So after a long break...

Lots of stuff happened. I went to school and taught a lot of classes. Mostly ended up hating my second grade high school boys.

My mom came for three weeks which were amazing! We spent some time in Seoul and around. It's been sad having her gone.

I've begun to love my first grade girls. Even some of the first grade boys. The second grade girls too. Really, it's just most of the second grade boys. I'm finally thinking maybe this wasn't such a scary teaching experience. I even got a super sweet flower card from a 2nd grade girl student, I didn't even think liked me! :D (But she was the only one...)

And now, I've hurt my back a little from trying to dumbly pick up one end of my mom's suitcase going down the stairs. It's been hurting for a couple days, so I decided, in addition to lots of advil, I'd try a massage.

Now massage in Korea has this sort of nasty, stigmatized connotation, especially for older people. I asked Mr. Mun, an older male english teacher who I regularly have korean lessons with, about it. He said... well, that he couldn't talk about it. Ewww... So I searched around for another opinion because I had read on a foreigner website that this one place close by was legit. I got a recommendation from a younger female coteacher that this place was ok. That I wouldn't be voluntarily nominating myself for some sexual harassment or otherwise unpleasant experience.

So, since Wednesday is my short day, I decided to try it out. It looks clean and welcoming. I get some awesome tea (that bean stuff with nuts(?) in it and it reminds me of hot chocolate... yumm) and see a menu of what they offer, including massages, skin care, etc. I tell the girl that I hurt my back and she suggests a massage other than the "sport massage." I figure she knows best?

So I get changed into a tshirt and shorts, like at the korean gyms. I get to sit in a massage chair for 10 min (it's intense... it does this weird leg squishy and butt pumping action in addition to the normal back rubbing gamut).

I get back to the massage room and strip down. My shoulders are pounded, the muscles and tendons flickering uncomfortably under her hot, sweaty hands. After this torture, (seriously, it was hard to keep from grinding me teeth), there was a more normal back rubbing. There were hot stones and hot towels to finish.

So an hour later, a little sore at the shoulders, and my back still in pain, I'm 50,000W poorer (although I left a 10,000 tip because she was really nice), two more friends (the owner and the masseuse seemed to really be interested in me), and expecting more pain tomorrow. I have bruises on the backs of my shoulders and along the sides of my spine... but who knows? Maybe it will do some good?

I don't know if I'll be trying it again soon, but I tried!

I'm on the 6 week countdown. I'm hoping I make it.