So...I'm adjusting quickly and rather easily to Korea. When I chose the city that I was going to live in, I decided on a smaller city, instead of Seoul. My goal was to have an "authentic" Korean experience. I knew that living in a smaller city, I wouldn't have access to many foreigners thereby limiting my English exposure and be forced to learn some Korean. Essentially, I wanted everything Korean without any true hardship, like being the only foreigner w/in a 50 mile radius.
Anyways--as the weeks went by, Janet was very kind in exposing me to a lot of Korean experiences w/ explanation. She often told me where I could find vegetarian food or showed me how to order a veg. meal in Korean.
One thing that Korea is known for is its bathhouses (jimjibang)--similar to Japan. All that I knew about them was pretty much their name and equated them to spas like back home. So when Janet invited me to her bi-weekly bathhouse outing, I eagerly accepted! Shortly afterwards she explained that Korean bath houses are rather different from American spas. The primary difference is that the men and women are kept separated (minus the communal areas) due to the fact that you are expected to shower publicly and chill in jacuzzi's communally. Essentially, you were to be all kinds of naked w/ several other strange women. You could also get a "nice" scrub down from an old woman---exfoliating your skin.
When she first explained this, I was a little uncomfortable, which was a little strange for me. I'm all about nudity! At home, I'm always practically naked--walking around all day at home. I've gone topless at beaches, I enjoy showing my lovely body to my friends (hahahahhaha), so....nudity is not so much a big deal for me. But!! something was making me uncomfortable...It may have been the idea of sharing a "bath," aka jacuzzi w/ other women---while naked--that just sounded non-hygienic to me! As the days before the "event" approached, Janet made little comments joking about my attending n such. I asked her who else was going to be there and she indicated that about 5 of her other friends would be there--describing them all...1 was a married Korean-American, another a single Canadian, one a gay Canadian and--I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ELSE AFTER THAT!!!
Everything made sense at that point!! I knew that I was uncomfortable and knew it wasn't the nudity idea that was making me feel that way---it was Janet's enthusiasm that bordered WAY TOO HYPE TO SEE ME NAKED IN THIS FAKE ASS SPA!! So when she indicated that one of her homegirls was gay---I figured it out! I had noticed Janet's enthusiasm for having another sis around and thought that explained why she was giving me sooooooo much attention (aka--all in my world like a dude might be...), but naw...that wasn't it. I felt the "maybe gay vibe" from her!
So...dealing with my new found awareness, I started to have 2nd thoughts. But I didn't want to give in to my discomfort, as I felt pressure to try something new and I also felt pressure of Janet's "teasing" about being a scared American. I called my girlfriends back home to see what they thought and they were feeling some of the same concerns... But!!, I went ahead and attended her bathhouse outing!
Luckily for me, bathing/showering was an option. When you enter the facility you put your shoes in a locker and then change from your clothes into a uniform that they give you. If you are going to shower/bathe...you do that first and then when you're finished you put their uniform on. Afterwards, there are many other things that you can do including getting a manicure/pedicure, massage, watch tv, chill on one of many sauna rooms, do that dead skin removal from the bottom of your feet by fish thing, have a meal at their eatery, go on the internet, sleep and etc...
Ol girls gay friend didn't show up, which wasn't so much a big deal, cause I knew now that I had questions about Janet's own sexuality. She made a comment about one of the other girls body, which would have been normal had it not been her tone or just........something about the way she said it! I mean---I love looking at women's bodies, as I think mines is quite banging, but.......it just didn't seem the same. :)
But....whatevs--I made it through and felt proud of myself for doing something soooo Korean and uncomfortable for me! Check out one of my homegirls who was brave enough to let the gross fishy eat her feet! hahaha! :)
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