a proper rugby tour

part of being on a rugby team is touring..just about any trip out of your city is called a tour, so our trip to yeongwol was technically called a tour, even though it was just one night, and we only played one game..anywho, that's beside the point..
for chuseok, a tour to thailand had been put together..
i took the subway to the airport, as i feared traffic would be awful, with the whole country having the days off for the holiday..(chuseok is another lunar holiday, basically the korean version of thanksgiving)..it took longer, but at least i got there..the team checked in, a guide named elvis leading us..our flight was delayed an hour, but none of us cared..not surprisingly, we were shushed, and a young family was even moved so that we'd all be near each other and not disturb so many people..(i don't think that idea worked, but oh well)..our arrival at the airport in bangkok was the first time many of us had gone through that airport, as it's relatively new, and as such, it was a bit confusing..anywho..we met up with jr and ty who had arrived separately, as well as shauna, who had arrived several days earlier..
the team hopped onto our arranged bus to hua hin, not too far from bangkok..the town grew in popularity when thai royalty started to vacation there, but it's never become a backpacker spot..i don't know why, but we had to wait for checkin..so we went to the beach and played around with frisbees and just relaxed..it wasn't particularly sunny, which was a disappointment..after checking in, we tried to decide what to do, and as is typical with larger groups, it took foreva to decide for anyone..i went back to the beach with others..lunch was at a thai restaurant with angie, and shauna..thai food is great! and sooo cheap! more time at the beach in the afternoon, mostly just hanging out..no laying out:(..dinner i had with angie, shauna, katherine, este and char..again, we were all indecisive about evening plans after dinner..someone figured out details of thai boxing, so some of us attended..i enjoyed it for the most part, but i dont think i'm a big fan of the really young kids performing..particularly when they walk around after their fight, collecting more money..that ended fairly late, so we just went back to the hotel and crashed..at least, that's what i did..
the next morning we got a wakeup call at 0800, i'm not sure why it was that early..by the time we had all eaten breakfast, it was 1000..everyone went to a nearby scooter hire spot, and filled out all the forms..there was no insurance involved, and the guy didn't even want to give all of us helmets..sketchy, to say the least..it turns out, keeping a group of 8 girls on 5 scooters together isn't the easiest thing to do, even when we all know where we're going..we stopped at a wat, simply because we kept seeing signs for it..it was nice looking, but nothing super exciting..
after the temple, we all got back on our scooters, and that's when things got interesting..our group got separated, three bikes ended up ahead, shauna and i ended up behind..as i went around one curve, i laid the bike down..whoops..thankfully shauna was just behind me, saw what happened, and stopped..i was able to stand up and dust myself off, pick up the bike, and start up again..as we got going, shauna felt something off..she asked me to watch as she drove, and it was quickly apparent to me that she had a flat tire...between the blood streaming down one of my knees, and her flat tire, but being out in the middle of nowhere, we had no choice but to keep going, albeit slowly..at some point, a truck drove past us, and realized shauna had a flat tire..they put shauna's bike in the bed of the truck, and she got a ride in the cab..i followed..eventually, angie and ali, who had been in the group ahead came back to find out where we were..since my knee was tightening up, angie drove me on my bike, continuing to follow the truck with shauna and her bike..the truck stopped at a repair garage, and they replaced the tube in shauna's tire, and wouldn't let her pay!! they also brought out some stuff to help me clean up my knee, and wouldn't let me pay either!! thais are amazing..
after shauna's repair, and my clean knee, we all got back on our bikes and continued down the road..we were heading for a waterfall, which was supposed to be amazing..it turned out to be a series of shorter waterfalls, not one bigger, more spectacular one..i used one of the areas with flowing water to help get some of the remaining road guck out of my knee..the cuts from my fall were pretty deep..we didn't go to all the levels of the waterfall, but we enjoyed what we did see..after getting back to our bikes, we started on our way back to the hotel..while driving we passed a local market and decided to stop..yummy food/snacks!
as we continued back to hua hin, it started to rain..not so fun..thankfully angie was still driving, i'm not sure i would've been okay with driving in the rain..when we all got back to the hotel, we found natalie, our team captain..(she denies the title, but that's basically what she is)..oooooops..it turned out she had been the only with not with us during the day..how any of us didn't notice, i don't know..i think she was hurt, and rightfully so..she had gone to have a fitting for suits she was having made, and when she got back to the hotel, we were all gone..after apologizing profusely, dinner plans were made..but before dinner, several of us went to get pedicures and foot massages..HEAVEN:)
dinner was nice, then most of us investigated a night market, which was full of stuff for tourists..since i was just learning about rugby, i went with a few others to an irish pub, where we watched the nz/scotland game...nz won, but i only found out the score afterward, as i fell asleep during the game..lol..
