Taking it all in...and letting go

Hello, Friends and Family! I didn't realize how long it has been since I've updated our blog until I got on here and saw that it has been a month. My, how time flies when you are trying to survive! No, really, we are doing good and have had some experiences since I've last written.
Asan Spavis
A few weekends ago, we were invited to go to a birthday party at Asan Spavis, which is an indoor/outdoor water park and Korean spa. With the weather still being rather cold, I was grateful for the indoor area, but was surprised how much I also enjoyed being in the warm, steamy outdoor pools. NJ thoroughly had fun and this was quite a memorable family day.

A picture of Asan Spavis Outdoor Area

The water part of the park was not unusual to us, of course. We did, however, have many new 'cultural encounters'; if we hadn't realized by now that we are in a foreign country, I think we did on this Saturday! Immediately after we paid for our tickets, we walked through the gate and before entering the carpeted area, we were instructed to take off our shoes. NO SHOES INDOORS is a heavily enforced rule here and at this location it included everywhere: restaurants, shops, play areas, bathrooms, locker rooms, etc. They did kindly provide shoe lockers for everyone to lock away their shoes for the day.

The sign that greeted us before entering the building

We were given "why haven't I ever seen this before" water proof wrist bands to wear while at the park. Not only did these have the number to your shoes and clothes lockers, it also served as your key by automatically opening the lock when held up to the door. On top of this, you were able to swipe it at the restaurants, shops and fish doctor area (see below!) to pay for whatever you needed.

My really cool wrist band!

Once changed and in the park, they had a special section to dip our feet in little pools for 'fish doctors'. Of course we had to try so after swiping our handy wrist bands, we were able to have little fish nibble at our feet to eat off the dead skin cells. Sounds kind of gross, I know. I myself was rather squeamish at first (squealing and totally embarrassing Noa in this very quiet society), but you get used to it after a while. And, surprisingly, it really does work; my feet were rather smooth afterwards! We didn't have our camera, but below is a picture to give you an idea if you have never seen these fish doctors.

Not my feet, but similar to what we experienced

After we had our fun, we went off to our respective men's and women's locker rooms to truly get a cultural experience: a Korean hot springs spa. The biggest 'American mindset' hurdle to get over was the requirement to be naked. Yes, at a Korean spa like this you are completely nude--everyone and their grandma (literally) are walking around without clothes. No plush bathrobes here! But, when in Rome....right?!? Once that factor was overcome, it actually was a completely relaxing experience, except for the parts where I was trying to figure out what to do or where to go. Looking back, I realize now that there was a system to it all, but of course I couldn't read the signs or ask anyone. I tried to observe people, but you can imagine that was rather awkward! There were different stations to go to, which included a shower area, a scrubbing area, massage area and many different types of hot tubs, which included an herb tub, lemon tub and a bubble tub. My favorite was the hot stone napping area (not the official name, I'm sure). It consisted of a heated stone slab for the floor in which you would lay down, prop your head up on a wooden pallet and just relax. It made my muscles feel great! After we were all done at the spa and completely clothed again, it only seemed right to eat a big Korean meal to conclude our afternoon! 

Korean Preschool

Noa and I had decided before even moving to Korea that we wanted to enroll NJ into a Korean preschool while here. We know that by immersing him into a school environment, it will give him something that even I couldn't teach him at home: a foreign language and first hand knowledge of another culture. We think of this as such a huge gift to give him at a young age that there wasn't a question in our minds that this was what we wanted for him. After searching out and talking to others about recommended schools, we decided on one we felt very comfortable with. The Korean school year starts the first week of March so it actually worked out perfectly that he could come in at the beginning. Even though this was something we had been talking about for a while, reality set in the week before 'my baby' went off to school for the first time. Of course everything was cheerful when talking to NJ, but it was hard not to tear up when he wasn't looking. Where does the time go?!?!? I'm happy to report that we are now on day 3 of going to school and NJ has been just as excited every morning about getting on the school bus and comes home to tell me about  his day (even though the first day's report included "I cried because I wanted Mommy and Daddy there"). Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be able to report that he is translating for me at the markets and telling me what the signs say. One can hope, right? Enjoy these shots of his first morning going to school.

 First day of school 

 "Let's Do This!"

 The school bus arrives!

 Bye bye, Mom and Dad!

Off he goes...