Thursday night I went to the climbing wall with Dale, Jono and Kyle. Dale is a seasoned 5.12+ climber, Jono was climbing for his second time and Kyle was coming for his first. The wall is an awesome outdoor gym that is free to all and even provides ropes and harnesses to beginners who don't have any. The wall is lead-only, so the beginners have an experienced climber with them to start. Everyone climbed hard and we finished the night with some bouldering followed by a dyno session. I am looking forward to climbing with these guys more in the future...they are going to be good.
Jono flying.
Dale finishing.
After climbing Dale, Jono and I went to our "secret" pizza place for a pizza and unlimited beer. Post-climbing beer is always the tastiest.
Friday was no school so I had my Korean lesson during the day. My students also had off, so naturally they ended up at the same coffee shop as me. As soon as they saw me with my tutor, we were greeted with the inevitable choruses of "Teacher, girlfriend?" It was strange being a student in front of my students, letting them witness me making mistakes.
Students and Korean tutor.
After Korean class we went to see Robin Hood. As good as Ridley Scott has been , he botched this one. I would wait for it on DVD. It was better than Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves but that isn't saying much as most movies tend to be.
After the movie, we met up with Kyle and Megan to go to the braai that the South Africans were putting together. Jono and Claire live in a gorgeous rooftop apartment with access to the entire roof with a view of Daejeon. They had the braai on the roof where we were able to lazily lay out in the sun. A braai is similar to a barbecue in the US, but a little different. First, the SA's were way more excited. We had lots of different cuts of meat and we basically just spent the remainder of the day drinking, grilling and eating. There was no set meal time, it was a constant feast. We continued eating until the meat and dessert was gone. We left stuffed, just in time to catch the last subway home.
Megan, Kyle, Kirsten, Claire, Minhee, Devon. (behind Dev's beer is Jono)
Jenny and Jono (Jono is pounding makkeolli)
Like all South Africans, Jono turns into a total party animal at night.
The night ended with much pageantry and Dev proudly wearing his new South African flag, his hat, and nothing else. Kyle looks on, shocked, scared.
On Saturday I got ready to go to Chuncheon. I went to the downtown area to get a haircut and as I approached the main street, I was rerouted to another sidewalk. There was an action scene being filmed for a Korean movie.
I eventually negotiated a path to downtown and got my haircut. At the salon, they showed me pictures from a book of celebrities for me to find a hair style that I liked. Good thinking, since the language barrier was bound to be problem. The bigger problem: the book of celebs was populated solely by Koreans. As cool as the hair styles were, they weren't for me. Lucky in the back there were 2 American actors. I pointed to Jake Gyllenhaal and hoped for the best. The stylist cut my hair as she saw fit, and it was more Korean than what was in the picture. It didn't matter. It was a haircut on par with what I'd get in the states and it was a fraction of the price. Plus tipping is actively discouraged. I will go back, and I will be armed not with pictures, but the Korean equivalent of "I trust your judgement" or "Do what you think is best". (That's what I am doing anyways, right? I suppose its best to accept that from the start.) Upon arriving at school today many people noticed and all seemed to approve.
Post-haircut I went to the bus station, got a ticket and got on the bus for Chuncheon. about 3 hours later, I rolled into a city larger than I was expecting. Joe and Ashley met me at the terminal and we got provisions for the next morning. Armed with our breakfast feast we went to an Italian restaurant across the street where we proceeded to stuff ourselves with pre-race carbs a la The Office.
Thoroughly stuffed, Joe and Ashley walked me to their friend Jo's cavernous apartment where I would be staying while she was in Busan for the weekend. Cavernous isn't the most accurate description. It is larger than that. It is new, on the 7th floor, has an amazing view and is monstrous. Soon after arriving, I unpacked my bag, read for a bit and got some sleep.
As an American living in America, you might think "Oh, that is a nice view" but as a Westerner living here, your thoughts are likely closer to that of a jealous, murderous rage variety...especially after seeing this:
This is a big apartment in Korea. (Cue feelings of jealous murderous rage)
Sunday morning: race day. I woke up to overcast skies and a slight drizzle. I was looking forward to some rain during the race as I knew that at least it would keep things cool. Joe and Ashley have a friend, Paul, who was running with his wife Gretchen and they graciously offered to drive us to the race. We met a second Joe from England and Justin from the US. The foreigners hung out together, huddled under a tent, trying to stay dry. Apparently we were a spectacle worthy of media attention and a reporter interviewed us. We got our picture taken and I think we'll be in the paper.
The race started at 10am and we were off. I knew we'd be in for some hills, but what I encountered was shocking. The course basically goes up a mountain and back down. Once we were near the top we hung out there for a bit with some hilly sections and then we rocketed down steep, slick, muddy 4x4 tracks. It was awesome. In the US there tend to be many recreational runners at a half marathon. Here, there were almost none. These guys were fast. When I finished I was tired but elated. It was an amazing trail run and I want to do it again. My time was texted to my phone and I finished with a respectable time, especially considering the course. This was Joe Riley's first run like this and he did awesome. The best part is that he was happy at the end and wasn't cursing running as he finished. It was a hard course.
This is the elevation map. It looks like a mountain because it is. Stretch this over a scale of 20km and it is still hard. Good times, though.
So we hung out in Chuncheon for the afternoon and Joe and I made our way to the bus station. The last bus to Daejeon (home) was sold out. Ruh roh. Plan B: take a bus to Seoul, take subway across the city, go to KTX station, rush to get a seat on the KTX and go to Daejeon station, take subway then walk remaining 15 minutes home.
Luckily Joe has been in this situation before and he knew what to do. We made it to Seoul, took the subway, made it to the KTX station...and the bullet train was sold out--but only for the next 1.5 hours. For a train that leaves every 15 minutes and travels at nearly the speed of light that is a long wait. We did get our tickets for the next available departing train and we breathed easy. Since we had time to kill we stashed our bags in a locker. Since I was with a Brit, we got a pint (well 4 really, but who's counting?).
I made it back to my house at 11pm. It was a long day. It was a long weekend. It was great.
Dan - I am truly consumed reading your blogs as you post them. I check every day to see if there is another one. Thanks for the photos and the very interesting descriptions of your life in Korea! Wish I could visit!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great experience for you. Continue to enjoy this time!
Uncle Dave
I agree with Uncle Dave.........I'm consumed with your blog. Every time you post, I read it and then ask Mike and Adam...."did you read Dan's blog today?" Love your writing and the photos. Since you posted a pic of the HUGE apartment, how about a few pics of your place. Or did I miss those somewhere along the line?
ReplyDeleteTake care,Dan!
Patty