My Summer Days

Summer is now over and with it, all the fun I was having.  How much fun you ask?  Well let me tell you, I did not spend my summer vacation going to China or Japan.  I did not go to Seoul.  I stayed in Busan.....and worked out.

My summer vacation was kind of weird because my school was off for a month but I still had to do summer camp.  So I had one week off, two weeks of summer camp, then another week off.  Those two weeks I had off consisted of me waking up at 7 in the morning and eating breakfast.  I packed my workout bag and I was gone until at least 7 at night.

Summer break was the only time I had to practice MMA properly - with the pros.  I have been learning jiu jitsu and I've been trying to understand kickboxing but nothing was really connecting them together because we never did MMA sparring (combining all elements into one).  So I would do crossfit in the morning like the other fighters and then head to practice in the afternoon.

I had never done crossfit but I was happy to be in a gym with weights to be honest.  I miss that sort of strength training.  I quickly learned that my crossfit coach had the biggest smile and the biggest desire to push everyone to their maximums.  Everyday I came in he would say, "Today is hard, you will die". I'm thinking wonderful, he wants to kill me.  After the workout, he would come up to me and say, "Tomorrow will be hell".  He did not speak that much English but that's the most consistent thing he would say.  At least the workouts were consistent with his words.  Everyday was harder, and everyday I died a little bit inside.  But after the first week, I saw my arms looking leaner, my stomach muscles were starting to show, and my legs were thinning out to show the muscle underneath.  So as much as I hated having to do 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 situps and 400 squats -- I am quite pleased with the results.

The last time I felt this good was when I was a junior in high school.  I never realized how unhappy I was with myself until I started changing it.  My mom actually pointed it out to me that I had been unhappy for so long and she was glad I was happy now.

As much as I would dread starting my mornings with crossfit, I loved seeing the change.  It was good to get a varied workout in after having the same workouts everyday at night at my fight gym.

Anywho, I would leave crossfit around 11 am and would have time to spare before practice.  Sometimes I would sit in a cafe and study Korean, sometimes I would go home and take a nap, and sometimes I would hang out with my friend who happened to live right next to my fight gym.

Practice for MMA would start at 2:30 and at first, I was so intimidated I was afraid to really push myself.  I kinda just wanted to blend in and workout but being blonde, foreign and a girl, its hard to be invisible.  The thing I liked most about practices was they were a solid 2 hours to 2.5 hours long.  Every practice always had some kickboxing, some jiujitsu, some wrestling and always MMA sparring at the end.  I miss having long practices.  I do two classes at the gym but that means I do the warm ups and cool downs twice which doesn't really help me that much so it seems like I am working out just as long but it't not as productive.

Since punching of any sort is new to me, I didn't really go my full potential at the practices.  When they started kickboxing sparring, I would just sit down because honestly - these guys are pros and I just started learning kickboxing a few months ago.  Plus, no one would ever ask me to spar so I just sat and tried to at least observe and absorb.  I think that method worked a little bit but it was still not as good as just throwing myself in there.

The first week, my body ached. Week two was easier and by week three, my body was used to the workouts and that was when I started going harder.  Finally, one of the guys asked why I never sparred and I told him I was afraid but he told me all the guys will go easy and I can just punch the crap out of them.  Well, with that advice, the next day I asked to spar and lo and behold, he went easy one me - and I even got to land a few solid kicks and punches.  Not amazing but it was a start.

Week four was amazing for three reasons.  1) One of my teammates noticed I did not have any mma gloves during sparring so the next day he came up to me and said, "Here, its a present," and handed me a pair of UFC mma gloves.  Honestly, it was so sweet and he did not have to do it but I am so grateful and it made me feel like they actually cared about me.  I wasn't just a girl on the team, I was a part of the family.  2) One day we got to wrestle at Kyungsung University.  When I first came to Busan, I contacted the wrestling coach at the Uni and asked about wrestling there for fun but he told me I was not allowed to because it was for students only.  I think it is funny that I was still able to eventually wrestle at Kyungsung - except this time I was coming with the best fight team in Korea.  It was great putting on some wrestling shoes and properly wrestling - not mma wrestling.  3) I got offered a chance to personal train a kid in wrestling.  He is Korean but goes to school in America and wanted to practice wrestling over his summer break.  And no one knows folkstyle because in Korea, they only wrestling freestyle.  So I was the best  choice and I am really happy I did it.  I got to wrestle and it was great coaching again in some fashion.

So that is how I spent my summer.  I did have a few little adventures with I will post in another section  because this one is already too long hehe.

