Mud... it's good for your skin.

So I went to a mud festival on the coast. First, our tour bus took us to the actual location where they obtain the therapeutic mud. A family watched all of the foreigners make fools of themselves. Quite a funny scene actually.

Next, we were taken to Boryeong where the actual festival takes place. There were thousands of people. Mud stations were set up on the beach where you could paint yourself with the special mud. Large paintbrushes and mirrors were provided.

I swam in the ocean a lot. It was awesome. So cool and relaxing. I loved watching all the different people.

At one point, I was swimming near two teenage girls. One fell off her tube and then called to me "Foreigner... help!" She didn't need any help... it was just a ploy to get my attention. Later, she and her friend floated closer to me and asked "Are you boring!" I replied, "Do you mean 'bored'?" Then I said, "No, I am not bored, are you bored?" She got flustered and giggled "Sorry". To which I replied, "Ken-chun-ai-oh" (It's alright).

I was staring out into the ocean, when a Korean couple asked me to take their picture. I gladly agreed. After taking the picture, they invited me to join them on their beach mat. The woman insisted I eat some watermelon and kiwi. And she literally fed me... she spooned the kiwi into my mouth like I was a child. It was so funny, and not unusual at all actually. Then middle aged woman joined us. None of them spoke much English and of course my Korean is still limited, but I managed to learn a few things. I learned the middle aged woman was a photo journalist. I learned the man liked soccer and his home town was Suwon. I learned the couple were recently married... going on 3 months (they gave me shy smiles when I said "Congratulations").

One of the first questions you are asked in Korea, is your age... so that a person knows what language forms to use with you. Korean is almost like two languages, one that is casual and used with friends, and one that is very formal and used to show respect. This sometimes makes learning difficult for me, because I have to learn how to say everything two ways.

I learned the wife was 25 and her husband was 24 (the age differece being somewhat unusual in Korea). They were awesome, and I appreciated their hospitality. The photojournalist took my email and I hope she will send a picture of me and the couple. Meeting these people was actually the highlight of my time at the mud festival.

There were many interesting happenings... too many to share.