I DID SEOUL, BUT I'M NOT A SOLDER
I went up to Seoul on a solo mission to run a marathon on Dec 17th. I decided to crash Seoul a day early to check out some of the cool stuff in one of the biggest cities in the world. I really had no plan I was just goin with the flow. This is a short explanation of some of the crazy crap I saw on the busy day...
1- Fingering out the Seoul Subway system is in many ways like doing a Sudoku puzzle and I'm not going to lie to you... I have never did a Sudoku puzzle!
2- after cracking the Secret Seoul Subway System Code I booted it down to Insa-Dong, an area that is popular for its art galleries, tea houses, and some old traditional buildings and architecture. Soon as I peaked out of the subway exit, I was bombarded my a fusion of old and new buildings-
What really caught my eye was a giant Bell Tower with Korean Dudes equipped with traditional outfits and sick weaponry from back in the day! I managed to get there exactly at noon to witness the ringing of the bell ceremony. Basically It when t like this... A dude screams something in Korean, other Korean dudes bangs on drums for a little bit, all the Korean dudes march up the bell tower, they scream more, they use a striker to hit a bell bigger then my apartment, It's so frickin loud that your eyes go blurry, you can feel your brain shake around in your skull and your ears feel like they're growing bigger then your body!
3- After the Bell Tower I decided to check out the only head Buddhist temple that is located in the middle of a city, Jogyeasa Temple. It was blizzard to see such old and traditional architecture of the Buddhist temple overshadowed and engulfed by massive skyscrapers and modern office buildings.
4- After increasing the peace at Jogyeasa, I hulled down to Insa-Dong Gil (Dong means area or neighbourhood and gil mean street or road). This street is a long passenger street that has many narrow allies filled with little shops. First, I stumbled into a building that had a Andy Worhol Society Exhibit... It was kindda like dropping LSD... the off the wall, zany art engulfed this building that twisted and turned up like a building in a Dr. Suess Story. I snapped a few pictures of some of the crazy crap!
5- When I left the art gallery I found myself caught in a reenactment of the Traditional Korean Wedding Parade. People were jumping out of the way of the horses that lead the parade of drummers, dancers, percussionists, and the wedding party down the narrow, twisting street. I manage to follow the parade and catch the wedding ceremony that was even translated into English so I could understand it.
6- I had numerous pots of tea in a Korean Tea house, met Erin and ate 2 plates of pasta at a shody restaurant- then it happened.... It snowed and snowed and snowed.... big, heavy, almost fake looking snow flakes filled Seoul's night sky.... and coated Seoul in a wet heavy coating of Christmas White... My body was sore from a full day of sightseeing with my heavy backpack, I was full of pasta, and it looked like I would be doing tomorrow's full course marathon in the wet thick snow. I found a hotel by the marathon course, and crashed for the night... little did I know that the beautiful snow that had painted Seoul in White would lead to my demise in the marathon the next day...
7- I ALMOST DIDN'T FINISH THE MARATHON!!!
The Han Gang (gang means river) Marathon's course took place entirely along the river's edge in Han River Park. This river is the most famous river in Korea. It has played an important role in Korea's history as it is almost 1 Km wide and it runs right through Seoul. It is also the location of Korean's highest grossing Movie called Monster (its about a monster that lives in the Han river and kills a lot of people).
Anyway, the weather was probably around -8 C when the marathon started- there was also a cold wind that blew right through my thin running gear. When the marathon started I just let myself take in the majestic winter atmosphere, I noticed that my body was a little sore from the long day yesterday but I just ran through the discomfort. I was running at a good pace, and really enjoying the feeling of running through the slippery, wet snow... The course was great until I realized that it was one of those courses where you actually run the same course as the half marathoners then turn around and run the same course again... this is in many ways like a sick joke to marathoners who have ran 21 KM then have to turn around and see the same crap again... It's Kinda like a more painful version of the Bill Murary movie "Groundhog Day"!!! At the halfway point my time was at about 2 hours so I was on pace to finish the marathon at around 4 hours... which would have been my personal best then about at the 23KM point it happened...
My leg slipped on the ice and jerked my right knee out... It happened so fast and it didn't really hurt at the time so I regained my composure and continued to run... about 10 Km later the pain was almost unbearable... and was only getting worse... my jogging turned to limping, and then to a painful hobble... I though about quitting because of the pain and I was a little concerned about long term damage... but I just couldn't give up.... as my pace got slower and slower my body was unable to keep warm- the cold wind turned my warm salty sweat into a chilly coating that turned my hands and face purple...
Finally I limped across the finish line... at the time of 5:00...
In the past weeks I have did much to heal my body up and I'm ready to start training for my next full marathon at the end of January.
Don't Quit
Quitting is for Quitters
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Pics From My Solo Mission to Seoul On the Weekend of Dec. 16-17
#1- A Crazy Building Downtown
#2-A Dragon at a head temple downtown Seoul. This dragon is struck by monks to pay respect to the creatures of the sea and to rid the temple of evil (note the skyscraper in the back ground).
#3- Seoul has a mix of the trendy and new with the traditional.
#4- A Traditional Soldier in Dress performing the traditional bell ringing ceremony on the biggest and loudest bell I've ever seen or heard!
#5- Me and Bell Ringing Korean Dude.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Late Merry Christmas and Early Happy New Years!!!