P.S. I have been back at school for two weeks now and today I was able to go to a pro fight practice. I am happy to say I sparred every single round and even managed to land a few well placed armbars.  I am a pretty happy girl ^_^  I officially feel like I improved.

Changing Perceptions

I have been in Korea for almost three months now...and time has flown.  I always say that but it still surprises me. The things that bothered me when I first came here I don't really notice anymore and my life has a rhythm that I do not want to disturb anytime soon.

Korea is radically different from America - which is obvious I should hope.  But I am finding myself feeling more at home around Koreans that with Westerners.  I mean, I have my little group of friends from orientation but aside from that, I hang out with Koreans.  I just came from the Mud Festival a ways north of Busan and let me tell you, that poor town was overrun with foreigners.  I can only imagine how the locals must have felt since the Korean population in general is xenophobic.  I have not been around that many non-asian people since I left the States and honestly, it made me feel uncomfortable too.  I didn't realize how loud, rude, annoying and self important westerners can be.  

Mud Fest was fun - you run around to the mud tubs and slather it on you and your friends - and in general, have fun in the acceptance of this being the only time in your life it will be okay to run around in public in a muddy swimsuit.  That being said, most of the foreigners (and I will loosely limit this to the foreign military members and men), use Mud Fest as an excuse to touch wherever they want with the excuse that you "are not muddy enough".  Not only would they muddy you up wherever, they would do it to the poor Koreans walking by with their children trying to get through the hodge-podge of people that don't speak their language.  I felt bad for them.  I know if I wanted to get muddy - I would do it.  Maybe there was a reason I wasn't muddy exactly when you wanted me to be. 

I think I am too used to people being quiet, sticking to the people they know exclusively and excessively apologizing for any little matter.  When it comes to the way Koreans act in public versus Westerners - I feel much more like a Korean.  What's funny is I knew this before about my culture but it never bothered me until I was severely separated from it for a while.  I'm an introvert anyways so this lifestyle suits me much better.

The other strange thing is I hear Korean now and I actually understand what people are saying without literally knowing what they are saying.  I have heard the same things so many times that I know it when I hear it but I could never reproduce it.  Its an amazing feeling to be integrating like this.  If I am walking around my area of town and I hear someone speaking English it boggles me for second and then I am over it.  I am understanding what my coaches are saying, little things people talk about at the lunch table or random people talking to me on the street.  Most of it is body language but I am understanding the Korean too.  I just had this epiphany tonight so its still freshly exciting :)  

I know it has been a while since my last post but I don't know what to write.  I could post something else about my health or school but I've done that already.... but I will be updating that soon I am sure.  I can never talk enough about me haha

This is Love

While I did do a post a while ago about things that are weird in Korea, there are also many things that I love.  I was not entirely happy in the U.S. for a variety of reasons.  I think a big part of it was since the end of high school, I didn't feel like I had a home anywhere.  After college, I did live in my hometown for a while and that was the happiest I had been in a long time.

Since coming to Korea, I sincerely feel like I have a home and I have a place I call home.  So many things have come together for me that I have been trying to accomplish but always had reasons why I never did it in the States.  Not only am I genuinely happy, I am healthy and I am enjoying being young which means going out and staying out til the wee hours of the morning.  Now that it has been two months since coming to Busan, I have a feel, a rhythm and am very familiar with my surroundings.

At my school, I felt like an outcast but now I find that more teachers speak English that I originally thought.  The thing with Korean culture is that if you can speak English but your superiors cannot, then you do not want to seem like you are bragging with your ability so you don't speak English at all.  I have had a few situations where the teachers are alone with me trying to explain a situation that happened and all of a sudden, they can speak English whereas in the staff room, they are quiet when I am there.  So even though they may not like to I feel lonely.

I have been at my fight club for almost two months now - and I see a huge difference in myself and others see it too, which is more rewarding than seeing it myself.  I don't feel like I am going to practice at a club, I feel like I am part of a team now.  All of my teammates are amiable (regardless of if we understand each other or not) and all the pro fighters are supportive of me and try to talk to me.  The most praise I can possibly give this team is it did not take a fraction of the time to be accepted as it did for me to be accepted to my high school wrestling team.  I do understand that I started wrestling with zero background whatsoever and I began at my club with an experience background.  Nonetheless, the men on my team are all genuine, polite and fun to be around.  

