Jinju
So there is a big community of foreign rock climbers in
Korea. One friend Ginna from orientation
was among them. She is always inviting me to join them for a climb on the
weekends but I am always busy. So I put aside a weekend to go down there and
climb. Got there Friday night met up with some people and had a relaxing night
playing board games. We knew the forecast wasn't in our favor for the next day
but we tried to stay optimistic that the rain would miss us. Well that didn't
happen. So we met up with a couple other climbers in the area and went to a
bouldering basement. That was a lot of fun. We climbed there for a few hours
they went and enjoyed the town. The next day was beautiful. It was a little
windy but the sun was out and we a little south to a cherry blossom festival
that was absolutely beautiful. The best part was lunch; we went to this place
on the coast and ate oysters. That doesn't describe it; we were given a bag of
just a ton of oysters and a wood-fueled fire to cook them over. There were the
freshest you can get without picking them yourselves. Never did I think I would
enjoy sucking a oyster from its shell, but wow it is delicious, especially with
a little drop of lemon juice. After that it was time to make the trek home. It
was only about 4hours on a bus back to Andong. 
Marathon
I signed up in February for a 10k(6miles) run in Gyeongju.
Which is an ancient city in which I have visited before. I felt that
would give me enough time to prepare for what would be the longest run of my
life. HAHAHA if you know me I am not a fan of running, but I am
always up for a challenge. So I ran 3x in prep for the run. My runs were of 3k,
5k and 7k. And I didn't run the prior 2 weeks before the run. What was I thinking?
The night before I race I stayed in a Guesthouse. This is basically a hotel
room with 4 separate bunk beds so foreigners can have a cheap place to sleep.
It was the first time I stayed in one, when I got there I was the only one in
the 8 bed room. And I expected it to fill up. So I fell asleep with some lights
and the tv on. When I woke up I was still the only one. Which is really awkward
actually but pretty nice. The morning of the race was like 34 degrees when I
stepped outside. I was not looking forward to running at all. But as I reached
the registration area it warmed up. I met up with some friends there to run it
with them. There were a ton of people, and a shocking amount of foreigners. So
the race started and I am in just a pack of people as like most races. As I go
it thins out and I was going at a pace I was very pleased with. My goal was to
get under 1 hour. At about the 7k mark I realized this is not going to be easy.
But I kept going and ended up finish in 54 minutes. And was very happy with my
result but not with the lack of feeling in my legs. One of the coolest things
about this was that back in America one of my closest friends Mariesha was
running a half marathon on the same day. And when we compared times we were
running pretty much the same exact pace. But she ran over twice as far as me.
So you already know my next goal. Time to run a half marathon.
Opening ceremonies
Right after the marathon I had to hurry back to Andong and help
the climbing club. The next day we were having a grand opening for a natural
rock wall we have been working on for quite awhile. This means climbers from
all over are coming to celebrate it. So we camped out there.
But that evening one of the scariest things ever happened to me. I was belaying
the president of the clubs son. He is a 6th grader with no fear. He
was lead climbing. Which is where you clip the rope in as you climb. So the
last spot you clip in is where you will fall to. This was his third time doing
it that night and each time he did it with ease. Everything was normal as he
passed the last clip in point before the top. He was about 6-8 feet above the
last clip and only about a foot from the top when one of the rocks he was
holding onto came off. Next thing I know I am
backing up and “catching” him. He
fall the 6ish feet to the last clip in plus another 4 or so from the slack from
being above it. It wasn’t till the harness jolting him to a stop that he
started yelling and screaming. I immediately lowered him as everyone ran over.
I was just a deer in head lights thinking I did something wrong and hoping he is
ok. But everyone told me how good of a job I did. He was ok aside from bruising from the harness. But they did take him to
the hospital to get him checked out. The next morning he came back, and was in
the first round of climbs lead climbing his way to the top. That fall would
have made the average person to stop and only top rope. But he is one tough kid
and went right back into it. It was great to see him get back on the rock. I congratulated
him as he got down and he expressed his fear as he was reaching the point where
he fell. I can only imagine. That day was a lot of fun, food, and climbing. It
was great. I met a lot of new climbers and was able to climb myself at the
ceremonies. It is great to be so close with them. They are like a second
family. 
Juwang san
One weekend my friend Chris and I led a group of other
foreigners in Andong on a hike. We went to Juwang san. It is a mountain that I had
been before. We decided that since the top there is no view but along the way
there are 3 beautiful waterfalls that we would go to the last waterfall and
just come back. It made for more a long walk. But it was really nice and
relaxing. We went into this big cave like thing which was really cool. I love
jumping from rock to rock and trying to get as high as I can. The waterfalls
were just a tease. I wanted to go and jump in the pools of water below them.
But that is not allowed at this national park. It is nice to show friends how
simple it is to find a nice hike and the beauty of Korea. Many of the ppl who
came had not been to this mountain even though it is only an hour away. 
