The English-speaking teachers from work and I went skiing together at a nearby resort two weeks ago, generously paid for by the school. As those of you that know me understand the paradox that I am (Coloradan non-skier), it might be a surprise to hear that I actually did pretty well for myself on the slopes. The man-made, perfectly smooth, fenced-in, Korean slopes. But ski slopes nonetheless! Having received some basic instructions from one of my coworkers who was born with skis on his feet, I navigated the beginner course pretty easily and was doing just fine on the
"advanced" courses by the end of the first day. I say "advanced" because they were not as terror-inflicting as I remember the advanced courses being at a real ski resort in Colorado. I was right in the middle of the skiing ability range of the group. The top being the aforementioned coworker, and then there were some who were new to skiing and snowboarding. Katherine mastered the Bunny Slope after two solid days. Her fright at the top the first time was priceless. Her fright each subsequent time was not as amusing (though I was laughing inside, catherine). And Lucas, I think, got the hang of snowboarding. I'm not sure though, because we lost track of him during the one day he was with us, assuming he was on his own learning to 'board, and, when I went back to the room to change, he bursts in, drunk as hell on cheap whiskey. Fellow Yalie, did I mention?
The resort was nice, as most luxuries in Korea are. The nicest part of the resort was the part dedicated to video games, as is true in any part of Korea. Grace, the Korean-American girl in the bowling photo (whose eyes look dark and soulless), challenged me to a video game duel to see who could last longer at Time Crises, the shooting game where you step on a pedal if you want to hide and reload. Considering my video game history of beating Area 51 with a single quarter, my impressive score on Deer Hunter at a local New Haven bar, and my unbreakable self-confidence, I laughingly accepted the challenge. And, not fully understanding the importance of the pedal to hide myself, I was quickly eliminated. I stand humbled.
The resort's bowling alley was nice, though both games we played resulted in my team's lopsided defeat. Whether this flip of the bird was brought on by my having bowled a strike or gutter ball, I cannot remember. The only reason we "won" one of the games was due to a horrendous drunken miscalculation of score by the opposing team. There was also a ping pong room, which I did slightly better at than bowling, and, yeeeees...bumper cars! While waiting in line, I picked out the car I wanted from the fracas: a powerful twin-engine death cab, as I imagined it, being driven by a five-year old and his mother. To my surprise, none of the people playing seemed to understand the point of the game, which, 
to my understanding, is to inflict maximum whiplash to a driver who is trapped and, preferably, doesn't see you coming. Only one of the cars was slowly lurking outside of the fray in the middle, biding its time patiently, crashing in wrecklessly only when the moment presented itself. That car was the mother and her little kid. Smart mom. So I jumped into their car when it was my turn. The three of us guys agreed secretly to corner the two girls and pound them into pulp, but, as may be expected in bumper cars, the plan was forgotten after 10 seconds of action.
Last stop of the night was the Karaoke room. This is now my third time at one of these places. It's not a public karaoke machine at a bar like in the States; you rent an individual private room for you and your friends to drink and sing. Now, karaoke is a big thing in Korea, and I really want to absorb the Korean culture, but I am just atrocious at singing. Even when drinking and karaoke-ing (which is the only way to do karaoke, here and everywhere), I still can't do it. So, I sang a couple songs, became frustrated at my continued inability to keep a tune, and sat back to listen to the professionals in the group do it. And I guess the very last stop of the night was actually a 5 am ski trip down the Bunny Slope.Not much else to report. The only reason I have pictures this time is because other people were thoughtful enough to bring cameras. I've been telling myself for months that I would purchase an I-pod and a new camera, but you know me, I've foolishly squandered all my money on hookers and drugs (am I kidding grandma?). In the meantime, I'll be trying to think of some activities to keep my mother and sister distracted, er, entertained when they get here near the end of next month. Looking forward to it!
