New-ish Obsession: Dance

 I know that dance is gushed about as being this transcendental experience that goes beyond the physical and reaches form the innermost being to something beyond through some ecstasy of movement.  How awesome would it be to be able to stand firm on that and to hold it as a banner for what would be my passion.  Perhaps that will happen one day, but for now, I'm just super psyched about the many opportunities for expanding my reborn hobby of dancing.

I wish I could say that I started young, that I have a good foundation, and that I have natural talent.  I don't have those things, but I've got rhythm, diligence, and serious interest.  My first shot at any kind of dance was the Sunday night swing jam off campus during my college days.  Then there were the occasional girl dance parties, one carefully choreographed hall project, two semesters of dance class, and I was involved in a small dance performance and dance team.  When I got to Seoul and learned that it's the Lindy hop capitol of the world, I started to hit up the swing bars in hopes of honing what I want to turn into something serious.  (Seriously awesome, that is.)  A few of my friends have started to come with me, two of them have gotten me hooked on the idea of trying out their salsa clubs, and, to top it all off, a dude at my church started offering a free hip hop class!  I'm religiously attending every Tuesday night session.

A lot of the people from my Bible study group are in hip hop with me.  We hang out a lot at Sim's place, and, the last two times, we've ended up watching battling dance movies.  Last time it was Stomp the Yard, and tonight's choice was Step Up 3.  Those movies combined, that's about 3 hours of awe, exclamation, and groovin' right along as best as I can.

I feel like I missed the boat to be excellent at hip hop (I'm already 23), but I will kill at lindy hop one day, and it's just fun to imagine myself as some great dancer with smooth moves and flair.  These movies are perfect for inspiration.  I'm going to recommend Dirty Dancing: Havannah Nights for next time.

Want some snapshots of the glory?  I've got a couple of my favorites for you!  (It took a long time to narrow my choices down, I tell you what.)

Sick step moves brought to you from Stomp the Yard

K, last one: The trailer for Step Up 3D which shows some sweet action and wraps in the happy good feelings that are associated with the freedom, the sweat, and the dedication of dance

Let's do it!

Character Development at 8 Years Old

I have one particular student, Kelly.  When I first inherited this class from the teacher before, there were 8 students, but so many of the others have dropped, moved, or gotten sick that lately it's just been Kelly and I.  Interacting with her on a one-on-one basis has been a real treat.  Without any other students to divide my time between, Kelly gets a personal English tutoring session for 80 minutes.  There's no way we can stretch out all our class material to take up that much time with only one student, so we've started a fun new routine.  When I come up to the classroom and Kelly's waiting outside the door for me with her long, shiny ponytail and large, inquisitive eyes, I ask her if there's still only one student today.  "Yes, Teacher!"

"Well then.  You know what to do."

"Exercise!"

I'll go over to the computer and fine some dance music on YouTube, turn the speakers low enough so as not to disturb our neighboring classrooms, then head to the open space between the desks where Kelly's already poised for our mini aerobics session.  We jump, jog in place, and do some other silly stretches.  Every once in a while, I can convince Kelly to show me the latest choreography from her K-Pop dance class, but I usually have to pry it out of her by showing her some of my hip hop class moves first.

After about five minutes of being perfect girls, we set ourselves before science and story.  I gotta say, I really appreciate how much both she and I enjoy our class material.  We started a new science session, and we've both been charging through it with our inherited traits discussions, lots of animal pictures from Google, and talk about what she saw at the aquarium last weekend.

It's funny to look at the energetic girl across from me and remember what I used to think of her.  She is quite sensitive to what people think of her, and I was slightly disgusted when I first saw her break down in furious tears after one of the boys offended her.  When this same ordeal began to happen twice a week, I was pretty sure we had some deeper issues going on.  I made sure to take her aside and try to work things out with her the next few times this ordeal occurred, but my last time talking with her about this was my favorite.  I'd put on my soothing intellectual voice and coaxed her into the conversation, she has calmed down enough to really be able to think through things, and we thoughtfully started to sort through it.  To make things more relate-able and more clear, I made a diagram.

(This was a joint project, so you've got some conflicting opinions and odd grammar here and there.)

Because Kelly was practically the only student left in her class, she was moved to a different group of students.  I'll miss getting to hang out with her, but I do hope that she learned more in my class than just how plants make their own food.

I finally went to the Korean bath house!

Via Wishbone Clever

Yes, I finally did it!  I went to the public bath house (the jimjilbang), and I'm just going to jump in and tell you what it was like!

