I made it out of the week and into my first weekend in Korea, and I can honestly say I have never been so excited for the week to be over. Anyway, my first Saturday here turned out to be very eventful, with the high point being when I was picked out of the water and onto a jet ski by a random Korean guy for the scariest jet ski ride of my life (there were two guys, so both Paula and I got scary rides), and the low point being a tie between when I got poked, slapped, and called "Chachi" by an old Korean woman, and when I got thrown into the ocean (fully clothed) by an older French man in a speedo-ish swim suit (only joking, it wasn't that terrible).
About getting slapped by a grandma...
I went out to meet Paula on the street in typical beach attire (swim suit with shorts and a tank top over it), and as I was walking toward he
r, this little old Korean woman pulling a cart was just leaving her and walking toward me. The Korean lady stopped in front of me and pointed to me and then to Paula, saying "Chachi!" and then poked me hard in my chest and slapped my shoulder, all the while wearing a grin on her face and repeating the word "Chachi!" I looked up at Paula, bewildered, to see her cracking up but wearing the same confused expression and holding her shoulder where she had just been slapped. The old lady continued to yell at me (still smiling) and slap me, so I finally threw my hands up and said "I'm sorry, I don't know!" and ran over to Paula. We decided it must have been that we were revealing too much skin, according to older Koreans, by showing our shoulders, even though most younger korean girls wear much less than we were wearing.
About getting attacked by French man...
From there, we boarded a bus and took an hour long ride out to some beach city that I don't remember the name of. When we got there we joined up with a couple of Paula's friends, who were with a group of French engineers. Paula and I went straight to the water, just to see how cold it was, and out of nowhere I felt a pair of arms encircle me, pick me up, and run me into the water. I was surprised enough just because I didn't know anyone else there so I thought surely some random guy wouldn't throw me in. I kept yelling to let me down but the arms then threw me, clothes and all, into a huge incoming wave. Thankfully the water was pretty nice. Unthankfully, when I looked up to see who had done that, I saw a much older man (later thirties, early forties, maybe?) in a speedo-ish shorts, standing there and grinning at me. I looked at the beach and the entire group of French engineers were laughing. Once I got back and the French chef gave me his towel to dry off, the speedo guy walked over (still grinning) and introduced himself as Serge.
The foreigners at the beach are the only ones that wear swimsuits here. Despite the hot, humid weather, the Koreans come fully clothed and then some. Not only that, but they swim fully clothed, too.
*Addition...I was in bed by midnight tonight and ready for sleep when I received this text: "r u asleep? we can play in a castle!" from Paula. This lead to a 15 minute walk through the rice fields, in our pajamas, to a castle to meet up with some of the other teachers, and then a return trip back through the countryside at 3 a.m. I think our director would have had a heart attack had he seen that (He is VERY conservative and has strong opinions. I would love for him to have seen his two female teachers walking through the countryside at midnight in their pajamas). Only in Korea.
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