Sing! Sing! Sing!

Hugo belting out a tune.

So not much to report to you all in the West.

This weekend we actually stayed in Yeosu, but we were busy. Friday night was Noribong. Saturday was shopping and BBQ. Today was recovery from BBQ and 5 hours of soccer. Overall a very good weekend.

In case you don't know what a Noribong is, well it essentially is a Karaoke room, but better. It has glowing lights and great sound and any song you want (in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, English, and in between). We went with our friends Shannon, Hugo, and Joelle after playing Kings at the Mini-Stop (yes that is the equivalent to a 7-11-but you can sit outside the store). Anyways back to Noribong. This concept is everywhere in Korea. The Koreans love it and can't wait to go to noribong. I think for them it is a stress reliever to get up and sing and dance in front of family, co-workers, strangers, whomever. They don't really care, just as long as they can sing. In fact, when you first meet a Korean they usually ask if you like noribong.

Like anywhere though, some people like to make their business a little more special. The room we were in was called the Princess room. A small one by noribong standards. But it had lovely pillows and stuffed animals. Some different rooms even have beds (just in case you need a nap or need to buy a 'woman' to 'help' you 'sing'--yeah it can happen in noribongs--but you have to ask for it and it is expensive).

They also have a giant screen that not only displays the words, but also has videos that change along with the song. These videos, however, are completely random. They could be of a stream, or a Korean soap opera, or of animals. I have even seen Dance Revolution videos (just in case you want to follow some crazy cool dance steps while singing). In our room, we were blessed with a Korean soap opera that didn't match our song choices. There was always a woman crying when we were singing a song like "Sexy Back". I don't know why she was crying all the time, but she was.

So it was just us singing away--having a blast. Even though I really don't enjoy public singing that much, I have to admit, maybe noribongs should be something that America should adopt. Everyone could use just a little song and dance in their life. For some reason, belting out Bon Jovi makes the night a little better.

Joelle and I

Shannon dancing and part of Ed

Dance party Korea! (look at the TV-they are singing Total Eclipse of the Heart-and there are men shaking hands--does not match!)

Yeah, you do get that into it. And those green spots are from the light show that goes on in your noribong!! (Yeah!! Light Show!!)

Ed pretend singing at this point. Even though he doesn't look like he is having fun, he is. He actually is great for getting Koreans to come into our noribongs and singing Korean/English songs like "Run With Me". Google it--it is his favorite at the moment!

PS: Thank you sooo much for the packages that we have been getting. I mean wow! We totally didn't expect anything and here we are with cookie mixes, smarties, (which I've decided that none of my students are good enough to have-so I must eat them all myself--thanks Mom and Dad!), to chips, Peeps, soup, and more (Seth and Kristina--you guys are amazing!) So here is a very public THANK YOU to Mom, Dad, Seth, Kristina, Q-ie, and Claire!!! XOXOXOXO