The other day in practice, the pro fighter who just won the title belt at Road FC (I went to watch him in the middle of June and this guy is the best fighter in Korea at that weight) had me come over to him during warm ups.  He told me thank you for cheering during his match and for saying "fighting" before his matches.  **Korean culture note, "fighting" is equivalent to "you can do it" or "good luck".  I felt like I was just another person on the team but it was really nice for him to talk to me despite the language barrier.  

This sort of kindness has made me really want to exceed their expectations so I have been actually dieting successfully and making healthier decisions.  I started tracking how much water I drink every day and I have a daily goal.  Since I started drinking water, I swear I have a ton more energy and my face has never been clearer.  Seriously people, don't buy face products, drink water.  And I eat vegetables all the freaking time.  I just discovered how delicious Korean cucumber is with soybean paste :D  I don't look at it as dieting really; it would just be really hard to eat only junk food in Korea. 

There are many more little things that I love about Korea and has made my life easier and more enjoyable.  For one, public transport is amazing.  I don't really miss my car.  The metro and bus systems are efficient and on time.  Buses and trains to different cities within Korea are plenty and timely.  Best of all, its cheap.  No more gas, maintenance, insurance or registration fees to worry about.  I pay my $1 and can have a free transfer from buses to the subway line.

My utility bill for the month was $14.  That is including gas, electricity and taxes.  When I was living in Oregon, which was a fairly cheap place, I was paying at least $20 and that was only 1/3 of the utility bill.  I had to pay for internet in Oregon and I don't have to pay for it in my apartment in Busan.

In every part of the world you will encounter some crazies and as a blonde white person in an Asian country, I definitely get more than my fair share of the attention. Despite being creeped out a few times by **shocker** older men, I find that as a whole, Korean people are just so welcoming and polite.   

This is about it for now, sorry there aren't any pretty pictures to accompany your reading this time.  Basically though, I am in love with Korea and I found home. 

 As of right now, it's one am and I have to wake up at 7.  I was on such a roll though I couldn't stop it ^_^

Tales of Busan

I feel that since I have already gone into detail about many things sepeartely, now I just feel like I can update all those little categories at once.  Serious warning though, this is probably going to be the most ADD/random collection of stories so I have dubbed each story its' own little tale.

The Tale of Meeting Liam


I was not the first English teacher at my school.  There was one who left just as I was arriving.  From what I heard (all things from my co-teacher) I had the impression that he was lazy, not very nice, and didn't care about teaching.  My co-teacher did not say these things explicitly but whenever she was telling me what not to do, she would always preface the advice with, "The old English teacher would always do this.  This is not good."

I don't know if I have really updated the situation at my school but I slowly feel suffocated by my teacher.  She is smothering me with over-protection and "advice" on how older Koreans have more life experience so therefore they know best.  If anyone seriously knows me, this philosophy is not my favorite one.  My co-teacher can barely speak English much less teach it effectively at class.  The reason why our students have such low test scores is because she chooses to teach the class exclusively in Korean and not give me a chance to talk to the students.  That's why I am  here after all; to provide the students with the chance to learn from a Native speaker.

Anyways, back to Liam.  I was out with a few girl friends one weekend and one of my friends also has her brother here in Busan.  We decided we were going to meet up with him and his buddies.  I had heard one of the names of my friend's brother's friend was Liam and I was thinking that might be him but honestly, Busan is a pretty big city - what is the chance?

We got to the bar and I asked him if he worked at Nok Myeong and he just started laughing.  He said he's sorry that I have to work there now because the situation at the school is actually one of the more difficult ones.  He also gave me loads of stories about my co-teacher that I find entertaining and true to the core to say the least.  We did sit around and have a good laugh over her but we also talked about the students and the things they do (her it's a small school so it's easy to remember all the kids).  He gave me some good ideas to keep them entertained.  He wanted to know if any of the students said they missed him and I informed him that I didn't know but I would ask them.

So, the next Monday at work, I asked my fourth grade class if they missed Liam Teacher and this was the response I got.

The Tale of Hadan's Back Alley

Not really much of a tale but I discovered where exactly I live in Hadan (my area of Busan).  I was at a friends apartment in Hadan and he lives on the other side of the giant street/bus station so I never really venture to the other side.  It turns out there is a good side and a not-so-good side to Hadan.  My friend lives in the nice part of Hadan and his apartment was proof of that.

We went to find some korean bbq for dinner and headed over to my area of town.  I have walked around during the day and this one area was like a deserted wasteland during the day.  I did get the creepy vibe but hey, this is Korea and they are much more tuned into night life that America is so I thought it was just a college party area that is vacant during the day.  As it turns out, my area of Hadan is a mini red light district.  I couldn't tell during the day but at night, all the signs have half naked girls on them and there were a bunch of old men walking around.