we all got another wakeup call the next morning at 0830..a bus took us to bangkok, stopping along the way for lunch..upon arrival in bangkok, the bus took us to the temple of the emerald buddha, probably the most well known sight in the entire country..the buddha in the temple isn't made of emerald, it's made of jade, and it's 'costume' is changed for each season..despite all the tourists, and the expense, it's still awesome..it's a great place to take pictures as well..after walking around for a while, we walked down the street and took a cruise on the river..probably the best part of the cruise was when we fed the fish in the river..they've gotten so used to tourists feeding them that they ALL show up when food is tossed into the river..they were practically jumping out of the water..kinda gross, but fascinating as well..
dinner that night was in the hotel, a buffet..there was a night market semi close to the hotel, again filled with stuff for tourists..i ended up buying a skirt, i think most people bought at least one thing..after that, i went back to the hotel..a few of the girls went to the pat pong district to see a ping pong show..i knwo it's a fact of life that sex shows happen here, but i had no desire to participate, or encourage the industry in any way..women don't learn to perform in those sorts of shows because they want to, they do it because they can earn far more money that way than in having a "normal" job..i am not a fan of the industry as a whole..the sex industry in thailand is waaaayyyyy to big, and much of it isn't legal, but that's a soapbox topic for me, one i will stop talking about now..
the next morning, my roommate hilary and i missed breakfast, we didn't know what time it closed..as the team was checking out of the hotel, a few more girls showed up, they had been on holiday in another part of thailand..i'm not sure why they weren't with us for the entire tour..the bus drove us to the rugby pitch, and the weather was HOT HOT HOT and HUMID HUMID HUMID..jr taped up my knee so i could play, and he did a fantastic job..it didn't move during the entire game..the thai girls won the games, they ran faster than us..we were bigger, and often it took 5 of them to tackle just one of us..they were also (obviously) used to the heat and humidity..we weren't..they were a national team...we weren't..it was a learning experience..on the bus ride back to the hotel, the driver had the air conditioning cranked so high that all of us were cold..not a fun way to feel after roasting all afternoon..
we had saved three rooms in the hotel so we could all shower and clean up, then we had dinner again..after dinner we had a court session, the charges were of course, entertaining..i'm slowly learning all the rules involved:)..of course, there was a lot of drinking as well..
the bus ride to the airport had some drunk people..check in took foreva, and at one point they tried to say that este couldn't get on the plane because she didn't have the right visa..she didn't need a visa, as she was going back as a tourist, but it took a while to get that sorted..waiting at the gate was interesting, as one of our group was highly intoxicated..she ended up vomiting everywhere, and though you could smell the alcohol, we told the airline that she had food poisoning from dinner..airlines won't let someone they know to be drunk on the plane..it was obvious, but it worked out..as soon as the lights went out on the plane, nearly everyone fell asleep..
immigration upon return was really fast, that's one thing incheon airport is really good about..i took a bus back to my flat, and that was the end of my first real rugby tour..:)
except the ear infection i somehow ended up having..the last two days of the trip my right ear plugged up, and i couldn't hear properly..i was able to go to the doctor the next day, and after a round of antibiotics, it cleared up..annoying though, as it was from water that had gotten in my ear..how, i don't know..oh well..

MACAU, SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

i took the first weekend in september to visit my friend esther in macau...i met esther while she still lived in seoul...she's a philippina, she married a korean, and now they have two sons...both her sons speak tagalog, korean, as well as a fair amount of english...esther is a lawyer, and her work is somewhat transportable...anywho, her husband was offered what seemed like a good job, so the family moved not too long ago...
macau is making itself out to be the vegas of asia...there are quite a few large casinos there already, and they're constantly building more...macau is similar to hong kong in that until not very long ago it was administered by another country, not china...macau received it's "independence" from portugal in 1999, two years after hong kong...so now the official languages are chinese and portuguese...but you don't see much portuguese, you see and hear mostly chinese with a bit of english...signage is in all three languages...most of the people who live there now are of chinese descent...
i got to the seoul airport before anything was open, which meant i was starving for a while...i wasn't planning to check any baggage, but it turned out my toothpaste was too big, so i made a stink and they let me go back through to the check in counters and i was able to check my bag...the security lady who said it was too big seemed surprised that i wanted to check my bag...did she think i was going to put the toothaste in a ziploc bag and check just that? anywho...
esther picked me up at the airport, and i could immediately tell the difference in weather...macau is a lot warmer and a lot more humid at this time of year than seoul is...(and seoul is plenty warm and humid right now)...she took me to her flat, which is how pretty much everyone in macau lives...it's like hong kong in that the population density is really high...i got to meet her kids, johann and joseph...then we took the bus to hac sa beach, and walked around for a while...it's a black sand beach, and we visited at high tide...there are lots of picnic tables around, it was nice to see families out enjoying themselves...we took the bus back to the main square, where you can still see a lot of portuguese architecture...the ruins of st paul are particularly picturesque, though it's only the front of the church that's there anymore...it was originally a church, but has also been used as army barracks...we ate dinner at a portuguese restaurant, and that night got a little dressed up to go to the venetian casino...it has the same themes as it's sister casino in vegas, but it's bigger...in fact, it's the biggest casino in the world, and had opened just a few days before i arrived...it's not completed yet, i have no idea when it will be completely done...i didn't do any gambling myself, but it was fun to wander around and watch people...i've never been in a proper casino before...esther's flat is only a 15 minute walk from the venetian!
the next day we took a bus to the border with china...on the chinese side of the border is a free economic zone, which means CHEAP shopping...we explored the area with esther's friend joe, and ate lunch in a revolving restaurant...fun...after coming back we explored another area of macau, the waterfront...there is a statue there, i can't remember the name of who it is...a goddess of something...the macau tower is also right there, and you can jump off it, (safety precautions are taken, of course) and we did see one person jump...
i went to the airport late that night, and got back to korea, though a few hours later than i had anticipated, and was late to work as a result...oh well...

