20,000

Are you the 20,000th visitor of my blog?!  (Look above at the counter)  If you are, you're getting a prize!  Just leave me a comment to let me know you were the 20,000 visitor, and there will be a little something special for you in the mail! :)

Happy Tuesday!

RED neon crosses

(person A)  

Excuse me.  Where is the closest church?

(person B) 

It's easy.  Just look for the neon crosses.  Every church in Korea has one!  

It's true!  Every church in Korea adornes it's building with a bright RED neon cross! My guess is that someone, somewhere on this peninsula, decided that his church would look pretty darn fancy with a nice red neon cross on the top.  Soon after that, red neon crosses (blue, green or purple just isn’t done) popped up all over the country!  

Really? No water for 39 hours!

I was told, on Friday, that from Saturday at 8am to Sunday at 8am, I may not have running water at my apartment because the city was working on reconstructing the water mains around Busan.  You can image my excitement when I woke up Saturday morning to a full flowing faucet! 

Not sooo fast though... I should learn by now that Busan is, in fact, as Dynamic as it's city slogan says it is!  Because, at 3:00am, Sunday morning, I realized that I couldn't flush my toilet!  Lovely! ... and let's just say that I STILL, at 9:05pm (Monday night), have no running water at my apartment!  

With that said, I ventured over to the neighborhood jim jil bang! (public bath house)

You might remember this place from a blog I wrote back in April 2009.  It's the jim jil bang that almost killed me!  Although, they've done a tiny bit of renovation since that dreadful night in April, so I had faith that this would be a better experience!  As you can see, they've added an outdoor coffee shop now - with comfy chairs to relax on!  ***  

   

Seriously, I had no other option! 

So, I walked into the lobby and was immediately given "the X" from the man behind the glass.  "The X" is when a Korean crosses their arms in front of their chests.  It basically means "No."   hmmm, that's strange.  I wondered, if he was denying me access because I was a foreigner...  So I began speaking Korean to him, and sure enough, he said "Asoseyo, saw chun, o beg won."  (Welcome, It's 4,500 won), handed me some soap, and pointed towards the woman's bath house door.  Whew!

When I got inside, I was met by about 10 old Korean women who were sitting around naked, just chatting up a storm.  When they saw me, they immediately said, "Ahh, Meegook, asoseyo!"  (ahh, American, welcome!)  We chatted for a minute or two, and one of the ladies said, "I meet you 2 year ago here, in bathtub."   Sure enough, she was right!  I did meet her last time I was there!

I stripped down and headed to the bathing area.  As I was showering, I looked over and smiled at a korean women in her 50's.  Then, I kid you not, 3 minutes later, she came over, grabbed a brillo pad type scrubber, and started scrubbing the crap out of my back!  I'm pretty sure there is NO dead skin left!   This is actually something that korean friends do for each other, so I'd like to think she was trying to be my friend!  I showed my appreciation with a smile and she continued to scrub away!   I'm pretty sure she scrubbed off all of the tan I had left from the Phillippines!  

While it was a much better experience at the neighborhood jim jil bang this time, I do hope my water turns back on soon so I can not only shower, brush my teeth in the sink, and wash my dishes, but have my pottie time in a regular fashion again!  The whole pottying into a bag thing was getting a little old.  (Aaron made me admit it!)  ***

I am thankful....

I am so thankful this year; for so many things: my new friends in Korea, my old friends in the states, my friends who I've met while traveling Asia, my cozy apartment, my new camera, Korean coffee sticks, outdoor markets with fresh fruit and veggies, yummy Korean food, my loving mom and dad, my really fun sister, "my other half"---Aaron, etc!!  

This Thanksgiving, I invited Aaron, Emily, Truchen and Gill over for dinner.  (Unfortunately, Gill wasn't able to make it.)  It was an intimate affair, which is much more my style!  Emily is from Kenya and Truchen is from South Africa, so Aaron and I were excited to show them what Thanksgiving is all about in America, and they were excited to experience it!  Truchen has said she loved it so much that she'll bring the tradition back home with her, which I think is wonderful!

This was my attempt at a Thanksgiving dinner.  Garlic mashed potatoes, steamed brocoli and carrots, salad, dinner rolls, fruit salad, and a chicken (disguised as a Turkey)!

 The food was delicious, the company was wonderful, and the leftovers are still in my fridge!  In fact, it's lunchtime right now, so I'm gonna have myself a little "chicken" sandwich and some mashed potatoes!  mmmm, mmmm!

Life is good, and I am thankful

North Korea attack...

As you know, this blog is a way for me to keep all my friends and family back home in the loop, as well as a way for me to historically document my life here in Korea.  So, with that said, I'm cutting and pasting this article into my blog to remind me of this moment in time:

 "North Korea attacked South Korea's Yeonpyeong island in the Yellow Sea yesterday  (with 100 individual bombs).  It was the first time they had attacked their southern neighbor on land since the Korean War.  The attack came on the first day of the South Korean military exercises that North Korea had pledged to retaliate against.

At least 100 rounds fell on Yeonpyeong, which houses a military complex and is home to some 1,600 residents, according to the Yonhap

"North Korea's indiscriminate artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island is a clear military provocation on the Republic of Korea," Hong Sang-pyo, senior secretary for public affairs at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, said in a statement. "Furthermore, recklessly shelling against civilians can never be tolerated."

The US options are limited, and the Obama administration most likely needs to proceed carefully. Restraint could be interpreted as weakness by the North Korean regime. Too harsh a response after the North Korean attack could lead to further crisis.  President Barack Obama was awakened before 4 a.m. by a call from National Security Advisor Tom Donilon to brief him on the Korean artillery exchange.

The United States condemned North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island on Tuesday but said it was too soon to discuss ways the U.S. military might deter the reclusive state from another strike.   

In response to the attack, the South Korean military fired more than 80 rounds into North Korea and launched fighter jets. The exchange of artillery lasted about an hour."

My co-workers do seem a tad bit worried today, but most of them feel that it was a political show by general (Kim Jong Un - Kim Jong Il's son) to show his new power to the world.  As you may or may not know, he was recently promoted to militrary general. 

 
Let's just hope the show is over!

***