Yup, I live here.

The Tale of Team MAD


I got to spend all of Saturday with my fight team to watch our teammate fight at the Road FC (A Korean MMA organization).  It started with a four hour bus ride to Gangwon (up near Seoul).  The bus ride was fun but really, I don't speak Korean so I was limited in my conversation so I stuck with trying to catch up on some sleep.

My team is apparently one of the best in Korea and I realized how many famous people I see all the time that I didn't know were famous.  There was a guy in the gym the other day (who spoke perfect English I might add) who said my wrestling was really good and this guy is a prominent news reporter and translator.  My head coach rocks and my teammates were giving autographs.  It was cool to see them all in their element.  It makes me want to train ever harder so I can fight in Japan and do well.

The actual fight night was so much fun.  We were all chanting for our teammate (Kang Kyungho); we drowned out the other teams chants :P  I wish I could just show you because I don't have the time to write it out right now but Kang Kyungho won his first fight by a long shot.  Made his opponent tap out.    He then has his championship bout against an American guy.  I felt bad because I am rooting for the Korean but honestly, I'm not rooting for you just because we are from the same country.  Luckily, Kang Kyungho beat the crap out of him made him tap out with a rear naked choke in the second period.  All of Team MAD in the stands cheering and jumping.  It was just too fun for words.

After he got his belt, we (Team MAD) got to go down to the floor and take pictures with him and just revel in his glory lol.  I only wish my Korean was ten times better so I could have spoken more instead of just walking around with a huge grin on my face like a retard.

Going down to meet our team.  The bright white T-shirt is my head coach and he is right in front of Kang Kyungho, who is wearing his belt

All I can say is this was the best way to spend a Saturday.  I don't care if I didn't get home until 3 am.

It Was Basically My First Time…

…in Seoul.  Orientation was in Seoul, but honestly, we were so busy there wasn’t any free time – except to drink at night.  People made time for that :D

The Korean students from my University live in Seoul and I am lucky to have kept in touch with them.  I spent the weekend with them and they showed me more than I expected to see.  The best part is seeing someone I could talk about home with and have them know what I was talking about. 

To start, I took my first Bullet Train!!! Really exciting except for my ears popping when we started speeding up after every train station but still fun.  I left Friday night after school (and I felt super guilty for skipping practice for the day) so I made it to Seoul late Friday night.

On Saturday morning, I started off in the Myeong-Dong shopping area where we browsed the clothing stores until finding a place to eat.  When I saw our waitress I almost made a noise from being shocked.  I can’t really explain it, but her eyes looked really creepy.  My friends told me that she had plastic surgery and the surgeon must have messed it up.  The girl had to apply eyeliner in the weirdest way to make it look better than it really was.  I have heard from a few different sources that wider eyes/double eyelids is a desirable plastic surgery so many people (it’s not a just a girl thing) get it done.  I guess I am glad that I can look at myself and think while there are things I would like to change, none of it would require going under the knife.  Besides that oddity, we ate our food, laughed at the aprons we had to wear so we wouldn’t splatter ourselves with sauce, and told each other stories.

We left Myeong-dong then headed to the little stream that runs through Seoul called Cheonggyecheon and walked a bit of it.  Just a nice, refreshing sort of walk.  We sat down and looked at the fish for a while and then I decided to pull my favorite prank :D  I took my camera out of its case and while I had their attention, I “dropped” it into the water.  They gasped, “Oh no!” as I pulled it out of the water.  I giggled and then told them it’s waterproof.  They still looked shocked but they started laughing too.  I remember when I was in Rome with my mom I did the same thing in a Roman Fountain.  It gets people scared all the time but it’s an easy/fun prank to pull hehe.

I didn’t realize how close pretty much everything I wanted to see in Seoul was and I got to see it all on the walk after Cheonggyecheon.  We walked up the large street/plaza with the statues of King Sejong and General Yi Sun Shin to the entrance of the Gyeongbokgung Palace but instead of going inside we walked the entire perimeter of the walls on the outside of the Palace.  The Blue House (Korea’s equivalent to the White House) sits behind the Palace so I took some pictures and by that time, I was hungry, cold, and my feet were killing me.

So we had dinner in another flashly looking area called Samcheong (?).  All the area names started to run together so there is a good chance this name is wrong.  Nothing special about dinner—unless you count the little Korean toddler that fell off her chair next to me when I waved to her.  She was adorable and her little Pororo training chopsticks were even cuter ^_^

It’s nighttime by now but I was way too tired to drink so we did the next best thing.  NORAEBANG!!  If you don’t know what that is, you need to find out and then take a group of your friends to the nearest one.  If you want, sneak in some alcohol to make it even more interesting; everyone else does it anyways.