I was so damn busy the last few weeks that I didn't get to wish everyone seasons GRrreetings so here it goes...
Merry Christmas to ...
my mom- I definitely missed her Christmas Hugs and Cooking- especially the damn awesome ninnimo squares and deliciously scrupmtious apple tarts!
my dad- so I heard their were 4 batches of nuts'n'bolts this year!
brother- mainly for teasing my dad about burning or eating too much of the nuts'n'bolts!
My dogs (Ginger and Bief) for always being happy and trying to sneak some ordurves from the living room table when no ones looking.
My Beautiful Girlfriend Alissa- for just being so hot, cool, and awesome all the time!
(O.K. I already wished those people a Merry X-mas over the phone but the next people are brand new XMAS shout outs)
Alania, Karli, all the foreign teachers in China, and all the University Administration in Shenyang- Your generosity and warm Christmas Spirit made me feel like family over the Christmas Season!!! You Rock!!! (Yes, that right, I went to China for Christmas!!!)
Fuchs- For partying extra hard over the Christmas season- I'm sure this hasn't changed this year!
the Fuchs Family for putting up with Fuchs extra hard partying!
Goose- Quack-Quack- I have a message for you- Your girlfriend really misses and loves you!
the Harrison Family- I regret that I couldn't make it to your Christmas Party and say something completely stupid this year... maybe next year!
Lake- For always laughing and getin real wrecked over Christmas!
Jesa- For all the Christmas Hugs and good vibes you send. And for always helping put my ten sets of Christmas icicle lights on the ceiling of the apartment... I missed that this year... YOU ROCK!
Mark- For always drinking with me late into the night and for all the simple conversations we have when were there. Ohh yeah... and for always helping me move my crap into and out of my apartment.
Greame- For your zany humor, blunt conversations, and all the late Christmas Nights in the past. Hope your still keepin it real!
Cori- For your extreme kindness and of course your Christmas baking.
Zerr- For all the ridiculous things you do and say- and all the Christmas drunkenness! And all the wild parties you throw this time of year!! "Why you so crazy!!!"
To Stella- for all the "STELLA" things you say.
the costella family- for having us over for a fest everyyear- and of course the cookies.
To Tony- For the fun partying and for putting up with Zerr every day... that takes talent!
To Tera and Jill- For putting up with Tony everyday.
Tower for schooling me on the Fooseball table every Christmas while I'm half cut!
Chris and Jo- I really missed your Christmas partying and swank ass wine drinking!!! Ohh and doing all the fun couple stuff together, and the dirty conversations we always seem to get into at your apartment (why does that always seem to happen?)
Fanta- For actually leaving comments on my blog and for being so dang sweet all the time!
Rachelle- For sending me that Christmas Card Computer Internet thingy- It really really really made me smile when ever it popped up thank you for putting me in the spirit.
Joyce- I'm still talking about the Cali trip.... The Koreans love the stories from that trip!!!
Rene - For all the positive vibes -
Sarah - for being so funny and for putting up with your crazy Auntie
The Fesser Family- For raising such a beautiful daughter and putting up with her "I Miss Matt" everyday.
Stonge- ... (silence is where Jeff works his magic)
To all the Cvep Staff and all my old co-workers at the Ranch- I guess I missed out on the billion Christmas parties that are thrown there every year!
My Grandmother- Merry Irish Christmas Greetings.
To the rest of my family on both sides- I miss spending the holidays with your hospitality, cooking, and conversation.
To all my friends in Korea- I'll be ripin it up with you soon.
To All the Korean Teachers- (Stephanie, Jamie, Silver, Jerry) Thanks for all the smiles and Christmas Cheer at work all the time!
And to All the people that I have unknowingly left off this list... I'm sorry I forgot you... I assure you that I am still your friend and I still care about you ... I'm such a Dushe Bag... I can't believe I forgot you!!!!
I was so damn busy the last few weeks that I didn't get to wish everyone seasons GRrreetings so here it goes...
Merry Christmas to ...
my mom- I definitely missed her Christmas Hugs and Cooking- especially the damn awesome ninnimo squares and deliciously scrupmtious apple tarts!
my dad- so I heard their were 4 batches of nuts'n'bolts this year!
brother- mainly for teasing my dad about burning or eating too much of the nuts'n'bolts!
My dogs (Ginger and Bief) for always being happy and trying to sneak some ordurves from the living room table when no ones looking.
My Beautiful Girlfriend Alissa- for just being so hot, cool, and awesome all the time!
(O.K. I already wished those people a Merry X-mas over the phone but the next people are brand new XMAS shout outs)
Alania, Karli, all the foreign teachers in China, and all the University Administration in Shenyang- Your generosity and warm Christmas Spirit made me feel like family over the Christmas Season!!! You Rock!!! (Yes, that right, I went to China for Christmas!!!)
Fuchs- For partying extra hard over the Christmas season- I'm sure this hasn't changed this year!
the Fuchs Family for putting up with Fuchs extra hard partying!
Goose- Quack-Quack- I have a message for you- Your girlfriend really misses and loves you!
the Harrison Family- I regret that I couldn't make it to your Christmas Party and say something completely stupid this year... maybe next year!
Lake- For always laughing and getin real wrecked over Christmas!