The baths were not coed, but I was still quite unsettled with idea of being in the buff around others.  Call me crazy and sheltered, but the last time someone saw me naked was when my sister and I stopped taking baths together when we were really young.  Even in the high school and college locker rooms, most of us were pretty private with our bodies.  To say that I was uncomfortable with the idea of this bath house is an understatement, still, I knew that I wanted to go, and I knew that it would be best to go with my girlfriends Holly and Marie.  They are the most accepting ladies I've ever met, and I figured they wouldn't make me feel too awkward.  One of Marie's couch surfers joined us at the last minute, but once I saw her huge smile and her auburn dreds, I felt like I'd still be safe.

The first room we came through on the way to the baths was a shoe locker room.  That's pretty self-explanatory, I think, so I'll skip ahead to the counter where we got a $3 discount because we came before 9 pm.  We passed the large open room where people sleep on mats for the night, and we slipped behind the curtain that closed off the ladies only area.  There was a large square section with a few low square benches, counters and mirrors with coin activated hair dryers, and a small counter store where you can buy soaps, scrubbie pads, toothpaste, and other toiletries.  Off this section were three short hallways full of large lockers.

I was the only one from my group whose locker was in the second hallway, so I scuttled down by myself and inched out of my clothes while keeping an eye on the opening of the hallway.  I took my bag with me to hold my shampoo (and, let's face it, I wanted to use it as a shield for a while), but when I opened the foggy door to the bath room, Holly told me she just put her soaps and things in one of the wide shallow bowls kept in the locker room.  Foiled, I headed back to my locker, replaced the bag, and snatched up a bowl before heading back into the bath room.

To my left there was a line of shower heads against the wall where Holly, Marie, and our other friend were rinsing off already.  Ahead of me were three circular pools each with a different temperature of water flowing into them from a central fountain system.  Beyond those pools were two other frigid ones.  To my right were short counters and stools where some of the Korean women were sitting with their soaps and loofahs.  Back in the far left corner were doors to heated saunas, and in the close left corner were skinny tables set up for massages and scrubs which you could buy.

I was at least a little self conscious for the majority of my time there, and rinsing off in the shower was the worst part for me.  After coming away from the water and seeing how everyone else was comfortable with their skin and also with everyone else's skin, I started to feel a little more relaxed.  I headed into the hot pool with the other girls and sank into the soothing water.  With the distortion of the water's surface my nerves loosened, and I finally came to some freedom.  And how freeing it was!  Let me be terribly frank for a moment.  It's quite common for girls who've grown up in conservative homes to have some deeply rooted fears and inhibitions about nakedness, sex, and sexuality.  I'm one of those girls, and I know that I've got a long way to go before I've got a perfect relationship with this area of my identity, but sitting there in the nude and not only being okay with it but eventually becoming comfortable with it, man!, it was amazing!  As strange as it may be, I was secretly and seriously celebrating this milestone in reconciliation and redemption in my sexuality right there in a Korean bath house.  Asa!

We foreign girls talked a good amount about whatever we thought of.  We touched on religion, travel, and the jimjilbang itself.  Seems like it's a great hang out place for all ages.  Holly told me she was in the sauna one time and saw two teenage girls chatting it up over smoothies when one of their mothers came over and started massaging their shoulders.  I feel like the jimjilbang is a sacred place of sorts.  Amidst all the judgement and pressures of society and in the face of all those plastic surgery ads and gym memberships, here girls are allowed and encouraged to be themselves and just themselves.  They are safe here.  They are welcomed.  It was very special being let into this place, and I hope to go back soon.

New Experience: Acupuncture and cupping

A few weekends ago, I was with two of my friends wondering if I would continue taking Korean lessons, if I was able to finish my huge American breakfast, and if acupuncture would help my sore neck and shoulders.  I ended up learning all of those answers within 2 hours when I found myself skipping Korean class in a doctor's waiting room with my friend Jason looking through cosmetic surgery books.

This is a mark left from the cupping about ten minutes after the procedure.

I hate needles.  Well, I thought I did.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure I still do.  But I've been hyping myself up on getting laser hair removal, I'm seriously considering getting a tattoo, and I'd been toying with the idea of acupuncture for a while.  Really, everything happened too fast for me to get freaked out.  Jason said he'd go with me if I wanted him to, there wasn't much of a line for the doctor, and then, before I knew it, I was ushered into the changing room then lying face first on a bench and explaining where my soreness was to the acupuncturist.

Go figure, but the needles just felt like little needles.  Actually, once they were in, I couldn't feel them at all as long as I didn't move.  I did move at one point, just to see if I could feel them, and I immediately regretted it.  I'm pretty sure my moving readjusted one of the needles to an angle it wasn't meant to rest at.  

