Adventures - {Danyang paragliding & skiing}

{I believe I can fly... I believe I can touch the sky.} -- space jam


So this one day... I went paragliding with Sarah and her co-scholar. Sarah's teacher couldn't go so she asked me to go instead. According to Sarah, paragliding is when you are attached to a boat and are flying in the air. So, I sort of thought that might be what we are doing, but in winter? So we get to the Danyang bus terminal (yes, where James lives - the place with the caves) and we get into a car with a random Korean man and start to drive. Along the way I look out and see the FROZEN river down below us. I lean to Sarah and say I don't think we are going to be pulled behind a boat. She says "I am NOT jumping off a mountain!' Little did she know. We keep driving along and then part of the river wasn't frozen. Ok, so maybe that is where we are going to do this boat, flying thing. BUT then we started headed UP the mountain. I leaned back over to Sarah and said, um Sarah there's no rivers up a mountain. We are going to be jumping off of it......

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ed3079oi5vplhqz/GOPR5983.MP4
(link to my video!!)





and sure enough that's just what we did! WE RAN RIGHT OFF A MOUNTAIN.





We got up there, signed our life away in some little trailer sort of thing, got matched up with our Korean 'pilot' and headed outside. I decided to pay the 20,000 Won (20 dollars) to be able to take a video, since my dad bet me 5 bucks that I wouldn't do it; I needed proof. (but due to technical difficulties, translations, not being able to speak korean, some combo of these things - it took me awhile to get the video but I got it.. link above). We got outside and my pilot started putting all sort of clothing things on me. I got a flight suit thing and some gloves and a helmet. Then I got all kind of wire things attached to me complete with a seat thing that hit at the back of my knees. He handed me the camera attached to a long stick and then explained, 'when in sky put camera here, then arm here and then switch hands and that arm here.' That was the extent of my instructions. Should I have been more nervous? Probably. But I was relatively calm for some reason and trusting of that Korean man that was going to escort me off the mountain. I then watched Sarah run off the mountain and proceed to float downward. Then it was my turn. I got the instructions, 'run and don't stop running.' Um, ok? Just keep running? And then stick my arms in between the straps. That's all I have to do? Ok... fine.

So he pointed me in the direction he wanted me to go and then said 3,2,1 GO. I 'attempted' to start running. It was not much of a run. More like a slow motion running motion. It's hard to run when you have a parachute and a Korean man attached to you. (but I guess easier than having an 'supersized' American guy I suppose. I'm not sure if he was running as well - or if I was pulling him? I just tried to keep running and then all of a sudden there was no more ground and I was flying. I sat back in my chair thing - that was attached to me, did the arm thing and we were off. I was flying. I could see the river (where we were going to go 'paragliding' and the mountains in the background) it was beautiful. It was a pretty clear day, so I was able to see a lot. The only bad thing, was the COLD. It was freezing. I couldn't feel my hands after about 2 minutes and I was basically crying the whole time from the biting cold wind pounding my face. I had to keep moving the video around to show the view, and me and everything. After about 10 minutes and a huge turn it was time for landing. My instructions - 'feet up'. Ok, I guess I'll put my feet up... so that's what I did and he literally landed us on the ground. LIke my chair landed flat on the ground. Perfect. We got up, took some photos, got into a car with all our things and headed home. It was that easy. Like nothing had even happened... but it DID. I JUMPED OFF A MOUNTAIN!


AND if that wasn't enough. I also skied down a mountain 2 days later. 




{Skiing: the art of catching a cold and going broke while rapidly heading nowhere at great personal risk.} -- unknown. 

So Thursday and Friday (Dec. 20th and 21st) was our P.O.E. trip - where all the TaLK scholars and co-scholars come together and go on a trip. We left Thursday morning and hit up a music museum - got to learn how to beat on some drums and learn about the history of music in Korea. Then we went wine tasting. The sweet ones are the best (in my opinion). I ended up giving most of my sample to my friends! But after wine testing we got to soak our feet in hot hot hot water - well at first it was. It was that bitting hot since my feet were so cold. The water was a nice rosy color, which we think is because we were soaking our feet in wine. Oh Korea. 

view from the place we ate breakfast.

