I still felt sick this morning. :( I didn't really eat breakfast. This was the first time we've been to a place with chairs :D
Because I was still feeling sick, Christine kept massaging the pressure point between my thumb and first finger. It hurt a lot, but she said it was only proof that I really did have indigestion, because if I was normal it wouldn't hurt. I don't believe that it does anything, or that the pain is an indicator, but I was desperate because the pill for indigestion I took didn't work.
My team leader (not the Wellesley team but the Peace [Green] Team) was sitting nearby, and he wanted to help so he took my hand and massaged it too. So hard that I wanted to cry. Then another friend who is one of the leaders of the 상생 기자단 group wanted to help too, so he massaged my hand too. So hard that I actually did cry this time. (After I finally felt all better on Sunday morning, I tested the pressure point and I swear it bruised.)
We went to a couple different places that morning and later, around two, we got to a place where Buddhist temples are. I’m not sure how they related to our trip but I’m sure there was a reason. I felt too sick to go hiking up there(indigestion is much more serious than I thought, seriously) so I stayed on the bus.
After a couple of hours of dozing, everyone returned and we left for the beach. I felt good enough to swim (mainly because I hadn't eaten anything) and we thankfully got a good three hours of free time to just swim and relax. I forgot how much I LOVE SWIMMING IN THE SEA!!! (Koreans have so many games for all occasions, I'm amazed. They are all kind of intense, though.) The cold water quelled my stomach.
After everyone cleaned up we sat on the beach waiting for dinner to be served. Fun observation: Koreans love to sing and dance, and they are very supportive of people showing these talents off. This must be why there seems to be speakers and a microphone everywhere we go... even on the buses...
We performed our skits after dinner and my team won :) We imitated the striking characteristics of each school group and some of the adults in a before and after kind of skit.
Afterwards everyone headed back over to the beach for a huge bonfire, which was awesome although very hot. And more games were played. I am learning many new games that even Wellesley KSA didn't teach me, lol.
Since I still couldn't eat much food and still felt sick, Christine said I had only one choice. The steps of dealing with indigestion, Korean style: first drink soda, then take medicine, then massage pressure points and pound back many times, and finally... poking your thumbs right below the nail to let out blood.
Um... what?! Can't I take Pepto-Bismol or something?
But apparently this is a very common ailment that is commonly cured this way in Korea. One of the adults on the trip even had the special pen that people use to poke their thumbs.
Anyone who knows me knows I can't stand blood and I have low pain tolerance. I was petrified. But what could I do? I had already tried taking medicine and it didn't work, so I agreed to have my thumbs poked. I bled a lot, which Christine said was another indicator that I had bad indigestion. Apparently, if I didn't, I would've bled very little.
Note: Koreans believe this helps because they (and Asian medicine in general) believe the feet and hands are intricately connected to the digestive system. Cold hands and feet? Bad indigestion.
I guess it kind of worked because I started burping (which ironically is what you want to happen, even though everyone gets mad at me when I burp) and fell asleep for a little. Since it was the last night, however, instead of sleeping Christine Gracfe and I went to a last Peace Team meeting, AKA let's bond over snacks and drinks and play games (formula for successful Korean bonding). I'm thankful no one forced us to drink because I've heard stories about sunbaes (older people) guilt-tripping/forcing/manipulating the hoobaes (younger people) to drink whether they like it or not. We all had water, don't worry parents. The others had beer though, as usual.
More games! More talking! It was fun, I'm glad I stayed awake that night. It was by far the latest I had stayed up in a while. Christine and I left to go to sleep at 4 am (Grace left at 2 am), but the rest (all older) stayed up longer and we also went by other rooms filled with the other teams that didn't look close to sleeping. I'm amazed by the endurance of Koreans and their ability to not sleep. O_O
***Christine and I asked what the others thought of us and they said there were some very good points about our American education. They said they admired our ability to just stand up and speak (referring to the two discussion times we had Wed and Thurs) when Koreans get really nervous and aren't really taught to be bold and individualistic and express themselves that way. They also thought we had a lot of good confidence and openness that they weren't expecting. Because we had this time to talk and be open with each other, I think I also learned a lot. I had a certain view of the drinking, hierarchical, familial, internalizing, competitive and look-based parts of Korean culture, but I think I understand more than before. :) All these people around me are great, I am blessed to be a part of this group!
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