Mud Fest

Who said mud was for kids??? The Boryeong Mud Festival is a annual festival that takes place in Boryeong, South Korea. It took about two hours for us to get there from Daegu. Unfortunately, my coworkers and I couldn't go until the second weekend because of our work schedule. I heard the first weekend had a couple of thousand of people maybe even more! There was still a signficant amount of people that went the second weekend, but I'm sure it doesn't compare to the first weekend when all of the forenigers went.

One of the first things that we did was wait in line to get body painted. They have huge buckets filled with various colors. You can pick your colors and create a design on your body. I chose blue because I wanted to look like a smurf, which I think I achieved! LOL What is the point of getting painted? I have no idea! But I couldn't wait to get paint on me. After the paint, the paparazzi followed us all day. Photographers from local magazines loved snapping pictures of foreigners. For all I know, they were just regular Koreans doing what they do best, taking pictures! LOL JK They had professional cameras! LOL

So where does the mud come from? It is dug up near Boryeong, trucked to Daecheon beach, and dumped at Mud Experience Land. The mud is suppose to be really good for your skin! The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics. Honestly, I was expecting my skin to feel like it does after a day at the Glen Ivy Spa, but it didn't! The only thing that I came back with was a dozen mosquito bites ALL over my body! I guess that is a lot better than Ally's painful sunburn. Ally thought he was too old for the mud so he decided to stay away. As a result, he came back with a lobster face! LOL Actually, he put sunscreen on every part of his body EXCEPT his face?!?! I don't understand either. I feel really bad for him, because his face is SWOLLEN!!! It looks like he got stung by a bee. So if you're planning on going out in the sun wear sunblock!!!

There were about 7 different slides and pools to play in! The lines were not that long, we probably waited about 20 minutes at each location. Which isn't bad compared to the wait the first weekend.

Mud Fest was a blast and I can't wait to do it again!

Night Life

For those of you who don't know what a noribang is, it's a Korean karaoke bar, except you get your own private room. Noribangs are very popular amongst Koreans. It is very common for business men to get wasted at these places. It is definitely a good way to get to know your coworkers! I revealed my inner Shakira to a few of my coworkers last weekend. I don't usually do private parties, but they begged me to sing to them, so I gave them a taste of what I do best! LOL Generally, I only karaoke in my backyard in front of my close friends and family members and that is usually after I have accidentally swallowed some Jack, Tequila, or Jager. This just reminded me of the day I started to "freestyle" and I revealed some information to my mom that she shouldn't know..."Me gusta tomar, me gusta..." LMAO You definitely had to be there to understand how funny this was! And then there was the "Abusadora" time for New Years! That night definitely went down in the books. Anyways, back to last weekend at the nori bang.

It all started with dinner at one of our favorite galbi restaurants downtown (the one with the inflatable dogs). After we got some food and beers in our stomachs the mission began! We eagerly started to look for a new bar, so we could get waisted before we let loose. Someone thought it would be a good idea to try out a new bar, so we searched for about 20 minutes in the rain and in stilettos (just me b/c everyone else was in chucks). Every place we went into was either too expensive, empty, or packed. We ended up at this pretty chill spot, but I have no idea what it is called. As soon as we sat down guess who was already buzzing the waiter..... ALLY, who blames his drinking on being British! He ordered 3 pitchers of beers and two rounds of tequila!!! We all looked at him like WTF alcoholic, we have to go to work at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. Like always, that didn't seem to phase him one bit! He immediately responded with one of his witty remarks that we all have learned to love at CDI, "I recon it's quite early, we get to sleep in tomorrow, so we can get pissed, aye? Cheers!" At this point, we knew the clock was ticking and that we were limited on time. We were on a mission to get drunk and start singing, so we take down both shots of tequila! ughhhh The party is finally getting started, everyone is happy, I start taking pictures, but then all of a sudden we hear the bartender yell last call for popcorn!!