Jesa- For all the Christmas Hugs and good vibes you send. And for always helping put my ten sets of Christmas icicle lights on the ceiling of the apartment... I missed that this year... YOU ROCK!
Mark- For always drinking with me late into the night and for all the simple conversations we have when were there. Ohh yeah... and for always helping me move my crap into and out of my apartment.
Greame- For your zany humor, blunt conversations, and all the late Christmas Nights in the past. Hope your still keepin it real!
Cori- For your extreme kindness and of course your Christmas baking.
Zerr- For all the ridiculous things you do and say- and all the Christmas drunkenness! And all the wild parties you throw this time of year!! "Why you so crazy!!!"
To Stella- for all the "STELLA" things you say.
the costella family- for having us over for a fest everyyear- and of course the cookies.
To Tony- For the fun partying and for putting up with Zerr every day... that takes talent!
To Tera and Jill- For putting up with Tony everyday.
Tower for schooling me on the Fooseball table every Christmas while I'm half cut!
Chris and Jo- I really missed your Christmas partying and swank ass wine drinking!!! Ohh and doing all the fun couple stuff together, and the dirty conversations we always seem to get into at your apartment (why does that always seem to happen?)
Fanta- For actually leaving comments on my blog and for being so dang sweet all the time!
Rachelle- For sending me that Christmas Card Computer Internet thingy- It really really really made me smile when ever it popped up thank you for putting me in the spirit.
Joyce- I'm still talking about the Cali trip.... The Koreans love the stories from that trip!!!
Rene - For all the positive vibes -
Sarah - for being so funny and for putting up with your crazy Auntie
The Fesser Family- For raising such a beautiful daughter and putting up with her "I Miss Matt" everyday.
Stonge- ... (silence is where Jeff works his magic)
To all the Cvep Staff and all my old co-workers at the Ranch- I guess I missed out on the billion Christmas parties that are thrown there every year!
My Grandmother- Merry Irish Christmas Greetings.
To the rest of my family on both sides- I miss spending the holidays with your hospitality, cooking, and conversation.
To all my friends in Korea- I'll be ripin it up with you soon.
To All the Korean Teachers- (Stephanie, Jamie, Silver, Jerry) Thanks for all the smiles and Christmas Cheer at work all the time!
And to All the people that I have unknowingly left off this list... I'm sorry I forgot you... I assure you that I am still your friend and I still care about you ... I'm such a Dushe Bag... I can't believe I forgot you!!!!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
How Korean Birthdays Go Down
It was my friend Stephanie's Birthday on Friday. She invited all of the teachers at the school out for lunch at the Sea House for all you can eat western style seafood buffet. I packed my stomach full of many different types of sea food. It was deliciously delicious! She followed the normal Korean protocol on Birthdays in Korea... It goes like this...
1- The birthday Girl (or boy) decides where they want to go and invites their friends the place of their choosing.
2- They only invite the people that they really want to come because in Korea it is tradition that the Birthday Girl picks up the bill!
3- It is customary to give money as a gift if you are invited or bring a cake. Since cakes are not easy to come by, as it is not that common to have an oven in your apartment, most cakes are bought at one of two popular chain stores that are located within 5 or ten minutes walking distance from anywhere in Korea- Dunkin Donuts or Paris Baguette. These cakes pretty much look like the cakes in Canada but usually they are much smaller. Although they look the same they sure don't taste the same. Everything western in Korean tastes a little off- cake is no exception. To me the cake taste like they loaded up on the butter and there is an overall lack of sugar in the icing... but none-the-less it tastes great (like many things in Korea the cake is an acquired taste).
4- In Korea they light the candles on the cake and sing "Happy Birthday" just like everywhere else in the world (I really wonder what nationality invented the song "Happy Birthday", I mean all languages sing "Happy Birthday"... Imagine the royalties if you wrote that baby- cha cha ching!!!). In Korea they have a special system for how many candles are on the cake. The tall candles represent 10 years and the small ones represent 1 year.
Because all of the teachers at the school love Stephanie and because we failed to decide who would buy the cake, Stephanie received 3 bathed cakes!!!
It was my friend Stephanie's Birthday on Friday. She invited all of the teachers at the school out for lunch at the Sea House for all you can eat western style seafood buffet. I packed my stomach full of many different types of sea food. It was deliciously delicious! She followed the normal Korean protocol on Birthdays in Korea... It goes like this...
1- The birthday Girl (or boy) decides where they want to go and invites their friends the place of their choosing.
2- They only invite the people that they really want to come because in Korea it is tradition that the Birthday Girl picks up the bill!
3- It is customary to give money as a gift if you are invited or bring a cake. Since cakes are not easy to come by, as it is not that common to have an oven in your apartment, most cakes are bought at one of two popular chain stores that are located within 5 or ten minutes walking distance from anywhere in Korea- Dunkin Donuts or Paris Baguette. These cakes pretty much look like the cakes in Canada but usually they are much smaller. Although they look the same they sure don't taste the same. Everything western in Korean tastes a little off- cake is no exception. To me the cake taste like they loaded up on the butter and there is an overall lack of sugar in the icing... but none-the-less it tastes great (like many things in Korea the cake is an acquired taste).
