Thursday, December 22, 2005
a long awaited update...can finally sit down to write it out now...haha:)
let's start with my korea trip:
i din get to step a foot, not evn a toe into seoul at all! we were trapped in chuncheon the entire wk!! anw, abt 2 days b4 i was to set off for korea, i came down with fever. and i thot i'd recover by tues...but i turned out to be awfully wrong!! on the day of the plane ride, my fever got worse!! it was terrible!! i tried calling ms tammie ho to see if i could still pull out now at the last min and get a refund...but she couldn't do anything abt it...so i got onto the plane nonetheless...the motion sickness pill din help at all!! haha...i practically vomitted my way there!! everyone ard me had to donate their vomit bags to me:( luckily, the vomitting stopped aft i got off the plane...managed to survive the equally treacherous journey up the mountain slope w/o throwing up at all...such an accomplishment!
aft tt, it was juz 4-5 straight days on the mountain slope!! haha...and since we were trapped on the mountain, there was juz trees, trees and more trees ard us...no shopping malls or places of interest...the closest we had was a supermarket which was naturally one of the hotspots amongst us...pretty pathetic...but the next few days were really fun...everyday was juz jam-packed with skiing and snow-boarding activities at the slopes...the food was atrocious though...we felt like animals...shan't bother elaborating...and the ymca-in-charge was a selfish ass...haf totally, absolutely zero, mayb evn negative respect for him!
the j2s opted for skiing lessons, and cos i was a minority who wanted snowboarding, it was juz, flow with the majority. the j1s-there were only 2 of them, haha- and ips chose snowboarding instead...and i'd haf joined them if only i knew a single soul from the group!! so i was stuck with skiing for the next 3 days...the 1st thing we had to learn was how to brake, obviously...and despite the umpteen practices we had with braking and twisting our feet awkwardly inwards to obtain the A-shape for braking, none of us can claim to be quite an expert at it yet!! haha...the first time we got to the top of the slope, the gentlest slope ard mind you, many of us were still sliding off the slope, desperately, but nonetheless, unsuccessfully trying to stop ourselves from falling further. i collided with this other j2-i think it was brenda- and thankfully, she was tall and leggy and fortunately, managed to master the skill of braking!! tt was my first, forgettable trip down the slope...it was freezing cold too!! though we weren't informed of the temp on the slopes, the first day was -15 deg C!! and the next few days of some unknown but def more neg temp were evn colder!!
the ski lifts was a whole new experience. many of us were gawking at it...haha...sounds like some mountain tortoise...each lift could accomodate up to a max of 4 ppl. my first attempt to get onto the ski lift with 3 other j2s proved a disaster!! haha...the 1st girl-i was 3rd- fell, and somehow, we were too slow for the lift and it was knocking us down like dominoes!! with some assistance from the ski workers, we managed to get onto a ski lift...juz when we thot our ordeal had ended, there was another obstacle coming right up...when the ski lift reached the top of the slope, we had to make a mad dash to clear while the ski lifts threatened to steamroll us...i'd prefer to call it inexperience...when we landed, somehow, someone tripped, and like a domino, we all fell!! desperately ducking from the ski lifts, i nv felt so little b4!! haha...getting pushed ard by the stupid ski lifts...but tt was the 1st, and hopefully, the last time i'll ever get pushed over by the ski lifts!!
the next few days were real fun. the instructor always stopped us midway along the slope to impart some skill to us...and we all ended up crabbing up and down the slope, walking sideways along the slopes to prevent ourselves from slipping downhill...anw, me & xin got bunked into the same room with the 2 j1s and 2 ips...the 3rd or 4th day was designated for skiing from day to afternoon to night...so aft skiing in the morn n afternoon, i decided to give a hand at snowboarding...trying to fulfill my unfulfilled wish i guess..haha...ms ho swapped her board with my skis. then i got the j1s to teach me how to board. aft getting to the top of the slope and immediately aft strapping the board onto my feet, i skidded downhill once more!! and the board kept picking up speed! i did the most logical thing to stop the board...haha, fall down!! oh man...i fell down countless times tt night!! both backwards n forwards...my bum is still on the route to recovery now...i really admire the snowboarders and their resilent bums. how did they manage to endure countless falls on their bottoms for so many consecutive days? anw...i managed to pick it up tt night...which is simply miraculous!! haha...i dunno how i managed to do it too...but tt night, i discovered tt the 2 j1s were both from my sis's class...haha...wondered why i din bother asking them abt their class earlier?
