As most of you know, I have been doing a lot of walking since I have been here. I noticed how out of shape I am and how my feet hurt almost every night. I have been asking one of the teachers to go with me to find a gym for a while now. Then, I found out that there is one in the building next to ours. They are practically attached! It would be so easy and convenient. We went to inquire about the costs and to take a look around. I learned about the locker system and that if you want to add the pool to your package that it costs extra. I found out that they offer a free shuttle service from around my house to the gym every day, you get a cool looking gym bag when you join, and they actually offer you clothes to work out in. They give you like a uniform to work out in and then you just put it in the laundry basket when you are finished. They wash them and ask you your size when you come in the next time. It is actually very weird to me. To think that you will be working out in clothes that have been worn a hundred other times by sweaty individuals. Gross!! I'll bring my own clothes, thank you! Anyway, when I asked to check out the locker rooms I got another surprise. The locker rooms are completely open as well as the shower room. In the shower room there are shower heads all along the outer wall. There are a couple jacuzzi tubs in the middle of the room and one larger tub/pool (I am not sure what this is for but there are always women in there). There is a tub with several water streams like a fountain and there are mini showers where the women get stools, sit, and bathe themselves that way. I never realized how much bonding could go on in an open showering room. The women, who love to walk around naked everywhere in the locker room and the shower room ALL OF THE TIME, sit and chat and gossip while bathing or sitting in the sauna or even while doing hair and makeup. For any of you who know me, you know that this makes me completely and totally uncomfortable, especially in a place where I am a foreigner and people already stare at me all of the time!
Needless to say, I joined the gym and have been going every day for the past week and a half. I go in the mornings so that I can just shower and get ready there before work. The other day when I was trying to ask about the shuttle bus, there was a girl who works in the actual fitness area who found another who could speak some English and asked me if I know how to workout properly. She said that she had been watching me for a few days and that all I do is run. I told her that I played volleyball all my life and had several workouts. I took several weightlifting courses in college and I worked at a gym for 2 years! I told her that I wanted to slim down a little and get my endurance up before I started lifting weights. This whole conversation occurred while I was on the treadmill and afterward I guess there was some misunderstanding about the information that they gave me about the shuttle bus, because the girl followed me into the shower just as I turned on the water. So she is standing there fully clothed and I am very naked and very aware that I am naked standing there talking to her. She just wanted to make sure that she understood me correctly. When I assured her that everything was fine, she thankfully left me, to be gawked at by all of the other naked Korean older women in the shower room at that time.
We have gone on a few field trips since I have been here, but this last one was by far my favorite. We went to a huge indoor market. First, we stopped at the fish market and then right across the street is the vegetable and fruit market. It was actually pretty cool and the kids really enjoyed it. The school had their parents send some money and a shopping list with them to school and the kids actually went shopping like they were adults. It was so cute! The other teacher took quite a few pictures, so at the end of this posting I will put up a link to them and several others. These blog sites are not very photo-friendly, so I have to post them elsewhere when I have several of them at once. I get paid on Monday again and plan to buy a very nice camera seeing as how I have been taking not-so-great pictures with my phone. Then I will take lots of pictures!
I still don't have a cell phone yet, but I am so close I can almost hear it ringing sometimes!! LOL! Last week, I went to the immigration office in Seoul with Hong Kong, my boss and visa sponsor's father. I was expecting to get my Alien ID card, be out of there, and get my cell phone all in the same day. Everyone I talked to said that I would get the ID right away, no problems. Apparently none of them knew what the heck they were talking about! When we pulled up, he made me get out early because there is a line that you have to wait in for parking. You can't go into the parking lot until someone else leaves. I went inside, got a number, filled out some paperwork, and took out my extra passport photo and my physical health form. I waited for over an hour in line and when I got to the woman she said that I was missing paperwork. I needed something else from the school. Luckily this happens frequently so they have a fax machine set up in the lobby for anyone to use. Hong Kong called Ashley and got the documents faxed. Then the lady told me to go upstairs to buy a revenue stamp and the form filing process was complete. She told me that it would be ready in 10 days!! AHHHH! The other American teacher went to the Immigration office the day after me and gets his ID 2 days earlier then me! How messed up is that!!?? So, I don't get it or a cell phone until this Thursday! Man, I feel very old-fashioned and somewhat left out. You never know how important something is until you don't have it!!
Lastly, I got a package from my mother in the mail this week. It was great! I was so excited and smiled all day! It had several toys for the kiddos in it, as well as bed sheets for me, that I have desperately needed for 2 months now, and some other odds and ends that I will definitely use! Just FYI, bed sheets here are a luxury that most people don't indulge in; they are very expensive and are sold separately. Mom was telling me that I should open a bed sheet market here and I could make a fortune. I am not sure that anyone would purchase that product seeing as how they are actually comfortable sleeping on the floor! I however, can't believe that slept without sheets for that long! It felt absolutely amazing with my new air conditioner and my awesome bed sheets to sleep in!
Here is the link to my photos. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8088960@N03/sets/72157624467563326/
C'est Moi!
No comments:
Post a Comment