korean rugby nationals

i went to a birthday party back in june, and there met a girl who played rugby..we got to chatting, and when she asked what i was doing the following saturday, i gave my standard response of "ask me friday"...she then told me that i was going to rugby practice...i've been interested in rugby (that is, interested in playing, not the world sport) since high school, so i was definitely excited..the following saturday ended up with not so great weather, and she told me practice had been cancelled (i'm not so sure it was, but that's beside the point) but we agreed to try again the following weekend..the next weekend rolled around and i went to my first ever rugby practice..it was awesome, even though i had absolutely no idea what i was doing most of the time..it was great to run around, and all the girls seemed fun..
i continued going to practice each weekend, and in august, the women's team was invited to put on an exhibition game at the korean rugby championships in yeongwol..i don't know who, but someone arranged the bus for the men's and women's teams to ride together from seoul..we all showed up saturday morning and boarded the bus..people showed up in various condition, from the very hungover, to the still drunk, to the wide awake and chipper like me..(or maybe i was the only one who was wide awake..it was saturday morning, after all)..an hour and a half later the bus stopped at one of the many rest stops on korean highways..there seems to be a rule in korea that you don't get to go all the way to your destination w/out stopping..even though our trip was only three hours, we stopped halfway through..and these rest stops are huge, with restaurants and toilets and convenience stores, etc..for those who were hungover, or starting to become hungover, the chance for hot food was great:)..an hour and a half later we arrived at yeongwol..
the tourney had already started, there were quite a few teams there..the boys got changed, as their first game was scheduled to start soon..they played, and won..dan (our coach) played, but not surprisingly hurt his already bad knee, and had to come out..after their game was over, we went to one area of the track and had our own practice..for me, it was the first time i ever learned how to tackle properly..(i had only had 3 previous practices to attend)..as it was the middle of the day, it was HOT, and by the end of the practice we all felt faint, even though it wasn't long..we sat around for quite a while, and watched whateva games were going, and someone was on their phone figuring out possibilities for whitewater rafting..(this province in korea has a lot of outdoor activities)..just after noon everyone took part in the opening ceremony..(why it was after several games had already been played i don't know)..everyone had on their team shirts, there was even a girls high school marching band! they wore capes, skirts, and high white leather/plastic boots..the ceremony was in korean, which none of us really understood, but apparently we weren't the only ones who were bored, as other teams started to sit down on the field..so we followed suit..after the ceremony was (finally) over each team picked up it's case of soju, case of gatorade, and case of gochujang..yay for favors!!
our whitewater rafting had been arranged, so we (the girls, and one of the boys..other guys had expressed interest, but it wasn't guaranteed that we'd make it back before the guys game, so they backed out, this guy was new and clearly not that into rugby) all piled into a van that has definitely seen better days..with all of us in there, it was super crowded..the van arrived at the tour company office, and we paid..someone didn't pay, we all thought it was the guy, but we couldn't be sure, as the money collection was rather haphazard..(typical korean situation)..we got our lifejackets and helmets and got back in the van, and drove to the put it spot..they split us up, 5 girls going with 5 koreans..my boat was fun, there was a lot of kanglish going on..the guides spoke some english, and everyone (in our boat) was ready to have fun..at the first opportunity to do so, angie and i jumped out of our boat..we're both good swimmers, and weren't afraid..our guides liked to have fun and we "attacked" other boats..lol..toward the end of the ride i realized i was really dehydrated, as i had a massive headache..the sun exposure didn't help..
we didnt make it back in time for the start of the men's game, so the guy didn't get to play..we did howeva watch most of it, and watched the masters game that followed..great to see 60 yr old men running around playing a game they love..it was a lot slower, strategy was clearly more important..hee hee..after the games we drove to our hotel, checked in and got cleaned up for dinner..my room had 4 girls total, and we were all ready to go in 40 minutes..the other room was a lot slower..
dinner was galbi with the KRU folks..one of the few times i've actually been glad i don't drink, as the alcohol was flowing freely from the start of dinner..lots of soju and beer...LOTS..
after dinner there was a lot of discussion as to what people wanted to do..it took 45 minutes to decide..one group ended up going to a casino, the other group went back to the hotel..the casino sounded good, but it was an hour away, and w/out independent transport back, i opted to skip it and go back to the hotel..there were people hanging out in the gardens, a good chance for me to get to know some of the other girls..i was the first in my room to go to bed, the other girls came into the room at various times of the night..it didn't matter much to me, i slept through it all..
