Where Did the Summer Go?!

Wow! It's been over a month since I've last posted, so I figured I should give y'all something to read!

This summer has been very laid back, with not much on the agenda. Zack co-taught a summer class here for the month of July, so that kept him pretty busy, as well as working on a paper he's hoping to get published this fall. I have been doing my usual exercising, cooking, baking, cleaning, and having craft time......in other words, a great summer! =)

Summertime here at Handong means a lot of foreigners and a lot of Korean kids running around, which can only mean one thing....English Camp! Kids from all over Korea move here for about 3 weeks, and are immersed in the English language. We met most of the teachers, and the majority of them were from South Africa. They were all so welcoming and fun and they invited us to go with them to Busan that weekend and since we had no plans we accepted their invitation. Zack and I drove down and met them for dinner and then headed to the crowded popular Hayundae Beach in Busan. Only then did we realize that we were visiting the most popular beach in all of Korea on the busiest weekend of the year. August in Korea means vacation for most families, so you can only imagine how packed the beach was that night. We enjoyed a few drinks on the

beach while we were being entertained by gorgeous fireworks overhead.

That night we stayed at a Korean public bath house, otherwise known as a Jimjilbang. I've read about these bath houses before and have been a little apprehensive about going to one. But they are a great place to sleep if you don't want to spend the money on a hotel (or if it's crazy busy and you can't FIND a hotel with vacancy)..so we ventured to a Jimjilbang, the girls and guys go to separate floors and after you put your clothes and belongings in your locker you head to the bathing area. After a quick scrub down you can enter the pool of your choice. They run from extremely cold, to cool, warm, hot, extremely hot, and salt water. There are also saunas and massage rooms. Once you've had your fill of soaking you can get scrubbed/exfoliated by someone that works there, or you can do it yourself which is what all of us girls did. Someone scrubs your back for you..and if you go by yourself, you'll find someone that will gladly help you out! After you shower and dress in your required Jimjilbang attire that they give you, you can head to the main floor where everyone hangs out together and there you can enjoy snacks, movie watching, computer games, massage chairs, etc. You can get a pillow and a blanket and crash on the floor for a nap, or even stay the night! It was a great, relaxing experience and I'm looking forward to going again.

We made it up to Seoul twice, the last time visiting an old high school friend of Zack's whom he hasn't seen in over 10 years. We always have a great time in the city-getting in some shopping, and scouting out some great restaurants and pubs that we can't get here in Pohang.