New year new start – or so i thought!

After slobbing around for the last four months I decided the new year was an ideal time to begin an exercise regime. So yesterday I found the swimming pool and today was the start of my new regime…..

As I headed to the pool early this morning the weather had warmed a little, the sun was shining, I had a smile on my face and a spring in my step – but my good mood was to be short lived.

I arrived at the pool and immediately the receptionist asked: “Ruski” to which, through gritted teeth, I politely responded “No, English”.* I asked for swimming, and as I was handing over my money a Korean women walked over to the desk, looked me up and down, and said to the receptionist “Ruski?” My blood boiling with rage and wanting to scream “Do I look like a hooker” I turned to the woman and snapped “yong-guk” meaning English in Korean.

Incident over I headed into the very hot changing rooms only to discover that Koreans really do wonder around naked. A woman came over to the locker beside mine, gave me a strange look – I’m assuming because I was wearing a swimming costume – stripped off and walked across the changing rooms with no sign of a swimming costume or towel! Her lack of clothing did give me the brief concern that the pool would be full of naked Koreans.

I navigated my way through the naked Koreans to the pool only to discover it was split into five lanes and rammed full of Korean women. I realised that the first three lanes were for some form of lesson just as the instructor noticed me and started gesturing frantically towards the end lanes. I had already figured that they were the swimming lanes but what I hadn’t figured was where to get a swimming cap.

I stood rooted to the spot as the women turned to get a good look at the foreigner in her swimming costume and the instructor began shouting at me in Korean from the other side of the pool. This served to feed to women’s curiosity and soon the whole pool was staring and laughing at me. I headed for the end of the pool wanting remove myself from the spotlight but with this the instructor shouted “cap” so I turned on my heal and headed back towards the changing rooms.

But… there were two changing room doors both identical and both with Korean writing beside them, and I had no idea which one I had just emerged from! I stood staring at the two doors wondering what to do, the instructor and a few of the watching women shouted “men” ( I was obviously stood in front of the men’s changing room door). After what felt like hours but was actually seconds the instructor appeared beside me and showed me where the swimming caps were. By this time the women could barley contain themselves, this floor show was to good to miss, and were openly laughing at me. I  wanted the ground to open and swallow me but I had paid my money and I was dam welling going swimming. Equipped with my swimming cap I headed for the end of the pool and a group of women told me to get in before gesturing wildly cause I had dared to enter the water without goggles! I ignored them put my head under the water and started swimming.

I swam 10 lengths as quickly as possible then did a runner back to the changing rooms, changed as quickly as possible deciding to shower at home and vowed never to return to that place. At least not alone or in the early morning!

*In Korea there are a lot of Russian ‘dancers’ so being asked if you are Russian is akin to being asked if you are a prostitute. People often ask me this because I am blond and they assume all blond westerners are – obviously – Russian.

* Posted by j150vsc on 05/01/2007.