The highlight of Thursday was definitely my TKD yellow belt test. I was pretty confident the Grand Master was going to take pity on us and pass us all, but I was still nervous about kicking and punching in front of the whole class. It wasn't so bad, though...only 5 minutes of humiliation with 6 others, and then I received my yellow belt. Yessssssss.
To the right is a picture of a few of us waiting for a ride to the Grand Master's gym on Wednesday evening. As you can see, we're a rough-n-tough bunch! I really have been enjoying it. I always wanted to learn to defend myself, and now I'll at least be able to kick someone in the face!
Bianca and I also watched an excellent documentary on Thursday night about the North Korea Mass Games. I had never heard of the games before, but they evidently occur at every major state event--the President's birthday, Independence Day, etc. They are pretty intense days-long spectacles of mass coordinated gymnastics and looked really neat. According to the documentary, they reflect the group mindset of communism practiced in the country, where the accomplishments and desires of the individual are subordinate to those of the group. It followed the story of 2 preteen girls who competed in them. I think it gave a pretty fair depiction of their lives and their participation in the games.
On Friday, I went out to dinner with my friend Jai to celebrate her birthday. We had dakalbi, a type of barbequed chicken that is Chuncheon's specialty. They cook it on a skillet/grill in the middle of the table. I've been told it's quite tasty. Bianca and I had our own table with fried rice, which was delish.
We later went out to this deserted rooftop bar. It was a really pretty place that fit all of us and had music and drinking PLUS norebang (karaoke)! I tried norebang for the first time, thinking I would like it considering that I love to sing and it had been hyped up by everyone else, but I actually detested it. They were mutilating my favorite songs! I had to leave the massacre after a while, unfortunately. Other than that, it was a great birthday night!