The Traditional and Not.so.Traditional Gyeongju

After our relaxing morning at around Geumosan we decided it was finally time to catch a bus and make our way to Gyeongju.  The bus ride was quite enjoyable considering we were two of maybe 8 passengers, it's nice being able to travel in the middle of the week. Normally on my trips to Gyeongju I fear having to stand or, like last time, have an ajumma half sitting on top of me. My mom didn't enjoy how the bus drivers "play games" with the aircon but none-the-less the ride was smooth and we were soon in Gyeongju, but unfortunately so was the rain.  We found our self a nice cheap motel, obviously a major step down from the previous nights accommodation, and made our way out to explore the city. 

Livin' the Good Life

Thanks to my awesome staff I was able to sleep in Wednesday morning, oh wait no that's right, my internal clock hates me so I was wide awake at 8am. Not knowing what to do with myself I went for a quick morning run before coming back to get ready for the day, and skype with my Dad.  I left my mom sleeping as I energized myself for the day, running alongside the elementary students going to school, ajusshis heading out to their crops and powerwalking ajummas, good morning Buksam. 

Bring Your Mom to Work Day

After our busy weekend in Jinju it was time for the real fun to begin, time for my mom to come to school and meet the people who've become my second family. I left her to sleep in Monday morning giving her more time to get ready (in my shoe-box sized apartment) before being bombarded by my students and staff family, all 750 of them. After brief introductions in my office it was time for lunch, where I must say my mom got lucky, only spicy food on the menu was kimchi, and discovered that she loves quail eggs. We were done before the kids came down so back to the office we went, but only briefly, before I paraded her around the hallways to meet everyone.  Shouts of hello, lots of giggling, a few I love you's, and of course many students hiding behind each other is what my mom was met with. As I introduced my mom I could tell she was instantly falling in love, and who wouldn't?  

Some of my girls from class 2-1

Running like the Energizer Bunny

Fast forward two weeks and it's time for race number 2 - this time upping the ante a bit and going for the half marathon.  Honestly i'm not sure what I was thinking but I guess it is something that has always been in the back of my mind - on my bucket list. Especially after surrounding myself with runners - like my friend Peter from La Crosse who ran multiple marathons and always told me "just train, you'll get better at running and it'll be easy. I didn't believe him at the time seeing as I was lucky to run two miles, let alone 13.  I did find my love for exercise at La Crosse but running and I continued to have a love / hate relationship. Come Junior year another friend of mine, Jeremy, once again spiked my interest in running but I didn't seriously considered doing a marathon - sure I toyed with the idea but never got much further than that.  Jump ahead a few more years, find me living in Korea, this time friends with Charles who also told me "oh they're easy, you can do it".  I again shook it off and continued with my light jogs and yoga - but then one day the energizer bunny must have been hiding in my shoes because I could just keep going. Okay so back to the point...I did it, my first half-marathon is done and in the books, success. 

But you have to keep reading for the story behind it