Are we crazy?!

If you think about it, the idea of skiing is rather odd. We strap some glorified popsicle sticks to our feet, keep our hands busy with some sticks, ride a plank to the top of a groomed mountainside, and try to make it down to the bottom without killing ourselves.... then there's snowboarding.

The same insane idea, but with a tongue depressor and no poles to even give the misconception of stability! Today, our school took a "snow day" to a local ski resort and in the spirit of trying new things, I strapped a snowboard to my shaky legs and worked my way down the bunny hill repeatedly. It was more like throwing myself down the hill, but the falls became a little more graceful as the day progressed.

I can now say that I've tried snowboarding; and on the final run I managed a couple good turns, and ended with a pleasant back-edge-slow-to-stop instead of the wipe-out-to-stop option I'd been forced to use all day! In return for my day of hard labor at learning a new skill (btw, you can rent snow gear, but not coordination!), I'm now the proud owner of limbs that won't move without complaining violently! The funny thing is, the legs aren't that sore, it's the arms-- each fall equalled a couple mighty push-ups to get me back on my feet again!OOOOWWWWWW!!!!!! Although it was counter to everything my tailbone was telling me, I joined the others in yoga as a finish to the body-thrashing day; I had to sit out a couple of poses, but it was very therapeutic overall.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Taejon (a couple hours south by bus) with a friend who is having an interview and I'll see a new little piece of Korea after our half-day of concerts and fun to wave good-bye to our first semester. Can you believe it? The school year is half over!

Putting my sore body in bed now... I'll leave the snow sports to others until I can find a bucket of coordination on the black market somewhere!