Fan Death.... beware

So Korea can be a strange place... I have recently been intrigued with a Korean urban myth. And sadly I am disheartened by the fact that in such a technologically advanced country and with such a major emphasis put on math and science in the schools and haegwons here... one can only *sigh* and wonder. This phenomena I would like to discuss is called fan death. This belief is so widespread that the media not only cultivates this myth with is continued propagation, it wholeheartedly believes in it and has the backing of the government in its perpetuation. So anyway the belief is such: If you go to sleep with the fan pointed at your head, you can die.
There are a number of different explanations for this... 1) The fan cuts the O2 molecules inside the fan and you can't breathe and asphyxiate. 2) The cold air from the fan will cool your body so much you get hypothermia.
The media climbs on board with reports every summer of the many casualties of fan death backed with governmental statistics showing it to be on of the highest causes of death during the summer months.
Luckily, there is a simple method of prevention for this needless death: open your window! By opening your window, you create a steady flow of fresh oxygen. And just in case you forget to open your window... all fans in Korea come equipped with a timer that automatically turns the fan off... so you can't die and hold them responsible. They also have warnings printed on the fan warning against fan death.
And now just when you are sitting there thinking to yourself... well, I'll just sleep in my car, think again! Fan death happens in cars with windows closed, too! And it is for that reason, that most taxi drivers don't use the A/C in their taxis, or if they do, they will crack the window open to ensure that uncut, uncooled oxygen can keep everyone alive. This is not purely a folk legend... doctors, professors, educated people and common people alike all believe in this myth. Here are a couple of videos showing just how widespread this belief is... Until next time!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs0b2vBfSrM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLAfVbrd3iM

argh!!!

Sometimes you just want to strangle your students! Since my students didn't have school today they were extra wound up coming into the haegwon tonight. I had some little punk run up and stick gum on my pants! *sigh* Okay I'm done venting... hey mom! how do you get gum out of clothes? LOL

Chuseok

So I am rather excited about this weekend... Chuseok is upon us! This is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. Its rather similar to our Thanksgiving and is a 3 day holiday, unfortunately... Chuseok falls on Saturday, so Saturday, Sunday, Monday, but my work was kind enough to give us Tuesday off (read: attempt to cut down on overtime) Chuseok is a day that families get together and honor their ancestors and eat lots of food. So since I'm not Korean nor can I cook Korean food (yet) I am going to go down to Busan and lounge on the beach and then make my way over to Kyungju. I will hopefully pick up a new camera this weekend so I can show some more of Korean life. Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday! Next time, I'll tell you all about the dangers of running your fans at night!

Jjimjilbang

So its about time I write some of the goings on in Korea down on virtual paper. I wanted to let everyone know about the amazingness that is the jjimjilbang, or public bath/sauna. So every Wednesday, we get off from work early... 9:05pm at the latest and recently Peter and I, a fellow co-worker, have made it our weekly ritual to enjoy the early evening and relax at Home Spa World, this monstrosity of a bathhouse. For those who don't know what a bathhouse entails... you walk in and get a locker. Take off all your clothes, put the key (on a little bracelet) on your wrist or ankle and wander off to enjoy the myriad of pools and saunas. The men and boys have separate floors from the women and girls. Many families come here together and it is a sort of a male/female bonding experience. The pools range from 42 deg C to 18 deg C (or 108-64 deg F for all you westerners). Some pools have herb infusions, green tea, or Japanese cedar pool called Hanori, the majority of them though are just normal water. There are also waterfall showers and cold water jacuzzis. And just to temper it all, you have a Finnish sauna, an herb sauna and various other heated rooms. And that is just the main floor where the lockers are located. They have a gym, a swimming pool and masseuses (unfortunately only during normal daytime hours). Jjimjilbangs do not ever close, people sleep there, they have little cubbies you can tuck yourself into and sleep and wake up and do it all over again if you so choose! Now my favorite part of Home Spa World is something called Korean Bulgama. To get to the bulgama you have to travel to a different floor. Down in the basement, you have a variety of rooms, all heated or cooled to different temperatures and varying themes, but the two of most importance are the bulgama and the ice room. After spending an hour or two up in the pools and saunas, you make your way into the bulgama, this beehive shaped oven basically. It reminds me alot of a Native American sweat lodge because they have this thing heated up to 90 deg C or 194 deg F. The floor is covered with mats which are mostly covered in turn with blankets. And what we do is go sit in the bulgama for about 15-20 minutes with a nice liter of iced green tea or ice water and then when you've had all you can take, go into the ice room at a brisk 6 deg C or 42 deg F and watch the steam rise off your body! Rinse and repeat as many times as you like and even throw a massage into the mix to really cleanse your body. It is a great time had by all and I can't wait to take dad when he comes for a visit... right up his alley! Talk to you all again soon!