We then headed to get dinner and to the resort for sleep. The resort was beautiful and warm, had 2 bedrooms (but of course only one bed, because ya know Koreans love to sleep on the floor!) and 2 bathrooms, a T.V. with more channels than days I've taught in Korea :) -- WITH ENGLISH ONES! It was like Christmas for me! Sarah, Tina (my co-scholar) Minhee (Sarah's co-scholar who went paragliding with us) and Diana (who also lives in my building) were all in the same suite. All our friend hung out and did things, we just sat in the warmth, watched movies, and got ice cream. It was a great relaxing night. 

Sarah, Naomi and I all bundled for skiing.

The next day was SKIING. Ok, so how good am I. Hmmm I've been once and let me tell you my first time skiing was a disaster (I think). My first time down the hill (the bunny hill) I went straight down, fell of course, landed on my back and my skies flew in the air, as the people watching said 'oohhhh'. Sweet. Fail. I got a bit better, at least at not crashing although I had NO idea what I was doing as none of us (my 3 siblings) had ever been and had not gotten lessons that day. We decided to 'figure' it out on our own. The next big fail was when Andrew and I decided to ski down the actual mountain and go on the ski lift. We fell getting off the lift. FAIL. Like immediately went down at the same time. I should have just rode the lift right back down at that point. After 230948 times of falling, and even falling OFF of the ledge of snow (in NM and there wasn't much snow), getting asked by passerbys if we were ok, scooting down on my butt, keeping my skies crossed... I FINALLY made it down. I said, 'never again.'



Well, yeah. oops... I did it again. But this time I got the lesson, although I regret that as they basically just taught me how to put on my skies and then how to fall (which ok that's good to know I guess) and how to get back up without taking your skies off - which was way harder than everything else. After like 1.5 hours of doing nothing I decided to be a rebel and take my friend Sarah and 'ditch' the group (which I guess is a sin here since they freaked out when I told them I was going to go down the bunny hill - they didn't really want me to go, but I said 'um I'm bored, I'm going.') But this bunny hill had a ski lift... which was terrifying! I had only been on it once and I was 0 for 1 with them. Sarah and I got on it ok and made it to the top, lifted our skies like the Korean man said, and skied right around towards the hill! I DID IT! We high fived and headed down the hill and right in line again. It was so fun, and much easier this time around. 1. because I had done it before 2. the hill was less steep and 3. I had much more confidence and wasn't as scared. 



After going down a few times the entire group came over (who had been going down a 'hill' basically as tall as me, over and over and over again - one at a time, and headed down the hill. They all waited at the top for each other. Sarah and I came off the lift and I wanted to go... the instructor said 'Ok, go.' As I started down the hill I could hear him say.. 'ohhhh'. Like wow, you know what you're doing. Yes, sir that's why I was bored. I'm not an idiot. I can figure out how to stay up and make it down a slight incline! (But I was glad I impressed him!!) 

Sarah and I, the rebel skiers, at the end of the day.

That afternoon we had to head out because we were getting hammered with snow. Seriously, it would switch from rain to snow and back again. One time it was raining snow I think. We were also told it was too dangerous for us to ski while it was snowing.. oh Koreans. I was soaked.. to my britches - literally. So I was ok with leaving. One thing I don't do... wet underwear. I will do most things, try anything, eat anything, hold/touch weird animals, but wet underwear NEVER! Ok, done with that rant. Don't worry I had a dry pair. Only bad thing about leaving a mountain in a snow storm -- the roads are bad and it will take you literally 2 hours to make it NO WHERE. (we were still in the town we stayed in after 2 HOURS!) But we made it home and it was a great way to finish up the year with all my TaLK friends!