weekends

It turns out that weekdays, even though I have a full-time job, are more restful than weekends here. Most Saturdays start with team meetings in the morning, then on to life group at 1pm at Kyungwon University, then we eat with the people there at some restaurant nearby. After life group, we usually hang out with people or do something else while we are out in Seoul. (This past Saturday, we went to a worship rally then to Costco.) Sunday mornings, we get the apartment ready in Suji (usually also busy with making food for lunch together after church), then we have our 11:30 church gathering. People stay for lunch, then we sometimes have an hour before we have to load up and take off for our second gathering at the church building we use on Sunday afternoons. We start that at 4 pm. Afterwards people stay for cookies and coffee, then we go out to dinner somewhere with whoever wants to join. By the time I get home, it's usually 8 or so. So, weekends are enjoyable, but pretty full of stuff.

I did get to go to the sauna (bath house) on Friday night after work, with two North American friends (Canada and Idaho). That was really nice. The sauna we went to has excellent massaging baths, warm and cold, sleeping rooms, hot rooms with herbs hanging from the ceilings, a room with small heated pebbles at least 6 inches deep that you just lay down on (that's the greatest!), a human oven that you crawl into, a small cafeteria where you can order fresh fruit juice, ramen, etc, a room with ice on the walls to cool off in, and that's just the beginning of all it has to offer. I don't know if Americans would buy into this whole experience if imported there, but it's really incredible!