Ajumma

We were standing in the heart of the jimjilbang^([sic]), or Korean bathhouse, in a steaming, all-female bathing room where scrubs are administered (as they are across the land) by strict middle-aged women, more than a few of them with potbellies, who wear nothing but sexy black lace bras and underwear. Arcadia had whispered to me that the women were ajummas, which means "aunties" and connotes matronly, working-class women known for no-nonsense warmth and authority.

Knowing that an ajumma would always be within arm's reach, like a Korean fairy godmother, traveling further afield grew less daunting.

Seventy percent of the Korean peninsula is covered in mountains, so hiking, camping and mountain climbing is a big part of my ancestral culture. I remember watching the Korean church ajummas (married, middle-aged women) spread sticky white rice onto sheets of seaweed, expertly rolling them up before our church members embarked on group hikes.

Turns out crocheting these scrubbers is a pastime among certain Korean ajummas, who love to give them away as gifts.