Home Remedy... Cupping!

I can't believe I never wrote about this night!  I'm literally laughing as I type...  I found this picture on my computer and have to tell you about it!  One night, about 3 months ago, I sent Aaron to the dollar store to pick up a couple things and he came back with an "at home cupping system!"  It was a hilarious (and VERY painful) experience!

First, let me explain... Cupping is an ancient Chinese technique where glass cups are heated, from the inside, with fire, to create a vacuum, and then placed on an afflicted area of a patient's body.  The cup's suction pulls at the skin and is said to "suck out" the body's toxins!   I'm pretty sure this was not meant to be done at home!   

Regardless, Aaron and I thought it would be really funny to try it out!  This particular system had 8 plastic cups, all different sizes, with manual suction handles... The more you pushed it, the more your skin would rise!  This was the smallest of the bunch, and it hurt like hell!

If done correctly, the practice can actually relieve pains from edema, swellings, asthma, bronchitis, dull aches and pains, arthritis (HELLO MOM!), abdominal pain, stomachache, indigestion, headache, lower back pain, cramps and coughing.  

Usually more than 1 suction cup is placed on a person's body!  It usually looks more like this... (google picture)

... and yes, you will have bruises for at least a week, like this! (google picture)

Luckily, I didn't get a bruise from mine!  I left it on for 20 minutes and couldn't take it anymore!  It REALLY hurts!  It's an experience I won't soon forget though!  ***  And as a side note, I put that crazy cupping system near the trash last weekend, and it was taken within 10 minutes!  Silly Koreans!
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Killa Monkeez

There's actually a B-Boying Academy in Busan, and it happens to be right down the street!  I was soooo excited about this, and went down there with my camera one day to snap some shots of the boyz in action! 

They were extremely welcoming and grabbed a chair for me, to sit in, while they practiced (or more like, showed off)!

This kid was my favorite!  He had some serious swagger! 

And as you can see, they are VERY dedicated to their B-boying!  Either that, or just really stupid!  According to research, 17% of people regret their tattoos!  I'd bet my life savings that this kid will be one of the 17% in the next 10 years!

The whole gang together!

I was happy to see that not ALL Korean's spend their entire adolescence studying!  Good job boys!  You may not be really smart, but you can dance, and really, that's all a girl wants in a future husband!  ***  :)

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He gave me flowers!

It's not what you think...

They're not from Aaron... 

Although I would never put it past him to give me a bouquet this big or beautiful!

 I was down in the teachers room today, which is also our Vice Principal's office.  Today is his last day here, and someone had brought him this gorgeous bouquet of flowers!  I stopped to gawk at them and told him how beautiful I thought they were.  The first thing he said was, "Do you want them for your classroom?!"  I told him I wouldn't dare take his gift... but he insisted!  So, now I have a gorgous bouquet of purple and yellow daisies, red roses, and purple orchids to enjoy on my desk!  Am I not the luckiest girl, ever?!

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Ummm, that's not a deer!

Stamp Happy!

Instead of signing their names, Koreans stamp important documents with their own personal name chops (dojong)!  

I love this about Korea, and have actually had 2 made for myself! The pink one was made by a machine, and the black one was actually tediously hand carved by a 70 something year old Korean man in Gukje market!

Nowadays the practice of stamping is being replaced by actual signatures... but when I go to the bank, I always have my stamp kit in hand!

  Traditionally, the name stamps used the Chinese characters (Hanja) of the person's name, but Korean characters (Hangul) have become more common now. 

This is the stamp that was made by a machine.  It says "Jill Anderson" (Or, actually, phonetically, it actually says: Jeel Un duh sun - close enough!)

... and this is the hand carved one!  It just says "Anderson" (En Dul Son)  haha

You can actually order your own personal Korean name stamp, on-line, from this online Gift Shop, or you can tell me you want one, and I'll have one made here for 1/5 of the price!  They're awesome, and now that I found the right kind of stamp pad for it, for the equivalent of 50 cents, I'm gonna start stamping everything!  :)