I finally went hiking in Korea! This may not seem like a big feat, but in Korea, if you don't hike, you might as well just leave! It wasn't a big mountain or a long hike, but it was beautiful and a lot of fun.
A lot of the mountains in Korea also have palaces on top of them. Since important people lived in these palaces, they were guarded by stone walls, or fortress walls. These walls were then guarded by the soldiers to fight off any enemies. Many of the palaces and fortress walls are still standing and are really fun to see. The fortress wall/mountain we went to climb was called Namhansanseong Fortress. We, and by "we" I mean it was three of my co-workers and myself, went somewhat early on a Saturday morning to the palace. It wasn't far from Migeum, only about 30 min on the subway. Once we got there we took a bus to the top, well almost the top. Now that may seem like cheating, and it kind of was, but a lot of the fun of hiking the mountain is seeing the palace then hiking down. I do want to go back and hike up the whole thing but we didn't have enough time this day. Once we got to the top, the view was really cool. Unfortunately it was cloudy so we couldn't see all the way to Seoul but on most days you can see for miles.
We stayed at the top for a bit then made our way down. Down is almost as hard as up! The decline was pretty steep and our quads were hurting by the end, but it was so nice to be out of the city and in nature. It really reminded me of being in northern Minnesota, and it's so nice to know such places are so close to where we live.
Some would think a Saturday full of running and hiking would be enough exercise for one weekend, not me. At some point in time, the week before our hiking, I had agreed to a 100K bike ride, that's 60 miles, with a friend! I'm not really sure what I was thinking but since I had said I would do it, there was no backing out. I was really excited to go because I wanted to see if I could actually make 100K on a bike. We started out and rode along the river path that I always run on. We stayed on that until we hit the Han River in Seoul, about 25k in. We stayed on that path for a while and eventually it took us out of Seoul and onto a nice, quiet path with great scenery. We peddled for about another 10-15k or so and then we ran out of path and had to ride on the road. It wasn't too bad, drivers in Korea are really scared of bikers because they don't want to hit them, so they really keep their distance.
At this point, I really had no idea where we were. I trusted my friend, and he is pretty good with directions and he rides a lot so I wasn't worried. As it turned out, we were just about to bike up the same mountain I had just climbed the day before! By now we had gone about 60-70k and had been riding for about 4 hours, and I was getting really really tired!! Going up the mountain was tough, we took some breaks and rested our legs for a bit but finally made it to the top, or close to the top. The view was awesome! It was a clear day so we could see all the way to Seoul, which was really cool!!! Next time, I will bring my camera!
As tough as the uphill climb was, the downhill made it all worth it!! I have never gone so fast on a bike!! It was a bit scary, but more exhilarating than scary, and I would happily climb another mountain just to do that again!
After that, the rest of the ride back to Migeum was a piece of cake. We got back on the trail by the river and rode home. By this point, my butt was hurting pretty bad and I was pretty pooped, but it was a great day and a wonderful way to see Korea. I didn't quite make 100k, it was more like 91k, but either way I was amazed at the fact that I had rode a bike that far. Our total ridding time was 4 hours and 21 minutes and we averaged 20k an hour, not bad for a nonrider! But boy was I feeling it the next day!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Soccer Part II-Making kids cry!
The Friday before the Korea/Uruguay game, our school had all the kids wear their Korea soccer gear to school. Then they bought face paint to paint the kids' faces, got them some props, a few soccer balls and some headbands, and took about a million pictures. It was a complete waste of time but the kids did look really cute! Many of my kids are huge soccer fans and play soccer themselves. One kid in particular, Ian, loves soccer! I mean he lives and breaths soccer! This World Cup is like his Christmas. The previous games I had worn my own Korea soccer shirts to work and I told all the kids I was cheering for Korea. I was sad when they lost in the first round, but we were all really excited Korea had made it to the second round.
As the day was winding down, I told my kids that if Korea won their game, and the USA won their game, they would play each other. Then I asked them who they thought I would cheer for if that happened. Of course they said Korea! It was then that I crushed little Ian's heart! I told them that IF it would happen that Korea and US would play each other, I would indeed cheer for the US. As I said this, the look on Ian's face went from shock to complete and total heartbreak! His head went down, and when I looked over at him again, he was crying! Now I'm not talking just a few tears, he was sobbing! It was as if his mom just died! I had torn out his heart and did a little dance on it! I went to console him and as I did, I was trying not to laugh. That may sound heartless, but the kid was crying because I would cheer for the US over Korea! It was a bit funny.