4- In Korea they light the candles on the cake and sing "Happy Birthday" just like everywhere else in the world (I really wonder what nationality invented the song "Happy Birthday", I mean all languages sing "Happy Birthday"... Imagine the royalties if you wrote that baby- cha cha ching!!!). In Korea they have a special system for how many candles are on the cake. The tall candles represent 10 years and the small ones represent 1 year.
Because all of the teachers at the school love Stephanie and because we failed to decide who would buy the cake, Stephanie received 3 bathed cakes!!!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Drinkin Mockalee at a Mockalee Joint in Cheonan And then to Bubi Bubi (pronounced Booby-Booby) for Some Pool and Lazer Dance moves...
#1- Me and Erin terrorize Cheonan in our matching vans
#2- Ronnie shows off his Korean manners by respectfully accepting a drink of Mockalee (you ain't losein no documents any time soon with that technique)!!!
#3- Johnny Beating Ronnie in Pool
#4- Kyle pouring Mockalee from a Kettle (mockalee is a Korean undistilled rice wine that looks like milk)
#5- Erin face down in a bowl of mockalee... Gombae!!!
Monday, December 11, 2006
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas In Korea!!!
People who know me know that I really enjoy the Christmas Season... After all, how many other people would put a Christmas tree with lights on top their car just to spread Christmas Cheer!!!
Unlike in Canada, Christmas doesn't begin the day after Halloween here. All the hustle and bustle that this festive time of year brings is completely non-existent in Korea. Also, it is almost a complete absolute certainty that Daegu will not get any snow before the 25th (it's too far South the Koreans say). My Korean Friend Stephanie put it best when she said, "It not an event in Korea".
Below I will share some moments where it felt a little bit more like Christmas in Korea....
Last weekend all the teachers at my school planed a weekend trip to Snowboard at Phoenix Park. I surly thought carving up the sweetest (artificial) powder in Korea would finally get me in the Christmas Spirit. Little did I know that we would encounter what could only be described as a Korean blizzard on our way north to the popular ski and snowboard park... and... of course I almost died ... again... this was actually my closest brush with death since I got to Korea...
After being on the road for about one hour the snow started to fall. Small flakes at first... I was ecstatic because the students that I teach told me that it doesn't really snow in Korea!!! Well they were definitely wrong... as time past the flakes got bigger and bigger and started to pile cover all the trees and coat the road in a white cover that was so typical of the winter roads in Canada. Then absolute mayhem ensued.... KOREANS DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE ON ICE AND SNOW....
CARS, TRUCKS, AND SUVs were sliding, curling, and ping ponging between the cement walls that cover surround both sides of the Korean Interstate!!! It was kinda like we were trapped in a really game of pinball!! Probably the most rank accident that I've ever witnessed occurred as the SUV in front of us spun out, smashed into the cement wall and then slid to the other side of the 3 lane superhighway before smashing into the opposite wall and spinning out into the middle of the road again- facing oncoming traffic!!!
We had an in car snowball fight and things were really feelin like Christmas... finally!
After passing about 7 cars that were smashed in to the concrete- we made it to our destination... just as we parked the car and got out to snowball fight and celebrate that we were still alive the two cars smashed into each other in a head on crash and the cars came literally inches from smackin up our car!!!
The next day it seemed like every 10th car had its bumper hanging off... (check out the pic below).
Never the less I survived, managed to carve up some wicked powder as the storm really dumped the fresh stuff on the hill, and I was filled with new found Christmas enthusiasm!
People who know me know that I really enjoy the Christmas Season... After all, how many other people would put a Christmas tree with lights on top their car just to spread Christmas Cheer!!!
Unlike in Canada, Christmas doesn't begin the day after Halloween here. All the hustle and bustle that this festive time of year brings is completely non-existent in Korea. Also, it is almost a complete absolute certainty that Daegu will not get any snow before the 25th (it's too far South the Koreans say). My Korean Friend Stephanie put it best when she said, "It not an event in Korea".
Below I will share some moments where it felt a little bit more like Christmas in Korea....
Last weekend all the teachers at my school planed a weekend trip to Snowboard at Phoenix Park. I surly thought carving up the sweetest (artificial) powder in Korea would finally get me in the Christmas Spirit. Little did I know that we would encounter what could only be described as a Korean blizzard on our way north to the popular ski and snowboard park... and... of course I almost died ... again... this was actually my closest brush with death since I got to Korea...
After being on the road for about one hour the snow started to fall. Small flakes at first... I was ecstatic because the students that I teach told me that it doesn't really snow in Korea!!! Well they were definitely wrong... as time past the flakes got bigger and bigger and started to pile cover all the trees and coat the road in a white cover that was so typical of the winter roads in Canada. Then absolute mayhem ensued.... KOREANS DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE ON ICE AND SNOW....
CARS, TRUCKS, AND SUVs were sliding, curling, and ping ponging between the cement walls that cover surround both sides of the Korean Interstate!!! It was kinda like we were trapped in a really game of pinball!! Probably the most rank accident that I've ever witnessed occurred as the SUV in front of us spun out, smashed into the cement wall and then slid to the other side of the 3 lane superhighway before smashing into the opposite wall and spinning out into the middle of the road again- facing oncoming traffic!!!
We had an in car snowball fight and things were really feelin like Christmas... finally!
After passing about 7 cars that were smashed in to the concrete- we made it to our destination... just as we parked the car and got out to snowball fight and celebrate that we were still alive the two cars smashed into each other in a head on crash and the cars came literally inches from smackin up our car!!!
