starting out at Centum City

'tis a year of ' firsts' and yesterday was no exception. 
Along with 8 other foreigners we have met through running races, Tim and I set off yesterday on a PUB RUN!


We met at Centum City Subway station with the plan of heading west and doing a large loop of Busan, stopping every 2-3km for a drink, either at a pub, bar, or a convenience store - if needed.   The route was planned by non-other than our running parents:  Ian and Kylene. 


We left the subway station on foot, some dressed as Santa, some dressed as ajummas and ajashis ( older Korean men and women) and some just dressed as foreigners ( me ). 


We hit our first stop after about 2km, which turned out to be a department store.  Luckily, drinking in public is 'ok' to do, so we settled down on some benches and had our first 'cheers' to kick off the run in Suyeoung. 

The following stops were in Kyungsung at a beer bar, at a Mega Mart in I don't know where, and then we finished things off at Thursday party in Gwangali before taking the Subway to a new 'Irish Pub' in Haeundae. 

Interspersed between these stops were a few physical challenges, using the many outdoor gyms along the running paths.  Included in the challenges were:  sit up competition, piggy back sprint, wheelbarrow sprint, and straight up sprint. 

wheelbarrowing

Kylene the machine has proven herself as the team's resident sprinter. We will be sending her to the IAAF championships in Daegu this August. 


After we were fed (burgers for some, all day breakfast for others), we made our way down to the norebang (Karaoke room) in the basement and had our own private dance and sing party. 


This was my first norebang experience, and I must say that I'm impressed that with such a wide range of ages, personalities and musical tastes, no fights broke out over song choices. 

yes, tamborines are provided.

The tally for the day was: approximately 5 hours of running, covering approximately 10 km.... no break-neck pace, but definitely one of the most fun runs I've ever done.


A big thank you once again to Kylene and Ian for making it happen!


The day made me love Busan, a city where we can run safely and count on food and drink no matter where we end up - what more can you ask for? 


It has been brought to my attention that my blog has turned into a 'running blog' more than a Korean blog... which I can't really deny. 

I guess that one thing about moving to a new place is that you learn quickly which things are a part of you and which things are just a result of your environment.  I have learned that the things I have gone out of my way to seek out are the things that are really important to me, no matter where I am, and running has definitely turned out to be one of those things.  


Truthfully, we have not done much 'cultural exploring' lately, and things just seem to get more normal every day. 


In the work realm:


The kindergarten kids are practicing for a recital that we will have in February.  It is a pretty big deal for the parents, so the kids actually already have most of their lines memorized (remember, they are 5 or 6 years old).  


In January, our school's schedule will be changing so we will have slightly shorter days and 40 minute classes instead of 50 minutes - a VERY welcome change.  


I have been trying to figure out the Christmas deal here.  It seems that though a lot of the kids have Christmas decorations in their houses, and get Christmas presents from 'Santa', none of them really know what Christmas is about or why we celebrate it.  I find it really strange, but in reality there are probably a lot of western kids who don't know anything about it either. 

taking myself way too seriously in my new winter coat.

The weather has been getting colder this week, usually about 0-3 degrees in the morning and 10 or 12 max in the afternoon. Our apartment is freezing, and the only built-in heat source is 'ondol' heating which comes up through the floor.  We have a small space heater but I'm skeptical about its efficiency....
I am really hoping, wishing and praying for snow, but the kids tell me it's useless: 
" teacha!! Busan, no snow! Seoul yes snow.''


Guess it's time to plan a trip to Seoul.

I'm half-Korean.