The Korea Series - Ending the old with something new

As with most things, my athletic abilities are rather mediocre. I find I'm a pretty average person, well-rounded person. I have the knowldge of an average person, my capacity to learn is that of an average person and yes my strength in sports is shock - average. (factor a)

In addition to the averagity (is that a word?) of my demeanor, I grew up in Buffalo, NY. This cold, snowy city is not only one of the flattest cities in NY, but also America. (factor b) This formula - a+b = c. C is the fact that I have never skiied before. Of course, I had ample opportunities in Plattsburgh. But, when the cost of one day of skiing equals how much my bi-weekly paycheck was - the idea of possibly breaking bones as opposed to having gas money, beer money and participating in other hobbies seemed not so appealing.

So, on my second morning or third day in Korea; I was awaken by Corey. It was New Year's Eve and I was out to try something new. We were going skiing! Staggering still half drunk, I packed my bag with all the warm items I bought at the markets the day before. I hoped that I remembered everything; still in my carefree, drunken hangover - Corey and I descended from his apartment to meet his two friends outside in the cold but sunny morning.

We caught a few trains to get us to where we needed to catch the bus that would transport us 3 hours from Seoul. Shortly, I was introduced to many others that would be joining us for the trip. We all marched onto the bus. I had really wanted to utilize the three hours to see the countside of Korea. My exhausted body prevented my curious eyes and mind from seeing much . I managed to wake into consciousness and peer through my window a few times throughout my trip.

Small mountain ranges provided relief from the monotany of the rices paddies along the way. The rural Korean towns and villages were randomly scattered. The shining sun enhances the colors so it all looked as beautiful as I had expected it to be.

It felt more like one hour, not three and we reached our ski resort. It turns out the group we were in was rather large. Decisions were made and shortly we were headed to our shelter that would ring in the New Year's. Cheap is good. Being carefree and flexible is almost a prerequisite for cheap travel. We reserved two rooms from a Korean style hotel. The plan of attack was sleeping eight to a room.

By room, I mean an average space with wood floors with enough futons for everyone if we slept two people per futon. After arranging everything, we grabbed lunch from a delicious Korean restaurant. (see Korean food blog for more)

After a sobering lunch, we returned back to the mountain. We had a large group that needed ski/snowboard rentals. Thankfully, there was a patient girl with us who had to translate for nearly all of us.

It wasn't before long that I resembled a handicapped Stay Puft Marshmallow Man with my bulky pants, jacket and learning to walk in ski boots for the first time. These awkward boots impeded my movement along with carrying two heavy skis across a busy street. Our group was so large; again pictures were taken for Marketing purposes (4th time since living overseas). Our lift ticket began at 6:30. I tested out my legs in skiing while Corey explained some of the basics to me.

According to someone in our group, New Year's Eve is the most popular day to ski. This was quite evident with the business of the mountain. I went down the bunny hill; trying my hardest not to kill everyone in the way.Corey decided the best way for me to learn was just to get out on the slopes. A successful start with the ski lift ended when I fell nearly 10 seconds after being on my skis. Thank God for Corey because I was popping my ski's off and falling into positions that I couldn't get myself out of. He showed me a few things and most importantly was very patient with me.


I made it down once, only to go back up the same trail. I improved slightly, getting more of a feel on what I should be doing. Learning new things at the age of 23 hinders the speed of improvement at new challenges. I would get the feel for skiing, gain some speed and then freak out. My panics always resulted in crash landings all over the slope. My safety rationale always prevented me from feeling safe while going that fast not inside a moving vehicle. Irregardless, I had still progressed some more. My third run would be on a new slope.

At this point, my bones and muscles hurt and my gloves were soaked through. Worse though, my bravery was slowly dissipating. I made it down and called it a night. Corey had been so tolerant, helping me each time I fell; I wanted to give him the opportunity to ski by himself.


After skiing and returning all our equipment back to the rightful owners - it was time to have some dinner. We ate at another Korean restaurant - and this is where we rang in the New Year's. Across the street from us was the ski resort that lit off fireworks when the New Year's began. My first time not watching the ball drop on television. Rather, I was having an unforgettable New Year's in Korea watching fireworks explode in the sky.



After dinner, we stocked up on alcohol and snack to bring back to our crowded hotel room. We played a few drinking games in a very large circle. I was having a great time, but starting feeling the sleepy effects of alcohol. I was just about ready to crash when Corey woke me. We went into the kitchen since everyone else decided to go to sleep. We played "dice". Evens, I drink; odds, he drinks. We're creative. Finally, we crashed onto our futon,; enjoying the way Korean's heat their buildings- from under the ground.
The following day; we hung around the ski resort and headed back to Seoul. It was too late to do much when we arrived, so we just went around for some drinks and researched a lot of statistics about Seoul on his computer. I tend to ask too many questions and we both wanted to know the answers.

Next blog: on my very own tour from a local Korean family.