The Coolest Summer Ever

And I mean that literally. F'real. I didn't do anything special this summer except return to my homeland to pay respects to my grandmother, who passed away August 22, 2009. Miss you grandma.

Despite that turmoil in my life, I wanted to thank God for a "cool summer." Weather wise and terms of relaxation and ponder.

Summers in Korea are brutal. Since Korea is a peninsula like the state of Florida, surrounded by three side of water, you would think the sea breeze would be nice for the Land of the Morning Calm? Sike! It gets real hot in the summer, especially in August. The humidity slaps you like a child that talks back to his mommy!

But there were two factors that helped me fight the summer heat as the summer passed me by with hardly any suffering:

1. America
2. The Jjimjilbang

Going to America, I was blessed to see my wonderful family (especially my family in Jesus) and during my stay there I was blessed with awesome weather. It was a nice break from the humidity back in Korea.

The "jjimjilbang" is rougly translated to "bathhouse" in English. These establishments are everywhere in Korea. They are mostly 24-hour centers of baths and sweat rooms where Koreans congregate, shower, and get a profuse sweat on and come to get their stress out in the midst of their fast lives.

I was a little way of these places throughout my time here in Korea, but it wasn't my experience of bathhouses in Japan that I became more comfortable in visiting these places back in my 2nd home (o the irony!).

So I have been an aficionado of these joints for a while. I go in, undress and take a shower, then put on a special "jjimjilbang" uniform where you go into the sweat rooms of various kinds and sweat it out.

There are several of them: from the "salt rooms" (filled with salt rocks), to stone rooms (where the floor is filled with smooth, hot stones), and to ice rooms (to cool off).

Throughout the summer, going to these places has helped me become more sweat resistant and more tolerant of sweating. So, when I step outside, my body became not a heat pump as it used to be.

Sweating is an awesome thing because it gets the toxins out your body. It makes your skin healthier and more vibrant. And, it helped me get through the summer without being plastered by salt throughout the day!


A great summer, thank you Lord.