1.4.2010

Jjimjilbang

- How was the trip, asks Kalle from Teuvo, his neighbor.

- Well, actually I do not know, answers Teuvo. - It is different in there.

- That was Asia round trip, right?

- That was the intention, but it became one long sauna stay in Korea.

- For three weeks? That is quite a long time for sauna, and a long way, too, Kalle says with a laugh.

- Yeah. There was everything.

- In the sauna?

- That's what I said. It was quite an experience. We lay there on the floors, visited in the gym and did some shopping, ate from time to time.

- In the sauna? Disbelief can be seen on Kalle’s face. Neighbor is surely pulling my finger, he thinks.

- You can believe it. The saunas are as big as department stores, they sell anything there. Wife and girls liked it in the beauty salons. I had good times while playing with the computers.

- A computer in a sauna, you are lying to me, man, snaps Kalle.

- I am not. Look. The sauna in there is quite different from the sauna in here. They wear a special type of clothing while inside so they can walk around in various departments. Washing facilities are separate, but otherwise the men and women can use the same facilities. One can even watch movies while enjoying the heat.

- That is a lie, Kalle says in disbelief.

- Well, even it is warm, the temperature is no hundred degrees Celsius in every room there. But one can stay in a hot or in a cold room at will.

- Very weird.

- But nice. Everybody goes there. Families included. They spend weekends there. We stayed there for weeks. For night and day. You cannot believe how fine I feel now, Teuvo brags.

- At least you have something to tell about. I don’t believe half of it. What is sauna in Korean?

- Jjimjilbang.

- Oh my, that banging explains the whole thing, Kalle laughs.

- Bang means a room, my dear neighbor.

- I’m sure you are trying to trick me. I do not believe anything of that.

- Believe what you want to or go and see it yourself, Teuvo suggests. Then he takes his bike and drives away.

Read the original story in Finnish

6 kommenttia:

jl kirjoitti...

This is nice. There are some things I would change a little but not a lot. Translation-wise, I mean. :) Happy Easter to you!

isopeikko kirjoitti...

Thanks jl. Peikko would like to hear (or read) your translation suggestions, if you just happen to have lust for it :) Learning and deepening understanding is fine and nice, believes peikko. However, only if you like to. As many suggestions as you like to. Peikko likes your liking the story :)

SusuPetal kirjoitti...

Oh, I'd like to have a Jjimjilbang for my home, very decorative.

isopeikko kirjoitti...

Susupetal, peikko believes that you can just take a phone, call them and order one. Then you just have to point the exact place where you want to have it.

Anonyymi kirjoitti...

But one was missing and then the best, cool fresh lake after, between or before sauna in Korea.

isopeikko kirjoitti...

True, the sauna path is a little longer than usual, marjaisa. Let’s hope that they sell fresh cool lake type air from the freezer in there :)