oh and whoda thunk that a rainy, freezy cold day would be such a kaleidoscope of ROYGBIV?

(minus the v, but come on! i and v are so stinkin close. :)....)

oh seoraksan, my favorite korean love.

you would think that i would need a its-not-you-its-me-kind of, i-just-need-some-time-to-think-break with seoraksan after getting caught in a giant rainstorm two hours into my hike? but don't worry sugar-baby. i still got chore back.

KKB + SNP = BFFAEAE  (best friends forevah and evah and evah)

                                                                 cable car to the heavens

(may all sentient being free of suffering and cause of suffering. om ah hung) 

it's something real nice when religion can be so closely connected and intertwined with nature. they've got a good thing going, buddhism and seoraksan. it's so beautifully done, like i've never seen before.

old foggie heaven

ahhh, if nothing else, trips to seoul are always popping up with weird oddities of places i could stay for hours. prime example: was walking in seoul last weekend and passed by a park. and holy moly i was excited. you literally never see parks here. in all of korea. notta one. well except for the national parks, but I'm talking about municipal parks. julia davis, ann morrison, sugarhouse, etc. so i see this park and i freak. we bee line it to the trees and i see this giant group of men all wearing grays and blacks. i initially think they are all homeless. maybe there are fire pits and they're warming their hands? or a soup line? I'm mean, what could they all be doing just standing around in a park? we creeped a bit closer and discovered an old man korean checker playing ring!!!  i most definitely took this opportunity to creep some photos and romance some old cuties with my pre-primer korean into showing me the ropes. 

i was continually thinking about my own grandpas when at the park. definitely on the same page as bill with the khakis and tennies. and old hanyak sensibilities from mark. 

i would just like to mention that all of these were taken from the hip, without them even knowing i was taking a picture! these are genuine "oh, what a ridiculous/hilarious foreigner girl. she's trying to make jokes/ i guess i'll take some pity on her" smiles and laughs. 

what a HIP grandpa!!! not only working the pose, but check out the style. THREE different stripes. and ALL vertical! makin moves baby baby!!

it may look like "korean checkers" is just a giant mess of junior mints, and it essentially is. when asked if they could explain the game, one old guy said that foreigner brains couldn't ever master the game. apparently it's too complicated for us waygooks. 

fall lovin.

little bugger.

monkey:
my favorite little heart breaker/mess maker.
even when he tries to dong shim me (see video above), he still has a lil sweet spot in my heart.

my very cutie guys

they did the monster mash, it was a graveyard smash!

halloween at dong gwang elementary school went off without a hitch! candy, dancing and masks galore!

(poor leo, not sure what his mask was supposed to be....)

(jin-ho totally color coordinated his mask to compliment his sweater.)

this is most definitely cooper's alter ego. not surprised at all.

(i couldn't resist. i asked him to smile and this is what i got)

dragon hill spa: KOREAN NUDIE SPA RITZ REMIX

 cnn review: Numerous options exist for that 'only in Korea' experience -- a half-day trip to the DMZ, a walk around the Bukchon district of traditional hanok housing -- but for a sample of how Koreans de-stress, the Four Season's Dragon Hill Spa is hard to beat. Basically a glorified jjimjilbang -- the large bathhouse-cum-saunas beloved by Koreans -- the Dragon Hill offers everything from facials to rooms aerated with crystal salts to the most punishing massage this side of Bangkok."

AKA: world famous!!!!!!!!

 based on the fact that i am beginning to consider myself a connoisseur of jimjibangs, i feel like it's reasonable to for me to say that dragon spa is one of the best spas in korea. it's 24 hours, feels fancy smancy, has placenta massages and so much more for only 12,000 won (about $12!).

slightly ghetto from the outside, but still exciting. 

romantic entrance. 

chandeliers, oh my!

lockers to keep your shoes.

AND: gem of the night. wearing around my favorite new korean accessory. princess leia/cinnamon roll bun/head wrap towel. the other koreans stare me down like a mofo, but i saw real korean people doing it on tv. it's gotta be legit then, right?

halloweenie

halloweens in the air. most easily noticed by children pretend bitting each other in the hallway after a mummy, ghost, frankenstein and vampire lesson. :) 

baby cakes.

i dyed my hair last night, and didn't think anyone would notice until i walked into my first grade classroom. the kids always scream and come and say hello, freak out and want head high fives, so i went through the line. su-khun was waiting patiently at the end. when i finally get to him, he points to my hair says epo and starts to massage my back. LADY KILLER!!!!! and the sweetest boy i know. 

animation musuem.

museums are definitely not korea's strong suit, but hale, they're trying. let me just say that the highlight was pushing hoards of korean kids outa the way to get a turn at the pushy-imprint thingy.

classiest park in korea: beautifully manicured walkways, tasteful views of the ocean, and oh yeah, some penis statues.

the anticipation was killing me. when researching korea, penis parks were springing up left and right. i'd be looking at cultural holidays and festivals and up would pop a review of a penis park. i would be researching cities around gangwon-do and towns would stand right up and use their penis parks as selling points for cultural tourism. it was too crazy to believe. i had to see one of these babies with my own eyes.

and i must say, korea didn't let me down. i was constantly thinking, "this is the most bizarre place EVER," "i cannot believe that old woman is touching that!" "what's wrong with this turtle, oh no please!!! not the turtles!!!"

of course i was participating in all the normal tourist photo-ops. 

and some ajumas were in on the action too. 

PROOF:old ajuma and her hubie.

overall, the koreans did good. not tacky or sleazy at all. if it were me, having creative control over development and design at a penis park in south korea, i would have added some pizazz. maybe 

some popsicle/hot dog stands, leopard printed employee uniforms, and maybe even some fireworks to top it off.

weekend update

went to chuncheon, SK and walked around the city. crazy marathon was going on. not surprisingly, it was almost entirely muscly old men. case in point. number 6476. halfway done with marathon and still hamming it up for a picture. :) also, lettuce and more cutie old men waving.

                                                             

Exploring..

...is a bit cooler at sunset. 

the GOONIES/hwanseongul cave (samcheok, SK)

at home i have kuna caves. in korea, i have hwanseongul cave. if they were people this is how i imagine them:

KUNA: she's hillbilly ghetto, but in a fun kind of way. she always wears overalls. even to weddings. you invite her over to dinner and you catch her outside making a fire pit on your lawn. despite all her oddities, you still invite her every time you go camping because she has the best stories and knows how to fish.

HWANSEONGUL: she's a korean country girl, but you swear you saw her once on the vegas strip. she's flashy, but has the personality to back it up. when go out on the town, you invite her so that you by association, are kind of a big deal.

JUST IN: PACKAGE!!!

holy moly. i haven't been this excited to open a package in all of my adult life. screw it, this even beats christmas!! so my package was delivered at school around 1PM. i had to wait an entire 4 hours until i was done with classes before i could open it. the anticipation was torture. i knew i was being crazy, but i ran the entire way home today chanting "package, package, package" under my breath. of course i calmed down enough to take some pictures, but the excitement still hasn't worn off.

THANK YOU MA AND POPS!!