the next morning we all got up, and got dressed in our team kit..after fantasizing about the breakfasts each of us wanted, we realized we didn't have time for such things, and our breakfasts consisted of what we were able to grab in a 10 minute run through a small grocery store..(which must've thrown the cashiers there for a loop..12 girls hopping out of a bus quickly, running through the store, lining up quickly to pay, and getting out of there fast)..not long after arriving back at the stadium, we took the field for our exhibition match..we played against each other, and from what i understood, no one in the stands expected us to hit hard, as everyone knew that most of us were new to the sport..but that definitely wasn't the case..i don't know why i remember this, but i remember the first tackle..it was hard, and you could hear it..you could also hear the collective intake of breath in the crowd, as they realized we were going full stop..awesome..i know my team lost, but i didn't care..i loved being out there..when the game was over, (during which maria broke her foot) we took a team picture and people clapped..with the way most korean women behave (like a princess) getting women's rugby started in korea won't be easy, but people are interested in making it happen..
we watched the championship game, which the boys lost, but it was still fun..then we all took showers, which were in community shower facilities..with COLD water..everyone hopped on the bus cleaned up, and the ride home started..during the ride home there was a court session, which is apparently one of the traditions of rugby..nearly everyone was brought up on "charges" for something, and some of the charges were more entertaining than others..lots of rugby songs were sung on the way, and then someone put on a cd, and the rest of the ride back was just being social..good times..most people were drinking, of course..when we got back to itaewon, several trash bags worth of rubbish were taken out of the bus..
my first rugby game, and i loved every minute of it..i can't wait to do it again!!

kuta, ubud and sanur, bali, indonesia

For my school vacation, I decided to go to bali, one of the most well known islands of Indonesia…we had 11 days off, which is a couple days more than most schools had, so I consider myself lucky…w/out knowing it, 5 of the teachers at my school had all booked the same flight to bali…the flight was a straight shot, 7 hours…we arrived at ngurah rai (sp?) international airport after 11pm, ugh…fortunately, the town three of us were staying in at least the first night was really close, and just about everything in bali is dirt cheap, so it was no problem to take a taxi from the aiport…the taxi dropped me off at the same place I stayed at the last time I was in bali, almost exactly two years ago…I'm not sure if they remembered me at the surf doggie, or just assumed that anyone walking in at that hour (it's not on the tourist strip at all, and the gates were closed) must've stayed there before, because she said something to the effect of "I remember you"…howeva, she did put me in the same room I was in last time, so I don't know…
The next three days were all pretty much the same…I woke up, read and had breakfast, read some more, went to the beach for a couple hours, enjoyed watching all the surfers, both beginning and advanced…avoided all the people trying to sell me things…when I'm laying down with my eyes closed, do you really think I want to buy a ring? Or have a massage? Or rent a boogie board or surfboard? I don't think so…after the beach I'd head back to my room, change, then mosey back to a random place and get a foot massage…shop for a little while, then meet up with darryl and shelena for dinner…we ate at cheap places, not spending more than $2.50 per meal…well, the main part of the meal was usually $1.50, then we'd go somewhere else and have ice cream, which was more expensive, but still fun…I'd go back to my room, read, and turn out the light when I felt like it…I don't know what time I went to sleep any of the nights during the vacation…
The fourth full day, I got on a 6 am bus, and went to ubud…ubud is the cultural capital of bali…it's known for it's many temples, art galleries, spas, locals who still wear traditional clothing, and performances of traditional Balinese dance…I went to the place I stayed the last time I was in ubud, and was again put in the same room as last time…though this time I know that was pure chance, as they didn't recognize me…the first morning I checked out a number of temples, including a few I didn't see last time…maybe it was the time of day, or something else, but all except one of the temples were totally deserted as I walked through…they seem much more spiritual when there aren't people EVERYWHERE…ubud palace, saraswati temple, and others…the afternoon was spent at a spa, getting the royal treatment…an hour massage, body exfoliation, a bath in flowered water, and intensive hair treatment…all for $16, and 3 hours…soooo nice…dinner at one of the local places...(why spend $3 for the same meal you can get it for 50cents at a local place?)…a performance of traditional Balinese dance that night…the costumes are amazing, as is the makeup…and the dance itself is like nothing you'll ever see in the western world…the music is from a gamelon orchestra…a gamelon is somewhat similar to a xylophone, but it struck with something that looks very much like a hammer…and the sound is different, though it's hard to describe how…there are many different sizes of gamelon, and one of the players is sortof the conductor, though that's not obvious if you aren't looking for it…(I was only looking for it since I played in an orchestra for so long)…each time a dancer in a new costume came out, the crowd got out the cameras and hand phones again…I did so as well, but I was nice enough to turn off the flash…that must be incredibly distracting to the dancers…