Ohhhh nooooo what are we going to do? Without any hesitation, I pushed down on the buzzer and ordered two more bowls of popcorn! LOL Ok, everything is back to normal. The partying continues...

The time finally came! We wobbled to the nearest Food Mart. We stalked up my Fendi with 4 bottles of Soju, two bottles of Coke, and who knows how many bags of chips. My coworkers and I find a noribang and ran inside as if our drunkenness would ware off by 3 a.m. The first thing I noticed was the rotating light ball on the ceiling! For a second, I thought I was at a club. Ally looked like this was the moment he had been waiting for all of his life. His one chance to prove he had what it took to be the next Korean Idol. Once he got a hold of the mic, he did not want to share. We had to beg him to let us sing a song. Apparently, he didn't think we were good enough, so Andy and Warren were his backup singers! Actually, I was really taken away by one of my quietest coworkers, Andy. He rarely talks, but as soon as you put a mic in his hand,s he transforms into Axl Rose. I'm really glad that I got to witness that moment! :) Ally on the other hand, not so much! He was jumping on the couch and screaming his lungs out! Who does that? I definitely did not yell until I lost my voice. The person that you are about to witness screaming like a madwoman is Andy's wife Toni. ;)

I have three videos to share, but I don't know why they are not uploading...

My Apartment

My Room is the Size of My Mom's Closet! LOL

Ok, so my Mom's closet isn't this big but you get the point. My apartment is not ginormous but it's not the size of a shoe box either. I am pleased with the living arrangement my company has set me up with. It took a while to get used to but it feels like home now! I still need to add a couple of things like a fish and a plant just so I have something to take care of. If you know me, then you know both those things are bad ideas because of all the fish and turtles I have killed over the years. OOPS! First, I should continue to learn to live on my own before I bring anything that breathes in here! LOL

I don't have a walking closet. :( Now, I can't throw clothes into my closet when someone

unexpectedly shows up (not that I did that before)! All of my things are out for everyone to see. As you can see, I brought my 62 inch TV from home. I never leave home without it! Actually, all of the furniture was provided by my company. Thank you Baby Jesus! I know that some of my coworkers in Seoul received unfurnished apartments and had to sleep on the floor the first couple of days!!! Sucked to be them.

The kitchen is tiny just like me, so it's perfect! It is the first thing you see when you walk in. I have the basic necessaries: a stove, sink, fridge, and microwave. I wish there was an oven so I could bake and make lasagna and enchiladas. Mexican food sounds soooo good right now!

The bathroom is next to the kitchen in the first room. I'm still not accustomed to the shower!!! I was not expecting the shower head to be connected to the sink! WTF?! There is no bathtub to step into and shower. You simply have to push down on the tab on the sink and it transfers the water from the sink to the shower head. This may not seem like a big deal and it's not sometimes. EXCEPT, when you forget to push the tab back down to wash your hands before leaving to work. I have been in my work clothes THREE times and gotten soaked before having to leave! Grrrrrrrr On the flip side, you can take a poop and shower at the same time! LOL

The washer is towards the back of the room through the second set of sliding doors. I love how they separated the room into sections, so it's more personal. The washer is in Korean so I had no idea what I was doing the first time I washed. I got it to work by trial and error! Truthfully, I just pushed buttons until it started to wash. It sounded like a song from Mario Brothers in the old school Nintendo. LOL There are no dryers, so the clothes have to hang dry. This leaves your clothes nice and crunchy!

I have lived here for a month and my apartment is STILL clean!!! My stepdad doesn't think I can keep it clean for another month! LOL He says that my mom is going to send me our cleaning ladies because he doesn't think I will clean up after myself. LOL Thanks Jess! Honestly, I didn't think I would either. I surprised myself along with everyone back home. I clean almost everyday (something I'm not used to)! I guess it's because I know the cleaning ladies aren't coming on Wednesday. LOL