tt was the last time i had a go at the slopes...the next day was time to go downhill and meet our homestay families:) back to my sis's classmates cum roommates-joanne & weiwei, j&w in short-i'm so glad to haf those 2 ard...they provided much needed entertainment ard the room...if i got bunked with the j2s instead, i'd haf been bored to bits!! haha...j&w are your typical sc gals, though none of them came from sc...the entire while, they always had their hands filled with helping each other apply lip balm, moisturizer, eye drop, etc...they'd evn specially go up to the room to get their lip balm aft lunch...that night tt we snowboarded together, i got to know them so much better...and though i'm really grateful tt i got to know those 2 bimbos, i really wished we had met earlier. maybe i'd haf opted for snowboarding instead of skiing in the beginning den? not tt i dun like xin, but somehow, i get along v well with j&w but not as well with the other j2s; while xin gets along superbly with the other j2s! maybe it's also cos we're spending so much time tgth tt it's becoming an overdose, such tt there's nothing much left to be said betw us. you really get exposed to other ppl's real character only aft staying tgth; its a diff side you see when you meet them on a day-to-day basis for instance.
anw, moving on to the homestay, i got paired with xin-more friction- our host families were really hospitable. they took real gd care of us and treated us to scrumptous dinners!! the 1st night, we had this ymca dinner...buffet-style...endless supply of food...me & xin began pigging out & the father got the wrong impression tt we had v big appetites. they prepared a huge breakfast for us the next morn, and sadly, we couldn't finish the food to their disappointment. that night, we had jap food for dinner...it was a treat from one of the father's students i thk...haha...we occupied 2 tables with the elder son & his gf, the father's student & his 2 daughters...by some twisted fate, i got stuck at the table with the father's student & his 2 daughters while xin got to sit with the elder son & his gf & e father...the elder son & his gf pigged out once the food arrived, while the father's student barely touched his food!! it was terrible, cos i din dare eat too much and too quickly too, lest i appear impolite. xin was gloating at my pathetic state...haha...i so much wanted to switch places with her...then, we got served 2 HUGE, n i mean it, HUGE HUGE HUGE plates of sashimi!! haha...xin's fav...plus the elder son & his gf, they finished their plate v quickly while mine hardly moved!! in the end, those 3 finished our sashimi as well!! haha...great eaters...the elder son's gf-ean hye- stayed with us on the 1st night...she was really really cute!! haha, produced tons of comic relief...the host family taught us how to play their traditional flower cards, and the father even gave me a set when i asked them to bring me to buy it, heh heh:) anw, ean hye was like a big sister to me n xin...always ard to care for us & make sure we're well taken care of...i miss her the most...
funny thing was, when me & xin asked them to bring us shopping, they brought us to the supermarket instead!! it was huge, undeniably, almost as big as carrefour, but it was opp to wad we imagined it to be...haha...and we weren't the only ones who ended up doing supermarket 'shopping'!! haha
the homestay lasted for 2 days only. but somehow, i felt sadder parting with them than with caijie, my taiwan fren. i stayed with caijie for almost 2 wks. yet i felt little, or almost nothing while parting...however, i could really sense the unwillingness to leave when the time came for us to board the bus for the airport...sigh~
okez, back to sg...juz a short, maybe not tt short, but still a summary of my korean trip...a wholesome experience...learned a lot of stuff, opened my eyes wider to the world n ppl ard...
oh, n i forgot to add, i DIN DIN DIN vomit at all, not even once! on the plane back to sg!! i'm super proud of tt!! lol:)
the slack one went to rest at 2:13 AM
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