The gym

My latest thing has been exercising in a little gym behind my school. I've exercised in many gyms in my life, but it's a different experience to work out in a gym here in Korea.

The gym is on the second floor of the building directly behind my school. In fact, from the teachers office at my school I can see into the gym. It's very small, just one middle sized room stuffed full of workout equipment. It has everything that that a normal gym would have, just in smaller amounts and all squished into one tight space. I love it though.

When I enter the gym I take off my shoes, place them on a shoe shelf and put on some slippers. Then I walk to the 'front desk' which is actually in the back of the gym and get my locker key. When I enter the small locker room area, I take off my slippers, change, and then put on my inside gym shoes. Oh the process!

Koreans are very particular about the inside of buildings being clean. So in most buildings, houses, restaurants, gyms, schools...etc you have to take off your shoes when you enter and either just wear your socks or wear the complementary slippers that are provided. In the gym you can wear shoes, but they can't be shoes that have touched the ground outside, therefore 'inside shoes'. I learned this all through a rather long process of mistakenly wearing my shoes inside, then taking them off, then putting them back on. I was yelled at, pointed at, lectured to in Korean, lectured in mime...and finally I figured it all out. All of that happened at another gym that I paid a full month membership to and then never went back because I was so embarrassed about the whole shoe incident. Since then I have purchased some shoes that have only been worn indoors. Now I'm a pro at shoe etiquette.

So this new gym that I have started exercising at is great. I think it's owned by a family. A father, his son and his daughter work there. The son and daughter appear to be my age, but who knows since Korean's never look the age you think them to be. They are always so excited when I come in though. Always wanting to say hi and practice a bit of English. I think I am the only foreigner who has ever worked out in this gym, so I am a bit of a celebrity there. Sometimes it's fun, and other times I feel awkward because they watch how I do things...like lifting weights. And I'm no professional at weight lifting, I just do what the picture shows, or what I think I should do. I'm sure I'm doing it wrong half of the time.

So this Korean gym is a bit different than gyms in the states. First of all, they give you clothes to wear. How awesome is that! At first it was weird because I could never find a size that fit me right. But now that I know which pile is which size it's great and I save on doing so much laundry at home. Also, then everyone looks the same while they are working out. This makes working out less intimidating some how. Another different thing is that some people just prefer to work out barefoot rather than purchasing and wearing indoor shoes. This weirds me out a bit. Almost every time I go to the gym one or two people are exercising or lifting weights barefoot, without even a sock on. Something like that is strictly prohibited in the states, but here it's just what people do...strange.

Locker room.
The locker room is a whole story in itself. I could go on and on about the locker room. Usually when I enter the locker room there is at least one or two other people just hanging out naked. Korean's have no shame about being naked. They are either sitting (sitting?!!) in the shower naked, or sitting on a locker room bench naked, or doing their hair naked...it goes on. So usually I quickly change into the gym clothes provided for me and head out of the locker room. After my workout though, it's back to the locker room. Since I exercise near my work I still have to commute home by bus afterward though. Which means I like to shower first. My first time showering at the gym was a bit awkward.
The shower room is just that, a room with a few shower heads. Everyone showers together, they use the communal cloths, the communal soap, and even help to soap each other up. So in I went! It was me and three older Korean woman who were all soaping each other up. So I quickly soaped up, rinsed off and jumped out. Then I used the teeny tiny little towel provided to partially dry myself off, then proceeded to dress quickly while still being fairly wet. Wow, I felt awkward! Things have changed though. I've been going to this gym for a month now and it feels like my second home...almost. I now take my time dressing, showering, and just like the Koreans I prance around naked with all the other ladies. I even dry my hair naked on occasion. :) The other day I met two nice girls in the shower and now we are friends. Maybe they'll help me soap up next time.

All in all, things may be awkward and different the first time I try them, but after a while, no matter how strange it may seem, I find myself adapting. Tis the beauty of living in another culture!