Heated Floors Are the Best Invention

While the year is coming to a close, winter is here to stay for a while. In Korea, most homes have an ondol, a special heating system in the floor. As it’s been consistently around -6 degrees Celsius in the mornings, and the river on my way to work is beginning to ice over, I think an ondol is one of the greatest inventions ever.

                                 

Each morning I’m reluctant to leave my apartment and each morning, I tear up without fail as the wind whips at my face. At school, I practically turn into an ice cube because so many windows are left open, a practice that I still don’t understand. 

                                              

In fact, on Christmas Eve( yes, we were still in school), I was sitting in the cafeteria next to the principal, desperately trying to operate my chopsticks. The flat metal sticks kept twisting on me as soon as I’d try to grasp at something. After curious eyes watched me for a few moments, the principal and the teacher across from me each took one of my hands and squealed. Then, they proceeded rub feeling back into my fingers. A few minutes later, I was able to eat my lunch. Needless to say, the first thing I do when I get home from school these days is to turn on the ondol.

               What an ondol looks like underneath the floor

The ondol can be tricky( well, only if your Korean is limited). I’m still trying to translate some of the Korean settings so sometimes I have to roll around on the floor to find a warm spot, but it’s the best for movie watching and reading when it’s dark and cold outside. I know I said in the summer, I was dying for winter weather, and now that it’s winter, I’m ready for spring. But as it’s almost 2014 and spring will be here soon enough, for now I’m just going to relish my heated floors.

Well, January, I’m ready for you and ready for the light and warmth to come back. Happy New Year!