Not Sprinting but Lifting Kimchi

Now that my right leg radiates excruciating pain whenever I run, I've been out of the running game for a week.  Too bad, I haven't been living up to my blogs name, though I have been eating tons of kimchi.  To replace my running I've substituted weight training and lots of stationary biking into my routine.  Instead of sprinting for kimchi I've been lifting Kimchi.  Seriously, instead of lifting iron, which everybody works out with in the world, here in Korea they lift heavy bags of kimchi at the gym.  Actually, no they don't but that would be funny if there was such a gym in Korea that did replace iron weights with bags of Kimchi.  Ugh, just imagine the smell, gross.  I enjoy the smell of Kimchi but bags and bags of Kimchi in a hot sweaty gym?  Putrid.

While I'm on this Kimchi tangent, I'll tell you all how I get my Kimchi these days.  When I first arrived to Samcheok I would go to the super market and spend 7,000won on a 1kg bag of Kimchi.  It tastes pretty good but it's not cut and 7,000won is kinda expensive.  Well, one day my friend suggested to get it at the open market from one of the 할머니's (Grandmas) because the Kimchi is cheap and outta this world.  Now I've been wanting to befriend a Grandma here so she can cook me Korean food but my efforts have come short.  Now, I go to this one little old lady in the back of the market and get my Kimchi wares from her.  Let me tell you for 5,000won I get almost 1.5kg of the best Kimchi I've tasted.  I've been sold, this ladies my new Korean Grandma.

Anyway back to the exercising, I've forgot the rush that lifting gives me.  It's quite different from the rush that one achieves while running.  I could spend days comparing the two with a fine tooth comb but I'll spare everyone the pain.  To summarize lifting usually makes me feel warm and fuzzy like a warm blanket was rapped around me while running makes me feel as if all of the demons and negative thoughts have temporarily exited my body.  Both sure make me positive and chuggin' on all of my other endeavors.  Exercise fuels my body much like food does, or at least that's how I perceive it.

화이팅! (Fighting!)

This post, and the following short detailed posts, will describe my experience running a marathon here in South Korea because it has been different from my past running experiences.  Also, it's pretty entertaining.

Ok, don't worry, I haven't been getting into fights here.   "화이팅! (Fighting!)" was a phrase yelled at me hundreds of times during my marathon run and I'm sure I, or any foreigner, could have been confused.  My first experience with this Korean Konglish (Korean-English) expression was watching Korean dramas.  I was quite confused when the girl would smile, hold up her fist and yell what seemed to sound like the word fighting to her boyfriend.  As I heard the phrase more often I began to realize that it is a phrase of encouragement, like "You can do it!"

The cool thing was to see this expression in action during the marathon.  Many of the spectators would simultaneously hold up their fist, crouch down slightly and bellow out "화이팅! (Fighting!)" as if we were the soldiers running into North Korea to take over the capital Pyeong Yang.  It didn't stop there.  Many of the other runners also held up the signature fist and yelled "화이팅! (Fighting!) to the runners straggling or to the older gents running as a form of encouragement and praise for challenging themselves to a marathon.  I even got in on the action and responded to the encouragement from the crowd and other runners.  Many of the spectators would either chuckle or applaud my response to them.   Yes, I was maybe 1 of 5 runners who were foreign out of 1,000's.

Personally, "화이팅! (Fighting!) as an expression is a good form of encouragement.  The phrase embodies the challenge and the fight to finish, the endless drive to keep going and not give up.  In English we might have "You can do it!" where to me there seems to be a challenge but just accomplish it, don't fight for it.  It is also easier to say "화이팅! (Fighting!) than "You can do it!" while running and I was more inclined to yell it to the other runners, as it took less precious oxygen.

The next time someone I know needs some encouragement for a big interview, is down in the dumps, or just needs a little pick me up, don't be surprised if I hold up my fist and yell "FIGHTING!" in your face.

First day of Teaching Adventure

First day of school started out with a interesting twist.  