the next morning I woke up and went walking…it was a route described in my lonely planet guidebook that seemed easy enough in terms of where to go…(I'm really good at getting lost, and didn't feel like doing that in the middle of nowhere)…it was indeed easy to follow, but I felt like I was still doing some exploring…as I walked through several small villages, the locals all watched me, so I got the feeling not many foreigners did the walk…one little boy walked up to me and said "photo?" and struck a pose…hands down the coolest kid ever…I showed it to him after I took it, he liked it…hee hee…I took lots of pictures of the rica paddy fields, I think they're really pretty, though I have no idea why…that afternoon I rented a motorbike, after realizing that the next thing I wanted to see would take me more than an hour of walking to get to, and I didn't have that kind of time…now, a few things to remember: 1. I hadn't been in control of a motorized vehicle since before I moved to korea. and 2. they drive on the left side of the rode in indonesia…so as I got on the motorbike and drove, I was terrified, both for myself and anyone else I might inadvertently hit/run over…somehow or another, I ended up where I wanted to be w/out falling/hitting anyone/wrecking…it was fun to be driving again, and I got more and more comfortable the farther I went…though I was still considerably slower than all the locals, who weave in and out of traffic all the time…I walked around the elephant cave area…it's unknown why it's called the elephant cave, since it doesn't look like an elephant at all…it is a manmade cave carved into a rock wall, and the face carved on the outside is pretty cool…the inside of the cave is just one corridor, with different niches to place offerings…according to the guidebook and locals who try to get you to hire them as guides, the cave is still used for religious ceremonies…it was a bit eerie go to in, as the air doesn't move at all, and it's not a good place to go if you are claustrophobic…I went in, looked around (it's dark except for the like from the entranceway) and got out…there is also a fountain that was originally used by balinese royalty to clean off…now of course, tourists wash their hands and faces and have their pictures taken…I don't know how the water system is set up, but it's pretty impressive…back on the bike, back into town w/out getting hurt or hurting anyone else, dropped it off, and made my way to another spa…(ubud is full of spas, from the cheapt ones to the expensive ones…simple massages all the way to all day pampering)…more dinner, and another dance performance…this one was a kecak dance, which has no instruments to provide the music…the dancers are also a chorus, and since the music…it's impressive…at one point, a man did a fire dance…he walked through/kick a pile of burning coconut husks…I saw the bottoms of his feet after the performance, and they were quite black, though I'm guessing that was from soot as much as anything else…the last morning I got up and walked out to the ubud botanical gardens…they're pretty impressive, or at least I think they would be if everything is blooming…howeva, when I walked through, many flowers had just been planted, so they weren't yet blooming…there were two aspects that I really liked though…one was the quietness/stillness of the entire area, and the other was the maze…(for those of you who are wondering, yes, I did get lost in there…rather unnerving)…walked back to town, rented a motorboke again, and drove out to tegallalung village, about 10km outside ubud…by this time I felt a whole lot more comfortable on the bike, and even passed a few cars…the entire way to the village was on a road with nothing but art galleries and shops where the locals make all the stuff they sell…I know if I had gotten off the bike and started looking around, I never would've gotten back on the bike w/out buying something…the village I was going to is known for one thing, some very impressive rice paddy terraces…they're really cool to see…the down side to them is all the vendors who are set up on the other side, and these vendors are really persistent…they approach you as soon as you get off your bike/out of your car…and they don't go away nearly as easily as other vendors I've seen in bali…I'm not good at saying no, so it was hard…but really, I don't want any more sarongs, or any boxes, or any purses, or anything else…I looked at the terraces for a while, then hopped back on the bike and drove to the last sight I wanted to see, something called yeh pulu…it's a wall with scenes carved into it…it was only discovered in the 80's, they don't know for sure when all the scenes were carved…I met a girl who was traveling with her aunt and friend, she and I compared life stories…(amazing how you can do that with a total stranger)…she was just about to finish her nursing program at chico state, I am still somewhat of a clueless teacher…anywho, back to town, dropped off the bike, dinner and my last performance…this one was in yet another location (the two previous nights had been outdoor performances, this was indoors) and sortof a combination of the two other performances…a smaller gamelon orchestra, and the characters singing/speaking many lines…overall, I think I liked this performance the best…though maybe that was b/c it was easier for me to figure out the good guys and bad guys, and figure out the story line…most of these performances are based on stories from hinduism, and a lot have to do with 'good' winning the battle over 'bad'…