The next day it seemed like every 10th car had its bumper hanging off... (check out the pic below).
Never the less I survived, managed to carve up some wicked powder as the storm really dumped the fresh stuff on the hill, and I was filled with new found Christmas enthusiasm!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
More Fun Pics From Phoenix Park...
Explanations in no particular order...
1- View from the gondola
2- Random Korean Dude Duct tape'n a car together... (The Koreans are a very innovative people. I thought only Red Green could master such masterful duct tape'n skills!!!)
3- Sunset on the Korean Interstate while driving back to Daegu.
4- Jerry (the only other foreign English teacher at my school) and Stephanie (a Korean teacher at my school) ham it up in the condo!
Pics from Phoenix Park, Korea's most popular Ski and Snowboard Park!!!!
An explanation of the pictures is in order (the irony is that these explanations may not follow the actual order that these pictures are displayed on my blog)...
1- Morning Sunrise view from the Condo... walking distance from the rental shop and lift.
2- Me...
3- Young (Stephanie's boyfriend) and I at the top of the mountain.
4- Silver (one of the Korean teachers at my school) practicing her robot, skiing skills!!!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Matthew's Body Pays the Price for Personal Best Half Marathon Record!!!!
The week leading up to the Jeonmahyup Half Marathon was not my typical pre-marathon week. Usually I abstain from alcohol and caffeine in an attempt to purify my body and mind. This week I lifted my personal rule I made for myself in Korea- "no drinking during the weekday". It was my friend Jamie's birthday on Thursday (Jamie is one of the Korean English teachers at my school) and I promised her a few months back that I would come out and get really drunk with her crew on her birthday. I made this promise before I even registered for the half marathon, so being a man of my word, I went out and got as drunk as a skunk Thursday---
(Do skunks really get seamed??? Maybe they distill some kinda food found in the forest and when its perfectly fermented they call their skunk friends over to their skunk den and get just frickin sacked off their homemade skunk moonshine!!! But of course no human could ever prove that this actually happens because nobody wants to get close enough to smell the alcohol on their breath, and even if someone was brave enough to get close enough to the skunk to smell their breath, the overwhelming stinky skunk stench would overpower the smell of the alcohol.... so I guess we'll never know!!!)
I cabed down to the university district (Kang Day Buk Moon) to meet them, we went to two pubs and had a fun time. Because I had already lifted the weekday drinking ban this week, I also accepted a spontaneous invitation to go out with my "Korean Tea, Art, and Culture" friends for some soju at a nearby Korean restaurant on Wednesday (I'll give you the deets on this circle of Korean friends in an upcoming blog). It was also a drunkily fun, late night kinda night! So much for purity of the body!
Anyways... My marathon team was meeting at the prison school 8:00 Saturday morning. When the whole team arrived on this cool clear morning, we packed into a few cars and we were off to Gawmi. Gawmi is located about 30 minutes north of Daegu. It is a small town, nestled between short, rolling hills. When we got there I was quite surprised, I saw no buildings taller then 2 stories, the small, old traditional Korean houses were scattered freely and spaciously around the village. The air smelt like what one would expect in a rural farming community in autumn- fresh, clean, and containing hints of farm animals and decomposing autumn leaves. It really had the feeling of traditional rural Korea, it was really beautiful- like nothing I've experienced so far in Korea, and the best part of all... I was going to get to run through it!!!
When we got out of the cars my team congregated at the large tent we rented. The marathon grounds were lively and had a party atmosphere with many tents that were filled with different local groups trying to promote their business. There were also many tents giving away free crap from food to acupuncture to pamphlets.
My teammates and I stretched, and changed into our cool new team uniforms that we just received Friday afternoon. They are made out of silver wicking material, are super soft, and have our team name in white Korean lettering on the front. It says phonetically "Daegu Runnersa Highe". My team decided on a name at a team meeting I was unable to attend, the next day they told me that they had a team name picked out - "Running High". I told them that "running high" is what a small group of health conscious potheads do in Canada, and I suggested an amendment to the name. They agreed that the name should be "Runner's High".
When the race started, I felt great. Conditions were, in my opinion, perfect for racing (it was partly cloudy, and maybe 6 degrees above zero). The course first took me through the small town, the old traditional architecture was really a sight to see. The houses that lined the street were unfenced and the sound of mooing and cock-a-doddle-doing echoed throughout the town. The police that were helping to patrol the course had their work cut out for them- they were doing more to chase the large, fat roosters off the road rather than stopping the non-existent, on coming traffic. Outside the town the marathon course slowly and gently traversed the side of a small, hilly mountain range. The mountains seemed so easy for me to climb... maybe because at the top of every peak their were old Korean ladies dressed in colorful local traditional celebration clothes. They were pounding out an intoxicating, almost hypnotic rhythm on traditional Korean percussion instruments that seemed to penetrate and liberate every aching muscle in my body. The course even weaved beside an old Buddhist temple. It was by far the most beautiful course I have raced on.
As I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:43 I felt great. I waited for and cheered on my other teammates that crossed the finish line, and when everybody finished we went back to our tent, ate some pig head soup, and finished off a whole case of mocklee (undistilled Korean rice wine that looks like milk and tastes kinda like nothing I've ever tried in Canada). After my teammates got a little drunk they proudly stole several boxes of bottle water (see picture) that was apparently left by someone.