It was pretty neat to be forced to lie there quietly.  There was a heat lamp above me (I felt like a lizard), and piano music around me.  Heck, I was paying to nap, I might as well take advantage of it!  My friend Holly has fallen asleep during acupuncture before, and I was really hoping that would happen to me, but it didn't happen.  I guess I've got a reason to try it again.

This was taken two days after the procedure.

I hadn't expected it to get any cupping, but it made sense once I saw it was coming.  After taking the needles out, the doctor placed four small glass cups on my back and used a pump to create a suction that lifted my skin and blood away from my body.  It's designed to suck out blood that's been contaminated by the released toxins.  It also seriously encourages blood flow to the treated area to bring about faster or better healing.  This part felt strange and it hurt a little, but I liked it in the way a really hard massage or a deep scratching on an itchy head feels good.

Once I was all finished, I moved my muscles around to see if I felt any difference.  I didn't detect any sudden benefit.  In fact, Jason and I both said that we felt like our muscles were warm and ready for a deep tissue massage.  To this day, we're both pretty sure that a massage would have sealed the affects of what we were going for.

I'm interested to see what regular visits or treatment in a different area would do for me.  I would probably go again.

Have you ever tried acupuncture?  Any other stories about what it was like?  And what about cupping?  It was completely foreign to me until two weeks ago!

A little bit of Insa-dong

I'm definitely going to revisit this place and this topic, but I wanted to show you a couple of cool things my friend Kara and I saw while wandering around the popular tourist section of Insa-dong a month ago.

And this little gem of a place had been hiding down a side street near a tea shop with a very suspicious tender.  She didn't seem to pleased when I stopped and started snapping at the bamboo with my camera.

The Transient Community

Today I said good bye to my good friend Sam.  He leaves Korea in 3 days to start a new life in San Fransisco.  Amanda, my "older sister" who encouraged me so much in my decision to come here, leaves in about 3 weeks.  Five of my co-workers including two of my best friends from work will be finishing up their contracts and heading back to The West next weekend.

I don't know when I'll see these people again, and I'm pretty sad about it.

While new people are coming in to fill the empty teaching positions left behind, the good byes I'm saying now are much more pungent than the hellos that are on their way (as my friend Drew said once).

When my family lived in Puerto Rico near the Naval base, my mom had to say good bye to many dear friends who were on the island for only three years before moving to a new area to serve.  She's told me that you make friends fast in those circumstances.  The hourglass sand doesn't wait.  But, even though it sucks having to part ways, you're both better for having taken the risk and making the most of the time you had.

The reunions I have when I return home will be great, but today I imagined myself  falling into my family's arms and weeping for the family I've left behind.

"Homecoming" - Kanye West

"Home" - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

"Coming Home" - Diddy - Dirty Money

Best Bible Study group Evarr!
Leaving these people?  Not okay.

Valuminumtimes Day

via Etsy

It's that time of year again, and, instead of looking through every romance-themed article on the internet, I'll share with you a few things I really like right now.

I really enjoy shopping at Forever 21 on Garosufil.  They always play top songs from home with some edgy K-Pop mixed in with Pheonix and Katy Perry.  Being around the styles, the colors, and the music makes me feel very much like I'm back in America, and I often feel a little bummed when I have to leave because I feel like I'm leaving home again.  But hey, I found something I really like when I was there this past weekend!

Behold my mad modeling skills, photography prowess, technological savviness, and the dress I bought.  (Sorry for overwhelming you with so much awesome so suddenly.)

One more recently formed relationship: Me + Royal Milk Tea
It's light, sweet, frothy, spiced, and delicious.  I'm already wondering when my next overpriced cup is going to be.  (This one was from Little Jakob's off Garosugil.  Sinsa is the place for awesome stuff.)

All the way from Korea, Happy Valentine's Day, friends!
I recommend you celebrate with the cinematic excellence of Teen Girl Squad or with reading up on the true and traditional story of Saint Valentine.  I myself will be watching Monsoon Wedding with a girl friend here.

By the way, Valentine's Day seemed rather silly to me before getting to date my awesome and studly boyfriend Caleb.  Unfortunately, all the commercialism hyping up this holiday isn't doing much for me now since I'm far away from him.  (Neither Google Maps nor Mapquest were able to calculate the distance when I tried to check just now. Must be pretty dang far.)  So, I'll look forward to whatever 2013 will bring, and I'll hang tight with the single ladies here in Korea till I see my man again.

All of that was an effort to explain why I wasn't gushing about roses and romance.  I love Caleb fiercely and dearly, and I am very much in love and glad to be, but I think Valentine's Day is best when celebrated with your significant other.  So this year?  Meh.