the next morning I got on another bus, and headed to the beach town of sanur…according to the guidebook, it is sometimes given the nickname of 'snore"…it's a beach town, and the beach is great, but it's nothing like the party towns over on the west coast…there are a lot more all inclusive resorts in sanur, and there is no party scene in town…there is also a reef that protects the beaches, so there aren't waves coming up to shore in nearly the strength level as there are in kuta and others…I laid out on a chair, and kept expecting someone to come up and charge me for using the chair, but it never happened…I still don't know if the chairs belong to the resorts, or locals out to make a buck…my two days in sanur consisted of very little…laying out on the beach, reading and talking to the other folks staying at my hostel…there were a couple french couples, and they let me join them in conversation…which meant that it was mostly in english, but I used what french I know, and I was able to follow a decent amount of what they were saying when they were totally in french…there was also a dutch family, traveling through indonesia on a 6 week trip…their son does tae kwon doe back in holland, and when he found out I live in korea, he proceeded to count to ten for me in korean…very cute…another bus back to kuta for my last two days…more time on the beach, foot massages, relaxing and a whole lot of shopping…I hadn't been buying much during the trip unless I knew I couldn't get it anywhere else, cause I didn't want to have to haul it around the whole time…I didn't buy much though, my biggest (combined) purchase throughout the trip was all my postcards…
the last night was kinda sad…we knew we had to fly back to korea, and we didn't want to go…no one ever wants to go back to the real world after a good vacation…we had a night flight, so we had all day to do whateva we wanted before heading to the airport…the line to check in at the airport was the slowest line I've ever been in…amazingly slow…there were four counters open for this one flight, and none of them seemed to move…ugh…after chekcing in, you have to pay the airport "passenger service fee" which is really an exit fee…I wonder what happens if someone doesn't have money when they get to the airport…when I am traveling I often try to end up with no money, and I would've been w/out money if I hadn't remembered my previous trip, and known that there is an exit fee…it didn't even look like they took credit cards, though I'm sure they would if it was necessary…it's about $10 a person, which ends up being a LOT of money when you think about all the people who go through that airport…I wonder who gets the money, and what is done with it…that part was esay, as was emmigration, and whateva else…we took off late, (not that I noticed, I was asleep long before the plane took off) and landed in seoul 7 hours later, back in the real world…
but at least I got a tan:)

garmisch, DE; kaprun, AT; corvara, IT

Back in february I traveled to europe…it was the first time I had gone back since I left germany, back in march of 2004…I was super excited to go back, for what was supposed to be a ski trip…I traveled with my friend josh (who, since he is no longer speaking/communicating to me, is no longer my friend) and said that if we're going all the way there, we HAVE to start with a couple days in garmisch, germany…I really wanted to show someone new how awesome that town is, how great the people are, how much i loved my life there…
our trip started with a flight from seoul to hong kong…then hong kong to london…(a really expensive airport, by the way)…then london to munich…when we got to munich, we found out that josh's ski bag didn't make the entire trip with us…after giving an address for the airline to deliver the bag, we took off for the hauptbahnhof (main train station in munich) and from there to garmisch…I'm sure I had the biggest grin on my face as we stepped off the train in garmisch…it's a beautiful town, in a valley in the alps…for those of you who haven't been there, I highly recommend going anywhere to see the alps…gorgeous mountains…go figure, this was one of the worst winters in years, at least for people who are into snow sports…it hardly snowed…we checked into haus lilly, which should sound familiar to all of you gappers…her prices have gone up over the years, but in general, she's still got a good place…
the first night in garmisch, we went to one of the best places in town…(at least, most afrc'ers would say it is)…zirbel…we met up with the girl I'll be traveling with next year, she and I got caught up on all the gossip…I'm sure josh was rather confused most of the time…it was great to see her, and I can't wait for our upcoming trip…josh and I had intended to watch the superbowl at a local bar, but with the time difference/jet lag, ended up crashing at 2200…(which I guess is a perfect time to go to sleep if you are trying to adjust to local time that is 8 hours different from where you started)…the next morning I dragged josh to the px…for most people, going to a regular grocery store isn't an exciting experience…but if you've been living in korea, with no access to many american products, it's quite exciting…do you know how long it's been since I've been in a commissary? ages and ages…and a sports store with clothes that fit me? even longer…we ran into quite a few people I remembered from my time in garmisch, it was great to see them all again…I didn't think I knew that many people still, but I had forgotten that garmisch has a way of sucking people in, and they stick around for far longer than they originally intended…next up was a tour of edelweiss…it was only half built when I left garmisch, so I'd only seen pictures of the completed hotel…we walked over, and walked in…saw more people I hadn't seen in years…I surprised mike beard by running across the lobby to him…of course he proceeded to give me a lecture on informing friends when I plan to come visit…hee hee…anywho, he gave us a tour of the new hotel (I guess it's not that new anymore,) both front of the house and back of the house…it's quite impressive…though I will always refuse to stay there, just out of principal…(anyone who has ever worked for that company will understand)…we set up plans for the evening, and went back to take a nap…we (i) had intended to eat dinner at my favorite place in town, bei marcus, but it was closed…it wasn't the ruhetag, I never did figure out why it was closed…oh well…after dinner (at la baita) we headed up to the cure, and met up with chaffin and beard…soooo good to see the two of them again…lots of stories to rehash, lots of gossip to catch up on…I hadn't seen them for three years, but the conversation never stopped…graham even remembered me, which was shocking…it had been years since he had seen me, and he didn't even know i was in town until i walked in the door and he greeted me by name!!...(a good bartender always remembers his customers, I suppose)…after a few drinks at the cure, we went down to the heisman…(now called the underground, as christof owns it, but I still think of it as the heisman)…more people I was super happy to see…smitty, bobo, jen price, tripp…smitty is awesome, as anyone who has ever known him will agree…he knows how to live life…josh and I were tired, and hadn't intended to stay long, but we left as christop closed the bar at 0100…
