Little kids were running around (and falling, considering the slippery nature of wet tile), women were doing their laundry in these tubs, catching water from the stand-up showers (I literally had women standing behind me to catch the excess) and yet the over-all feeling was one of hushed serenity. My friend and I were the only foreigners, so we were being HARD-CORE stared at...but whatever. I was okay with it.

2. I went to my first Korean nightclub a couple of weekends ago. WHOA.

Korean nightclubs ARE NOT remotely similar to Canadian nightclubs. There is a dancefloor, but there are also rows and rows of tables, 2 couches to a table, 3 people per couch. You have to rent a table. For four of us girls it cost 40$CDN. Included in this price we also received 3litres of beer, and a snack tray. We were sat with two Korean men who couldn't have been less thrilled with our appearence at their table (I THINK that men have to pay more for their tables, and if they send drinks to women, the women are obligated to sit with them? But I don't know for sure). The waiter asked me how old I was, and I told him. Then he told me he was taking my purse. I said 'no' (it was a really small purse). He made a disgusted noise at me and stalked off.

In relative order, the entertainment consisted of:

-Korean pop played from loudspeakers.
-The same, but with dancers (usually two males on stage)
-A live band being lowered from the ceiling (they played for maybe half an hour)
-A male stripper who stripped down to NOTHING (I really wasn't expecting full-frontal male nudity, just so you know)
-A female stripper who took a shower on stage (yet managed to keep her underwear on).

At one point a Korean man asked me to sit at his table. I did (he was really nice). But one of my friends whose been here for a while thought it was sketch and made me leave. She said it was probably fine, but potentially volatile. Awesome/weird night in any case.

3. I had my first (and most DEFINITELY last) Korean massage. My only advice:

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD IN THIS WORLD DON'T DO IT!!!

It was the most painful half hour of my life. Maybe even worse than getting a tattoo. At one point she started PUNCHING my SPINE. She also covered me in oil, then covered me in a skratchy towel and started vigioursly scrubing me. I was aftraid I wouldn't have any skin left. And it was not the case that I felt really good when it was over. I couldn't sleep on my back that night because it felt so bruised!

I think that's all the time I have to share my new experiences with you. I am off to see cirque de soleil in Seoul tonight!