6:30am and out for a run to my school and back.  The weather this morning was really beautiful compared to the last four days of rain in Samchok and in Seoul.  It's quite common, from my month of observation, for Korea to be cloudy and dismal looking in the morning, however, the sun poke out behind white marshmallowy clouds.  Like Jochiwon it takes about a mile in any direction to go from city to absolute country.  When I say country I mean a few houses, loads of mountains, fields of rice and visual beauty.  The apartments buildings also dwindle in frequency past the mile or so mark out of the city.  It took about 45 minutes to complete the 6 mile loop and other than the humidity and lack of shoulders or sidewalks to run on, Samchok is a nice place to run in.  I have to get back into running my long runs 10+ up to 20 miles and have to find ways to overcome the lack of places to run.  It'll just take a little bit of planning and a little repetition of running in the same areas to get those runs in.

After my run is where the adventure begins.  I got ready by 8:30am and didn't have to be to school until 11am for many reasons.  First impressions are important and the head teacher made it clear that the last scholar was sometimes late and she hoped I was on time and not hung over all the time.  Hoping to catch the bus early I got out before 8:50am but didn't find the bus there.  Waiting until 9:40 for the next one I found the 14 bus that goes by my stop.  I got on the bus but the bus driver said he doesn't go to where I want to go.  That's weird it says on the bus time table that he does.  Maybe he didn't understand my Korean.  Anyway I was a little bummed to wait until 10:10 for the next bus to show up, but a white guy in a taxi stopped by and asked where I was going.  Now seeing another anglosaxon such as myself in Samchok is a rarity.  I think there's maybe 10 white foreigners here though there could be more.  He quickly noticed I was new and saw I might need help and let me catch a ride from him.  I found out he is from Georgia and has been teaching in Korea for a couple of years and enjoys teaching out in the sticks. I finally made it to my school and got ready for my first class.  Wait, I greeted a 할라버지 (grandpa aged guy) right next to my school and he asked me where I was going.  I told him I'm going to Miro as I am the English teacher there.  He was confused and told me my school was further away.  I repeated myself a few times and he finally understood.  He was cute.

I greeted my co-workers and the vice-principle as a good foreign teacher should and then started to prepare for my class.  The previous scholar said he finished chapter 8 and I should pick up on 9.  I got all prepared then met the students.  There are only 8 (-1 for today) in the 3rd grade and they were really excited to see me.  Herro teacher!  You big!  I was very thankful to have their home room teacher assisting me as he informed me the kids started on the second part of chapter 9 and I wasn't really prepared for that.  It's also necessary to say that the book is mainly in Korean that I'm teaching out of so I was a tad confused, though I use a cd that is projected on the board.  This is a regular class so I have to do that with all of the regular classes.  The after school classes which are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are activities that I design.  I'll also teach kindergarten kids on Tuesday which will be of my choosing.  Watch out little kids you'll be doing a lot of songs with some guitar backing!  

Other than finishing my introduction for my after school classes, I'll upload pictures from the weekend in Seoul and maybe take a stroll and take some photos of my running routes.

Training for Korea

In an effort to get my blogging to be more balanced, I'll talk about my training for the marathon in Korea.  Last week I completed 53 miles which includes an 18 mile bike ride.  It seems like I'm well on my way towards acheiving my goal of under 3 hours and 10 minutes, but yesterday while running I cut my ankle on what looks to be dried blood on my shoe.  I didn't know that dried blood could make a shoe sharp but it sure can.  Staying healthy will be my main priority because I can't let this boo boo to snow ball into an injury that could put me out for a while.  I'll have to buy new shoes this weekend because I'll never find a size 13 in Korea and the shoes that I have currently are worn (way more than the 400+ miles suggested usage).

The runs and biking could not be better, however.   Although the country has a lot less to keep me visually and kinestetically occupied, I have the opportunity to unwind.  In Boston I was too wound up and stressed from everything that is happening around me.  There are so many people driving, walking and so many buildings compared to here.  The 22 mile bike ride I went on today was so relaxing mentally.  Seeing the corn fields dotting the hills and the lone houses in the middle of no where give my brain enough time to process my surroundings.  The clean air also aids in my ability to comprehend my thoughts and to focus on my training.  The hills here are everwhere and are challenging especially on a bike, but I seem to always have a clear enough mind to focus on pushing myself up them.  I couldn't be any happier that I'll have the chance to transition my training from the countryside in the US to Korea.

I still can't fathom what it will be like to run in Korea.  Running in Japan was such a treat visually that I wonder if I will feel the same way.  All I know is that I'll use my training to my advantage to explore the many finer outdoor details Korea has to offer.

Am I there yet?