the next morning we got a call from the hotel that josh's ski bag had finally been delivered, which made him happy…we walked up to the kaserne to rent a car, and happily discovered that jake worked there part time…as we took care of all the paperwork, he and I caught up on life…drove back to haus lilly to check out and grab our stuff, then over the edelweiss to get josh's skis, then over to the hausberg to rent skis for me…I got to talk to lynne (one of my former bosses) and looked for shred, but he wasn't there…(go figure)…
anywho, after collecting everything, we hopped back in the car, on our way to kaprun, austria…we drove through the fernpass, which is absolutely beautiful…josh must be a halfway decent driver, cause I didn't end up carsick, despite all the windy roads…at some point I fell asleep, and while I was asleep josh missed the turnoff…whoops…so basically we went a wee bit farther than we wanted, but oh well, it's a beautiful area, we didn't mind too much…we finally made it where we wanted to go, and after quite a bit of searching found a hotel…too expensive, but we decided we'd suck it up for a night, then find somewhere else the next morning…josh spent the evening waxing his skis…the next morning we put all our stuff in the car, checked into a different hotel, then put on all our ski gear, hopped onto the ski bus (free)…it'd been ages since I had worn ski boots, so I was definitely feeling it and my balance was awful…(not that that is anything out of the ordinary)…josh had never skied a glacier before, so that was where we went the first day…kitzsteinhorn glacier…I'm not experienced enough to notice, but josh noticed a difference in the quality of the snow between korea and austria…hee hee…josh is a much more experienced/qualified skier than I am, so I was surprised when he stayed with me most of the day…I wiped out numerous times, but that was expected, and I didn't get hurt, so it didn't matter…a totally excellent first day on the slopes in three years…I was dead tired, but had that high you get at the end of a great day…the hotel we had checked into included half board, so we didn't have to go anywhere for dinner…great food…the first night was fondue, and there was a bayerisch band playing traditional music…our room was split into two areas, a living room and bedroom, and the bathroom had heated floors…and a bathtub!!! I know that for most of you that doesn't sound exciting, but most apartments/houses in korea don't have bathtubs, and you don't realize how much you like them until you don't have them…
the second day of skiing was the most adventurous day…we went to a different lift area, in a town just outside kaprun, called zell am see…our ski pass covered this area as well, it was an area with runs all the way down to the valley…(though with the crappy winter, the bottoms of the runs were crap)…it was the first time I had skied two days in a row in I don't know how long…I realized how out of shape I was when I had trouble making easy turns right from the start…but I kept going…we took a few pictures, and then halfway down the fourth run, I fell…at first I thought it was just like any of my other falls, and started checking my body as I slid to a stop…my face was okay, as were my arms and legs…or so I thought…I realized that my left wrist wasn't feeling quite right, and that closing my left hand didn't feel so good…then the pain hit…I lost both of my skis in the fall (don't ask how I fell, because I have no memory of the fall itself, other than i know i was by myself, no one else was involved) so those had to be found and brought to me…fortunately, josh wasn't too far ahead of me when I fell, and he happened to look back up for me not too long after I fell…he told me later he realized that something really bad had happened when he saw me sitting there with my gloves off…(I hadn't taken anything off in my previous falls)…then he saw my wrist which was at a bit of a funny angle, with a large bump in a place bumps aren't supposed to be…a ski instructor got to me before josh, and balled up some snow to put on the wrist…josh got there and helped me get all my stuff, then we pizza wedged all the way down to the lift…all I had to do was show the lifties my wrist (I was crying too hard to be very coherent) and they knew I needed to go to the hospital, so they called an ambulance to meet us at the bottom…the ambulance ride was only 25€!!! waayyyy cheaper than in the states!! I arrived at the hospital, then the waiting began…quickly enough they ushered me into an exam room, and there I sat for what seemed like foreva…I really don't know how long it was, as I didn't have a watch…and since my wrist was in constant pain, time seemed interminable…they took x-rays, which (surprise surprise) said that I had a broken wrist, as well as a dislocation…fun fun fun…after the x-rays, there was more waiting…a whole lot of it…yet again, my ability to tell time wasn't so good at that point…they moved me into another room, put my arm into some sort of contraption, shot me up with a very nice painkiller (it didn't just kill the pain, I felt absolutely NOTHING, I couldn't even tell I had a wrist) and proceeded to pull until the dislocation popped back into place…then they set the broken bone, and put me into an open cast…gave me a prescription for painkillers (which didn't do anything, as I unhappily found out later that evening,) had me sit around some more just for good measure, then finally let me go…paying for all of this wasn't so fun, but I'm too much of a goody two shoes to skip out on such things…while I was going through all of this, josh had taken