mud fesitval

So, This weekend, I was convinced by a bunch of crazy girls to attend this years annual mud festival in Deacheon, a beach a few hours south of Seoul on the coast of the Yellow Sea. (for those not remembering geography, that's the ocean between China and Korea) .... I am most glad I went. Six of us girls from all six different countries ended up crashing in a one room Korean style hotel where you put padding on the floor.. simple and surprisingly comfy.

The cast of characters included Me of America, Rebecca of New Zealand, Janika from Germany, Jen from Canada, Pam of the UK and Alish of Ireland. So once we had gotten settled in, we went down to the beach and fulfilled our purpose for being there which included getting covered in mud in a cage , wrestling in mud in a giant kiddi pool with tons of people and jumping repeatedly int0 the ocean... Ahhh..... Not only young people where partaking in the fun, but also kids, old men and ladies (ajumas and ajusshis) and I spotted a few babies with mud masks.

Why you ask? Well besides the obvious purpose of communing with the earth after too many months in a cement city, this festival also served as a cultural pressure release valve from the Korean tendency towards cleanliness and modesty, so to run around in a bikini covered in mud was appealing to us and many others. Plus it is supposed to be good for your skin, tho I am presently so sunburned it is hard to tell if it worked or not.

Anyways, fire works, beers, mud, girl bonding and the beach, plus a million people taken our pictures like mud covered movie stars, a strange and wonderful scene it was! Now its back to work. .. More later
<3 Annie