Woohoo!  I think I know the weird ways of the blogger now.  I need to type in a space that is not a box for text and after a few minutes, it appears in a non-active box below in HTML.  Whatever.

So I started really putting the gym membership I bought two weeks ago to good use.  I worked out on Monday and now again today.  Woke up bright and early at 9, which was a killer for me because I usually naturally wake at about 11.  But I got out, I started my day, and it has been amazing already.  Jeon, my neighbor, gave me some tips about exercising, and I took them because he's pretty buff.  He said to do a circuit--which I had heard good things about before--but include cardio as part of it.  I start out by stretching and doing some crunches.  The elliptical machines are really horribly non-ergometric, so next I do the treadmill for 10 minutes, all the leg machines, three sets each, then 10 more minutes of cardio, all the arm machines, and wind up with the ab machines.

This gym is really funny.  First, it's called "Gold's Gym," but it's not the Gold's many people in the states know.  I think it's just a high-class name they stuck on to get people to come.  Most of the machines are either outdated or the padding is wearing down to where some of them kind of hurt.  The second thing is that I am always the youngest person in the gym by a long shot except for the trainers.  Old people (1) galore. And usually they aren't working very hard.  They stand around and b.s. more than they do anything else.  I've seen a guy benching 100 kilos (=220 lbs.) and he still had a gut.  He was about 5'3", too.  I get a huge kick out of every day is that they have two REGULARLY USED fanny-jiggler machines.  You know, with the belt that should vibrate your fat away?  But these ajummas and ajoshis (1) use it on everything: the butt, the waist, the legs, the calves, the arms, the back.  Maybe they use it more like a massage than anything else.  Could be.  When I enter each morning, I grab a pink shirt (that means, "I'm a girl") and a shorts from the pink and blue gym clothes rack.  When I'm done, I take them off, and they wash them for me.  How wonderful is that?

I'm turning over a new leaf in my Korean life.  I was beginning to miss working out, and I'm glad I'm back on track.

1) Ajumma = woman over forty, ajoshi = man over forty.

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Haechi, New Symbol for the Soul of Asia

Today, while looking through top articles at http://www.koreanherald.co.kr/, I ran across a new campaign by the city of Seoul to encourage community within and global recognition . . . uh, among. What the city sacked was, "Hi, Seoul; Soul of Asia." A little weak, if you ask me (yeah, I know: nobody did). Its new slogan goes, "Haechi Seoul." And here's Haechi, their new "mascot," "cultural symbol."

Kind of like a St. Bernard. But it's actually a guardian lion animal/force with horns that protects against catastrophe; fires, in particular. I've also read that Haetae, as it's usually called when not named by it's chummy diminutive, has the power of determining good from evil. The mythical creature has appeared in Korean texts since the mid-1500s. Seoul has taken up Haechi as their new city symbol because cities of its size, population, and gross regional domestic product (kind of like its "wealth") usually have one. I think it's cute. Here's some more pictures.

Oh, and Seoul's official website has changed from the "Hi Seoul" to a Haechi Seoul web page. And the promotion is huge. The new website features pictures of the statues, Haechi promotion through graphic design--featured below, as well as language summoning the strengths of Haetae to bless and guide the city.

Browsing the new city site is a bit bothersome for you who may be reading my account: it's not yet available in English. But check out yet another side of our beloved Haechi to get the kids on board.

Look at that cutie. You better believe I'm getting a t-shirt with that loveable face on it (please leave me a comment if you'd like some Haechi promo junk too). And now I leave you with a song. Listen and see if you can hear the gurgling water sound (symbolizing ability to keep fire at bay?) The children chanting Haechi! in the background makes me long for my future students.

Peace friends,
Vanessa