a cab back to the hotel, gotten shoes for me (we were both in ski boots) and driven back to the hospital…I felt bad for him, as it was basically a lost day of skiing…drove back to the hotel, and I started whining…(at that point, I was a big baby, and felt I was entirely justified in whining about anything)…I was mad that my wrist was broken, in a lot of pain, and mad that I wasn't going to be able to do much of anything for the rest of the trip…zipping my coat ended up being a huge challenge, there was no way skiing was going to happen again…dinner that night introduced me to the fact that being one armed SUCKS…I couldn't hold my plate and put food on it at the same time…I couldn't cut my food…getting dressed before dinner was awful…tying my shoes, putting on my pants, brushing my hair, putting on a shirt, you get the idea…try doing all of this w/out using one arm, and you'll know how I felt…I don't like being helpless…josh had to do everything for me…and to his eternal credit, he was a total gentleman about all of it…(he teased me, but it was funny, not mean)…for the rest of the trip, wheneva we ate in a restaurant, people around us would ask what happened, and I would tell them I fell while skiing, and they'd feel sorry for me, while laughing and applauding josh for cutting my food…
the next day josh went skiing, I stayed in the hotel room (what else was I going to do??) watching tv and reading and trying to keep my mind off the pain…(it didn't work well, I'm glad I was alone, as I was a complete baby)…fortunately, the world ski championships were going on in are, Sweden at the time, so there was something for me to watch on eurosport…the welsh open for snooker was also taking place…lets just say I watched a whole lot of both of those for the rest of the trip…josh had fun skiing, I did a lot of reading…after josh's day on the slopes w/out me, we decided to drive back to garmisch and drop off my equipment, since I obviously wasn't about to be using it again…saw more people, they all said "don't you know you aren't supposed to fall?"…hee hee…we had dinner that night with helmut and Jamie, two more fabulous people…the following morning at breakfast, someone asked us in the breakfast room where we were planning to go…we didn't really know where we should go, so we asked him what he thought…(turned out he was a guy who was a volunteer each weekend in garmisch)…he suggested corvara, italy, so off we went…first to an internet café to get directions…guess what, there are four towns named corvara in italy…and go figure, we printed off directions to the smallest (and wrong) one…after going over the windiest mountain pass ever, we arrived in corvara (the wrong one) only to realize our mistake…apparently this mistake has been made before, b/c a lady in a guesthouse knew where we really wanted to go, and quickly gave us directions…after more driving through some beautiful vineyards and such, we finally arrived in corvara (the right one)…walked into information about 5 minutes before it closed, and were able to get info on where we could find a room…corvara is a ski town…nothing but guesthouses, restaurants, and a few sport shops…nothing else…we found a guesthouse, got dinner somewhere, and settled in for the night…the next three days, josh went skiing during the day, while I watched tv…(snooker and skiing anyone??)…at some point during each day I made my way through town, checking the daily menus for many of the restaurants, and deciding where we'd eat each night…corvara is in northern italy, german is still used as much as Italian and ladin, so I had no problem being understood…it was great for me to discover throughout the trip that I remembered more german than I thought I would, and was actually able to communicate w/out much English…corvara was cute, josh had fun skiing for 3 days…
on josh's last day on the slopes, I went to the doctor in town to have my wrist x-rayed to make sure everything was okay…(the doctors at the hospital told me I needed to do this)…go figure, everything was NOT okay…according to the x-rays, my wrist hadn't been set properly…the doctor told me that I'd have to have it reset if I wanted to be sure to have my full range of motion when it healed…definitely NOT what I wanted to hear…howeva, he said that I would be flying very soon, he didn't think it would be a good idea for me to have it done that day…or at all before I flew back to korea…ugh…so he wrote a note saying that I was okay to travel (apparently some airports don't want you getting on a plane with a hard cast) and put it in all the paperwork I was collecting…
the next day we drove out of town, all the way up to Frankfurt germany, from which we were flying home…flew out a day and a half later…a couple layovers, and there we were, back in the land of the "not quite right"…
okay, that's the end of the trip…despite the broken wrist, I loved it…I loved being back in Europe, I loved speaking german again, I loved seeing some of my old friends again…I like my life in korea, but I loved it in Europe…
we arrived back in korea during the lunar new year, which means that just about everything is closed…only the emergency rooms of hospitals would be open…so I had to wait two days to get to a doctor…I went to an international clinic, and they took x-rays again…told me that yes, it should be reset, but they were afraid it might have already started to fuse again…I said I'd have them attempt the reset anywho…they gave me a painkiller, but it did nothing…as soon as they started working on the wrist (two doctors) I started kicking…IT HURT…the volunteer translator guy held down my legs while the nurse held my head and other hand…I have never screamed that loudly…it was the worst four minutes of my life…horrible horrible horrible…I yelled/screamed/cried the entire time, and it was another two solid hours of crying before the pain subsided enough to be tolerable…I'm pretty sure I've never been that miserable…
to make a long story only a wee bit shorter, the cast came off two months later, and I'm totally fine now…I want to go skiing again, but I'm still a wee bit scared, ya know?