The celebrating continued late into the night as we hit up a restaurant in Chilgok, drank more, went to a Noribang (Karaokee Room), drank more, then I went downtown for more partying after my loaded teammates all stumbled home.
The next day I woke up at 2:00 PM, and was surprised at what I saw...
Because my uniform was brand new, and I have never had a chance to run in it, I didn't know where it would chafe or where I should lube. I applied some lube to some areas where I thought it would chafe, but apparently I missed some very important areas!!! (It is a common practice for marathon runners to apply lubrication to all areas of the body that rub or make contact with the fabric of the uniform. The friction created by the fabric rubbing the body over such a long period of time causes painful rashing and can even break the skin).
I had two small rashes under my arms, two giant blisters on my feet, both my nipples had very minor cuts, and to my astonishment...
THE TIP OF MY PENIS HAD A CUT ON IT... OUCH!!!
...
I'm blaming the RUNNER'S HIGH.....
The week leading up to the Jeonmahyup Half Marathon was not my typical pre-marathon week. Usually I abstain from alcohol and caffeine in an attempt to purify my body and mind. This week I lifted my personal rule I made for myself in Korea- "no drinking during the weekday". It was my friend Jamie's birthday on Thursday (Jamie is one of the Korean English teachers at my school) and I promised her a few months back that I would come out and get really drunk with her crew on her birthday. I made this promise before I even registered for the half marathon, so being a man of my word, I went out and got as drunk as a skunk Thursday---
(Do skunks really get seamed??? Maybe they distill some kinda food found in the forest and when its perfectly fermented they call their skunk friends over to their skunk den and get just frickin sacked off their homemade skunk moonshine!!! But of course no human could ever prove that this actually happens because nobody wants to get close enough to smell the alcohol on their breath, and even if someone was brave enough to get close enough to the skunk to smell their breath, the overwhelming stinky skunk stench would overpower the smell of the alcohol.... so I guess we'll never know!!!)
I cabed down to the university district (Kang Day Buk Moon) to meet them, we went to two pubs and had a fun time. Because I had already lifted the weekday drinking ban this week, I also accepted a spontaneous invitation to go out with my "Korean Tea, Art, and Culture" friends for some soju at a nearby Korean restaurant on Wednesday (I'll give you the deets on this circle of Korean friends in an upcoming blog). It was also a drunkily fun, late night kinda night! So much for purity of the body!
Anyways... My marathon team was meeting at the prison school 8:00 Saturday morning. When the whole team arrived on this cool clear morning, we packed into a few cars and we were off to Gawmi. Gawmi is located about 30 minutes north of Daegu. It is a small town, nestled between short, rolling hills. When we got there I was quite surprised, I saw no buildings taller then 2 stories, the small, old traditional Korean houses were scattered freely and spaciously around the village. The air smelt like what one would expect in a rural farming community in autumn- fresh, clean, and containing hints of farm animals and decomposing autumn leaves. It really had the feeling of traditional rural Korea, it was really beautiful- like nothing I've experienced so far in Korea, and the best part of all... I was going to get to run through it!!!
When we got out of the cars my team congregated at the large tent we rented. The marathon grounds were lively and had a party atmosphere with many tents that were filled with different local groups trying to promote their business. There were also many tents giving away free crap from food to acupuncture to pamphlets.
My teammates and I stretched, and changed into our cool new team uniforms that we just received Friday afternoon. They are made out of silver wicking material, are super soft, and have our team name in white Korean lettering on the front. It says phonetically "Daegu Runnersa Highe". My team decided on a name at a team meeting I was unable to attend, the next day they told me that they had a team name picked out - "Running High". I told them that "running high" is what a small group of health conscious potheads do in Canada, and I suggested an amendment to the name. They agreed that the name should be "Runner's High".
When the race started, I felt great. Conditions were, in my opinion, perfect for racing (it was partly cloudy, and maybe 6 degrees above zero). The course first took me through the small town, the old traditional architecture was really a sight to see. The houses that lined the street were unfenced and the sound of mooing and cock-a-doddle-doing echoed throughout the town. The police that were helping to patrol the course had their work cut out for them- they were doing more to chase the large, fat roosters off the road rather than stopping the non-existent, on coming traffic. Outside the town the marathon course slowly and gently traversed the side of a small, hilly mountain range. The mountains seemed so easy for me to climb... maybe because at the top of every peak their were old Korean ladies dressed in colorful local traditional celebration clothes. They were pounding out an intoxicating, almost hypnotic rhythm on traditional Korean percussion instruments that seemed to penetrate and liberate every aching muscle in my body. The course even weaved beside an old Buddhist temple. It was by far the most beautiful course I have raced on.
As I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:43 I felt great. I waited for and cheered on my other teammates that crossed the finish line, and when everybody finished we went back to our tent, ate some pig head soup, and finished off a whole case of mocklee (undistilled Korean rice wine that looks like milk and tastes kinda like nothing I've ever tried in Canada). After my teammates got a little drunk they proudly stole several boxes of bottle water (see picture) that was apparently left by someone.
The celebrating continued late into the night as we hit up a restaurant in Chilgok, drank more, went to a Noribang (Karaokee Room), drank more, then I went downtown for more partying after my loaded teammates all stumbled home.