Just after that, the bell rang and we had to get ready to go home. As we got ready, Ian would not look at me! He was so mad! I got the rest of the class ready and I tried to tell him I would still cheer for Korea and that I still wanted Korea to win, but he would have none of it. As we were walking down the stairs he said, "Katie teacher is bad! I'm angry at teacher!" Even though that was a little harsh, I still thought it was funny!
As it turned out, both Korea and the US lost so we didn't have to deal with the two teams playing each other. By Monday he was over it and told me he was not longer mad at me. How precious!
As the day was winding down, I told my kids that if Korea won their game, and the USA won their game, they would play each other. Then I asked them who they thought I would cheer for if that happened. Of course they said Korea! It was then that I crushed little Ian's heart! I told them that IF it would happen that Korea and US would play each other, I would indeed cheer for the US. As I said this, the look on Ian's face went from shock to complete and total heartbreak! His head went down, and when I looked over at him again, he was crying! Now I'm not talking just a few tears, he was sobbing! It was as if his mom just died! I had torn out his heart and did a little dance on it! I went to console him and as I did, I was trying not to laugh. That may sound heartless, but the kid was crying because I would cheer for the US over Korea! It was a bit funny.
Just after that, the bell rang and we had to get ready to go home. As we got ready, Ian would not look at me! He was so mad! I got the rest of the class ready and I tried to tell him I would still cheer for Korea and that I still wanted Korea to win, but he would have none of it. As we were walking down the stairs he said, "Katie teacher is bad! I'm angry at teacher!" Even though that was a little harsh, I still thought it was funny!
As it turned out, both Korea and the US lost so we didn't have to deal with the two teams playing each other. By Monday he was over it and told me he was not longer mad at me. How precious!
Computer and Soccer
About 2 weeks ago, I was working on my computer and the entire screen froze up, faded to white, then to black and crashed! Thankfully, I was able to take it to someone who spoke English and got it fixed for me very quickly. Originally he had thought it was the logic board, whatever that is, but it turned out to just be the screen. After about a week and a half and $50 later, I have my computer back and it is as good as new!
Surprisingly, so much has happened in that short week and a half! (I hope you are picking up on my sarcasm because I'm laying it on pretty thick!)
Unless you were living under a rock in Korea, it would have been very hard to not know the World Cup was happening. The Korean's love the World Cup! The thing that is funny, is that during the years between the World Cup, no one here really cares about soccer. Once the World Cup starts, its a different story. That being said, I was really excited to experience how the rest of the world views the World Cup. The first round games were exciting and Korea did well, they won one, lost one, and tied another but moved on to the second round. As a small country, without a huge soccer background, moving on to the second round was a huge accomplishment. The first game of the second round pinned Korea against Uruguay. The game was a Saturday night at 11pm. I was pumped I would be able to watch this one (the first round games were played while I was in Jeju, and another was at 3:30am. I didn't really get to experience those games.) We decided to go to City Hall and watch the game with thousands of crazy Korean fans. We got to City Hall around 7:30pm, the game was at 11:00pm. We found our spot, set down our stuff and started to wait. It was a ton of fun! Even though it wasn't my country I was cheering for and I couldn't understand any of the pregame entertainment, it was such an awesome experience. It was so cool to see how a sporting event can bring an entire nation together. Around 9:30pm, while we were enjoying some Korean pop group sing on stage, it started to rain. Now, when it rains in Korea, it doesn't just rain, it pours!! Thankfully we had ponchos and were able to keep relatively dry. Even through the rain, everyone stayed, partied, and waited for the game to start.
At the stroke of 11:00pm the game started. The rain had stopped and all eyes were on the big screen. 5 minutes in, Uruguay scored. The silence was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. It was as if someone had died. I could go on with the cliche saying. It was quiet! The mood picked up with the many chances Korea had throughout the half. One guy hit the post and there were many more near misses. The start of the second half brought renewed hope, Korea scored shortly into the second half. It is an amazing sight when they score. It doesn't matter that you don't know the person next to you and it means less that you may not be Korean, you will high five and hug them as if they are your next of kin. It's so cool!
