The Jim Jil Bang almost killed me!

Friday night, Kevin and I went to a whole in the wall, and somewhat ghetto Jim Jil Bang by our house (Korean style public bath house). While I was there, I got into a spa that no one else was in. I was so excited to have it to myself! When I stepped into it, it felt like there were teeny tiny jets of water spraying from all different directions, and I thought... "Wow, this is awesome!" I sat down on the bench in the spa and put my hands under the water to find where the jets were, and I immediately realized, they were not jets, I WAS BEING SHOCKED!!!! It completely freaked me out, so I jumped out. I told Kevin about it and he said the same thing happened to him in a spa on the guys floor! We couldn't believe it! But, since it happened to both of us, we figured it was some sort of Asian relaxation technique and didn't think much more about it.

BUT, during lunch today, I was telling the teachers about my experience and they were SHOCKED (no pun intended!) They couldn't believe that I was being electrically shocked under the water and said they had NEVER HEARD OF THAT HAPPENING TO SOMEONE! They said, "Alexis, Never go back there. It sounds like that place is very dangerous!" Which, trust me - I will NEVER go back there!

Could you imagine if I died from being electrically shocked in a spa at a Jim Jil Bang?! What a lame way to go!

Gwangalli Beach!

Yesterday, Kev and I went to Gwangalli Beach with Jess and Carlos! They live about 5 minutes from this beach! As much as we love our area, we are jealous everytime we visit them! (It takes us 30 minutes to get here from our place, by bus.) Next to the beach, there is a street lined with cherry blossom trees that we walked along! It was stunning! Here are some pictures from our day:

Carlos, Jess, Kev, and I at Gwangalli beach, with the skyline behind us.


I absolutely love this picture!!!


Carlos and Jess

The street lined with gorgeous pink and white Cherry Blossom trees!


This little boy was throwing the cherry blossom petals in the air... He was adorable!


Jess and I, walking together...




After we were finished at the beach, Kevin and I wwalked to Mega Mart, which is equivalent to Target, I guess. We wanted to pick up a couple things for our apartment. Unfortunately, we live 30 minutes from the Mega Mart, so we had to walk a ways with the furniture and rug on our backs and then board a busy bus! It's was the first time I kind of wanted my car back! At the same time, we laughed a lot and got some good exercise. This is a picture of Carlos carrying our table to the bus stop, and me holding our new rug like a backpack! :)

Cherry Blossom Saturday!

Today, we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Pusan!  The cherry blossom trees are in full bloom all around the city and the streets are filled with white and pink blossoms!  Spring is finally here! :)

Here are some pictures from our amazing day!

Me and Jessica

2 darling Korean girls who let me take their picture smelling the cherry blossom flower!

I took this picture of Kevin and loved it!   I'm always thankful to be able to practice my photography on my own husband!  

I think I was laughing at some of the kids playing in the street.

I loved the bright blue wall...

Who would have known I'd become such a kid lover over here in Korea!  I just can't get enough of the Korean babies!  They are all so beautiful!

Another great pic of Kevin... 

Jess is a budding photographer!  She takes amazing pictures with her point and shoot!

The students from the photography club at Carlos's school were at the festival taking pictures too!   (Carlos is the tall one in the back)

Me and my balloon sword fighting friends! 

This may not look like it, but this was a serious sword fight!

There was an elementary class having a field trip to the festival.  When I walked by and waved at them, this was the reaction I got!   ADORABLE!

Jess was thirsty, so we both tried to drink out of this fountain!  The water kept shooting straight up, so we were getting our whole faces drenched!  After a couple minutes of everyone laughing at us, a nice young Korean guy walked over and handed us 2 water bottles and motioned that this particular fountain was for washing your hands, not for drinking!  :)

Kev has fans EVERYWHERE he goes!  We couldn't believe that on a day when he's wearing basketball shorts and looking frumpy, the girls STILL want their picture with him!  Go figure?!

Some of Kevin's fans!   They all want pictures of him!  We joke that we're going to try to sell pictures of Kevin on the subway for 1,000 won one day! 

The Festival!  (Double click for a more detailed picture.)

The goregous Cherry Blossoms (This pic was taken by Jess!)

Dinner date with the girls!

Last Tuesday night, Stella and the music teacher, who I named "April" took me to dinner at a restaurant overlooking the ocean and harbor! It was a magical view, and a really fun dinner date! Stella is on the left of me, and April is on the right!

At nearly every Korean restaurant, there's a "call button" at one of the corners of every table!  So, anytime you need the waiter, you hit the call button and they come right over!  It's awesome, except for when you accidently lean on it, which I've done a number of times.  

This call button is special though.  I can't remember which button is for what, but there are 4 buttons for distinctly different purposes.  One button is for more soju (alcohol).  One is for more water.  Another is for the server to come over... and lastly and more importantly, one button is for a taxi... for all the drunk people who eat here!  :)

Shhh, it's our little secret!

At lunch today, I got asked to go to dinner with my Vice Principal! He told me, "Sshh, it's our secret!" I thought it was hilarious, because typically that phrase is used in more than shady situations. In acuality, it was completely innocent... He's 60 years old and I'm going to dinner with his family and my co-teacher. He said, "Ssssh, it's our secret" because he didn't want the other teachers to be jealous that he was taking me to dinner, but I love when Koreans say stuff that has really sexual or vulgar connotations! It's hilarious!