The next day I woke up at 2:00 PM, and was surprised at what I saw...
Because my uniform was brand new, and I have never had a chance to run in it, I didn't know where it would chafe or where I should lube. I applied some lube to some areas where I thought it would chafe, but apparently I missed some very important areas!!! (It is a common practice for marathon runners to apply lubrication to all areas of the body that rub or make contact with the fabric of the uniform. The friction created by the fabric rubbing the body over such a long period of time causes painful rashing and can even break the skin).
I had two small rashes under my arms, two giant blisters on my feet, both my nipples had very minor cuts, and to my astonishment...
THE TIP OF MY PENIS HAD A CUT ON IT... OUCH!!!
...
I'm blaming the RUNNER'S HIGH.....
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Palgong Mountain
I climbed to the top of Palgong Mountain on Sunday with Jamie (a Korean English teacher at my school) and one of her university friends. It is located a short distance out of town and is accessible by a city bus.
I try to climb a mountain once a week ...
It keeps my mind clear,
and my spirit alive and full of energy...
Plus, it's rad, and totally cool dude!!!
Cowabunga!!!!
Friday, November 17, 2006
ON SATURDAY NIGHT (AFTER I ALMOST DIED), I HAD AN EVEN CRAZIER ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!
After we got back to my pad at about 4 or 5 AM Erin and Mark vanished into thin air (just like Bruce).
But the night was not over. Ronnie and I were on a mission of drunken proportions....
I was going to blog about it but I feel my friend Ronnie did such damn good job on his blog ( www.ronniea.blogspot.com ) I feel that I could hardly add to such a concise retelling so...
1- You must visit Ronnie's blog (link above) if you want to know about my crazy all night adventure.
2- You must visit Ronnie's flicker site ( www.flickr.com/photos/ronniea/ ). To check out a pictorial retelling of the adventure (Daegu). While you're at it you might as well check out the pics of our Pusan adventure last month (Busan)!!!
3- Because I can't leave out my wonderful, party-hardy, friend Erin check out her blog ( www.myspace.com/levylady ) on the goings on that night (she reveals a secret about my dancing)!
Above are some pictures of my late night drunken adventure!!!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
I ALMOST DIED... AGAIN!
Last night my friends Ron from Chanon, and Erin from Pusan converged on Daegu with one thing in mind... HAVING FUN... These are a few fun points from the night of
doin Daegu up right...
Point #1
Aurthur, Mark (my Chillin Chilgok buddies), Ron, and I had a few "gettin juiced up before we hit the town hard" beers while waiting for Erin's train to get into town. The train station is below the biggest, most famous department store in Daegu, The Lotte Department Store. We drank beer on the big stairway that leads up to the posh department store(in Korea you can drink beer anywhere... besides, we have rockstar status in Korea). After we consumed a few beers, a random, old Korean man approached us. This old dude stood beside us for a long time. He didn't really talk to us, he couldn't speak English, he just laughed uncontrollably any time we started to laugh... this would, in turn, cause us to laugh uncontrollably at this laughing dude... and this would trigger an even louder, more out of control laugh from the laughing dude... this crazy, over the top laugh would then cause us to just loose it... and the cycle would continue until our guts hurt. We had lots of fun with this guy...
Point #2
The Monkey... It's the name of the Dance Club we went to. We did it up crazy at this place!
Point #3
The Thunderbird... It's a lounge that's located on the third floor of a downtown building owned by a White Canadian guy that everybody calls "Moose". The lounge is small but if feels like any other bar in Canada... It's a popular hang out for foreigners... and it's my favorite pub to kick it. It even has a foosball table. The beer on tap is Red Rock, a Korean made red ale... it's by far the best beer I've found in Korea but its really hard to find... we hung out there for a while to cap off the night downtown (bars close at like 5:00 AM... pretty much just when everybody leaves).
Before leaving the Thunderbird I felt the needed to pee. I had consumed such large amounts of my favorite brew and I really had to go. Since you can pee anywhere in Korea (I've witnessed a drunk Korean dude, just drop trow and make yellow in the middle of a busy street), since my friends were a little bit a head of me, and since I live so intensely all the time, I decided that it would be fun and "in the moment" to pee out the third floor stairwell window... BAD CALL MATTY!!!
Although, it initially felt so wonderfully relieving, and liberating to dispense such large amounts of urine out a third floor window... the end result wasn't good. Why? Well unbenounced to me, my friends had walked all the way downstairs and were exiting the premises (it was a monster piss OK) through the door that was directly beneath the open window I was defiling! Ohh NO!
Not only did I end up peeing all over my friends that had walked down the stairwell and, inconspicuously, walked into my streaming yellow fountain of liberation... BUT I also ended up peeing over some Bruce Lee, I-can-probably-rip-your-beating-heart-out-of-your-body, Korean Dude... sadly enough, all this occurred as I was completely oblivious to everything that was going on below. A ledge that was extending out from the wall was completely impeding my view... and of course I was completely, absolutely inebriated at this point!
So I finish peeing, zip up, and drunkenly stager down the stairs... When I got to the bottom, my sopping friends are severely pissed off (pardon the pun). But their anger paled in comparison to the red hot fury of "Bruce Lee"... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh SHIT!