Unfortunately Uruguay scored with about 10 min left in the game and Korean could not battle back. It was a sad day but it was a great experience!
The night was far from over though! It was about 1:15am when we were leaving City Hall. Thankfully the buses were running late that night and we caught one of the last ones out of Seoul and onto Bun-dong. As we pulled into Seoyheon, it was 3:15am and we were only 15min away from USA vs. Ghana. We made our way to one of our favorite bars, Pub 210, and settled in for the US game. It started awful, much like the Korean game, with Uruguay scoring first. The US tied it and they were able to force and overtime. In the end though, Ghana was the better team that night and the US was sent home, as was I.
It was 6:15am as we left the bar. Words cannot describe how tired I was!! I made my way home and into my bed for about an hour and a half (why, you are wondering, would I only sleep for an hour and a half)? I had to wake up and skype with my family! I was not very coherent while skyping but it was good to see my family!
Even though the weekend ended with both of my teams loosing in the World Cup, it was an experience I will never forget!
Surprisingly, so much has happened in that short week and a half! (I hope you are picking up on my sarcasm because I'm laying it on pretty thick!)
Unless you were living under a rock in Korea, it would have been very hard to not know the World Cup was happening. The Korean's love the World Cup! The thing that is funny, is that during the years between the World Cup, no one here really cares about soccer. Once the World Cup starts, its a different story. That being said, I was really excited to experience how the rest of the world views the World Cup. The first round games were exciting and Korea did well, they won one, lost one, and tied another but moved on to the second round. As a small country, without a huge soccer background, moving on to the second round was a huge accomplishment. The first game of the second round pinned Korea against Uruguay. The game was a Saturday night at 11pm. I was pumped I would be able to watch this one (the first round games were played while I was in Jeju, and another was at 3:30am. I didn't really get to experience those games.) We decided to go to City Hall and watch the game with thousands of crazy Korean fans. We got to City Hall around 7:30pm, the game was at 11:00pm. We found our spot, set down our stuff and started to wait. It was a ton of fun! Even though it wasn't my country I was cheering for and I couldn't understand any of the pregame entertainment, it was such an awesome experience. It was so cool to see how a sporting event can bring an entire nation together. Around 9:30pm, while we were enjoying some Korean pop group sing on stage, it started to rain. Now, when it rains in Korea, it doesn't just rain, it pours!! Thankfully we had ponchos and were able to keep relatively dry. Even through the rain, everyone stayed, partied, and waited for the game to start.
At the stroke of 11:00pm the game started. The rain had stopped and all eyes were on the big screen. 5 minutes in, Uruguay scored. The silence was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. It was as if someone had died. I could go on with the cliche saying. It was quiet! The mood picked up with the many chances Korea had throughout the half. One guy hit the post and there were many more near misses. The start of the second half brought renewed hope, Korea scored shortly into the second half. It is an amazing sight when they score. It doesn't matter that you don't know the person next to you and it means less that you may not be Korean, you will high five and hug them as if they are your next of kin. It's so cool!
Unfortunately Uruguay scored with about 10 min left in the game and Korean could not battle back. It was a sad day but it was a great experience!
The night was far from over though! It was about 1:15am when we were leaving City Hall. Thankfully the buses were running late that night and we caught one of the last ones out of Seoul and onto Bun-dong. As we pulled into Seoyheon, it was 3:15am and we were only 15min away from USA vs. Ghana. We made our way to one of our favorite bars, Pub 210, and settled in for the US game. It started awful, much like the Korean game, with Uruguay scoring first. The US tied it and they were able to force and overtime. In the end though, Ghana was the better team that night and the US was sent home, as was I.
It was 6:15am as we left the bar. Words cannot describe how tired I was!! I made my way home and into my bed for about an hour and a half (why, you are wondering, would I only sleep for an hour and a half)? I had to wake up and skype with my family! I was not very coherent while skyping but it was good to see my family!
Even though the weekend ended with both of my teams loosing in the World Cup, it was an experience I will never forget!
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