Before my drunken ass could even understand why the hell everybody was so mad, I was being put in a "dragon death hold" by Bitter Bruce! He held me with his "fists of fury" and motioned to punch my head off with his "dragon punch of death". But before He could strike, my urine soaked friends intervened and pleaded to Bruce in their best broken Korean to spare my ridiculously drunken ass!
Their skills of broken Korean, and improv acting were quite impressive because they managed to convince "the Dragon" that it was all just a stupid accident. He let me go and disappeared into the night...
The lesson of this story...
Everything you do,
Every decision you make,
Even the seemingly harmless little things,
Effects something or somebody
Remember this wise advice next time you need to pee REALLY bad and there's no bathrooms around!
Last night my friends Ron from Chanon, and Erin from Pusan converged on Daegu with one thing in mind... HAVING FUN... These are a few fun points from the night of
doin Daegu up right...
Point #1
Aurthur, Mark (my Chillin Chilgok buddies), Ron, and I had a few "gettin juiced up before we hit the town hard" beers while waiting for Erin's train to get into town. The train station is below the biggest, most famous department store in Daegu, The Lotte Department Store. We drank beer on the big stairway that leads up to the posh department store(in Korea you can drink beer anywhere... besides, we have rockstar status in Korea). After we consumed a few beers, a random, old Korean man approached us. This old dude stood beside us for a long time. He didn't really talk to us, he couldn't speak English, he just laughed uncontrollably any time we started to laugh... this would, in turn, cause us to laugh uncontrollably at this laughing dude... and this would trigger an even louder, more out of control laugh from the laughing dude... this crazy, over the top laugh would then cause us to just loose it... and the cycle would continue until our guts hurt. We had lots of fun with this guy...
Point #2
The Monkey... It's the name of the Dance Club we went to. We did it up crazy at this place!
Point #3
The Thunderbird... It's a lounge that's located on the third floor of a downtown building owned by a White Canadian guy that everybody calls "Moose". The lounge is small but if feels like any other bar in Canada... It's a popular hang out for foreigners... and it's my favorite pub to kick it. It even has a foosball table. The beer on tap is Red Rock, a Korean made red ale... it's by far the best beer I've found in Korea but its really hard to find... we hung out there for a while to cap off the night downtown (bars close at like 5:00 AM... pretty much just when everybody leaves).
Before leaving the Thunderbird I felt the needed to pee. I had consumed such large amounts of my favorite brew and I really had to go. Since you can pee anywhere in Korea (I've witnessed a drunk Korean dude, just drop trow and make yellow in the middle of a busy street), since my friends were a little bit a head of me, and since I live so intensely all the time, I decided that it would be fun and "in the moment" to pee out the third floor stairwell window... BAD CALL MATTY!!!
Although, it initially felt so wonderfully relieving, and liberating to dispense such large amounts of urine out a third floor window... the end result wasn't good. Why? Well unbenounced to me, my friends had walked all the way downstairs and were exiting the premises (it was a monster piss OK) through the door that was directly beneath the open window I was defiling! Ohh NO!
Not only did I end up peeing all over my friends that had walked down the stairwell and, inconspicuously, walked into my streaming yellow fountain of liberation... BUT I also ended up peeing over some Bruce Lee, I-can-probably-rip-your-beating-heart-out-of-your-body, Korean Dude... sadly enough, all this occurred as I was completely oblivious to everything that was going on below. A ledge that was extending out from the wall was completely impeding my view... and of course I was completely, absolutely inebriated at this point!
So I finish peeing, zip up, and drunkenly stager down the stairs... When I got to the bottom, my sopping friends are severely pissed off (pardon the pun). But their anger paled in comparison to the red hot fury of "Bruce Lee"... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh SHIT!
Before my drunken ass could even understand why the hell everybody was so mad, I was being put in a "dragon death hold" by Bitter Bruce! He held me with his "fists of fury" and motioned to punch my head off with his "dragon punch of death". But before He could strike, my urine soaked friends intervened and pleaded to Bruce in their best broken Korean to spare my ridiculously drunken ass!
Their skills of broken Korean, and improv acting were quite impressive because they managed to convince "the Dragon" that it was all just a stupid accident. He let me go and disappeared into the night...
The lesson of this story...
Everything you do,
Every decision you make,
Even the seemingly harmless little things,
Effects something or somebody
Remember this wise advice next time you need to pee REALLY bad and there's no bathrooms around!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
IT'S A HUGE, GET DOWN, AND GET FUNKY, MONKY PARTY!!!
Then it happens, the monks crack open their instruments and start droppin some mean, bumpin jams!!! They totally rock the place out. The monks start B-boy dancing... (O.K. I just made that last one up). They start their parade down the temple to where there is a grave... thousands and thousands of people join in on the parade... rockin out, chanting, and praying... When they get to the grave of the deceased monks the large crowd starts to go into a peaced out frenzy... everybody is trying to rush the stage so they can bow in front of the graves (RESPECT)... the monks are fighting to control the mop... some of them even had walkie-talkies on and were like bodyguard monks (don't mess with these guys)... the monks did some kinda ritual and offering, then a wave of people flooded the alter... bowing like it was going out of style....
We ended jamming out early because my director had an appointment in town... We had to follow an ambulance just to get out of the jam-packed temple... what a day!
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