The next day I meet up with another Pacific University friend and we walked around the BukCheon Hanok Village... 

...until finding a dokkbukki place to eat lunch at.  Delicious, cheap food.  That’s really all I need when it comes down to it J  We walked around more of Samcheong and it looks like a great place to be if you like cafes and boutiques.  It reminded me of NW 23^rd in Portland. 

The whole reason I came up to Seoul in the first place was because Buddha’s Birthday is a National Holiday so I had an extra two days off of work so my two day weekend became a four day weekend.  So Monday rolls around and my goal was to see Gyeongbokgung and Jogye-sa (A Buddhist Temple). 

I get to Gyeongbokgung and it’s just courtyard after courtyard of buildings and walls.  The first two courtyards were huge but then they became much smaller after the Kings Throne room in the second courtyard.  Don’t get me wrong, the Palace was beautiful—given that it was completely burned down and it’s been an ongoing project since the 90’s to bring this historic palace back to the way it used to be—but the buildings all looked the same just in different sizes so I didn’t spend as much time there as I wanted too.  I especially loved the little pond all the way in the back of the palace with the little pagoda island in the middle.  It was a welcome change from the city. 

 I intended on visiting the temple and maybe making a paper lantern with my hopes and dreams attached to it but upon arriving, I quickly changed my plans.  Going to a Buddhist Temple on Buddha’s Birthday I’m sure is the Christian Equivalent to trying to see Westminster Abbey during Easter… ‘Just never going to happen.  This temple was packed with hundreds of people lined up around the building and then looping like an “s” a million times over.  If you’ve waited in line for Space Mountain at Disneyland or for ‘X’ at Magic Mountain you know what I mean.  I really didn’t think this one through so I snapped some pictures of other people’s lanterns and left to eat lunch. 

One of the things that I always thought was interesting was about this girl I met at a wrestling camp the summer after my freshman year of high school.  She lived in the same county as me and I continued to see her at many girls tournaments around the state and even nationals.  I thought it was a huge coincidence that we picked the same college to go to.  The summer after we graduated University, I found out she was also coming to Korea to teach English.  I think it’s the coolest thing that our lives have mimicked each other’s in a certain way.  So on Monday night, I got to see her in Seoul. 

By Tuesday -  I was just tired and not to mention getting sick so I booked my train back earlier than expected but before leaving, I saw the first Korean I met at Uni and she opened all the doors to meeting the other Koreans  so MyeongEun Unni – gamsahabnida!!

So as much as I loved Seoul and seeing all my friends from Pacific, as I was coming up the escalator after getting off the train in Busan, I saw a sign that said “I <3 Busan” and I thought to myself, “Yes, yes I do.  I’m home.”  And that feeling alone was worth the trip to Seoul.  You never know your home until you’ve left it so at least now I can officially say; I feel at home and Busan IS my new home.

That's Good!

In my almost month in Korea, I have come across some very interesting things that are different.  I’m not being critical, if anything, I find it endearing J.  It’s one of those things where you don’t realize how different your perceptions were until little things start becoming a common place.  It’s been entertaining compiling this list in my head but honestly, these Koreans are just so darn cute it makes everything ok.  So here starts my list of things that are Good! In Korea.

Men wearing bright colored, any colored shirts…. That’s Good!

Mullets were not just a thing of the 80’s, they are very much alive in Korea…They’re Good!

Wearing suits on the beach … That’s Good!

Keeping your shoes on on the beach …. That’s also Good!

Checking yourself out in every reflective surface you pass …. That’s not vain, That’s Good!

If you don’t pass a reflective surface, take your enchanted mirror from “Beauty and the Beast” out of your purse and check yourself out…that one hair just won’t stay in place and everyone is judging you for it.  Fix it, put your mirror away and repeat process as many times as necessary for the 5 minutes subway ride.  That’s Good too!

Covering your mouth when you cough is what foreigners do.  Just open wide and hack that cough at the nearest person.  That’s Good!

Old women pushing you out of line for the bus, that’s not rude, That’s Good! (and honestly impressive if they still have the strength to do that maybe I should be in the back of the line)

Talking with your friends on the subway… That’s Not Good.  You must have your phone or ipod out and entertain yourself with it.  I repeat, do not speak on the subway!  The subway is like a moving library without the books and no librarian – but the old men take up the post of hushing everyone.

Staying out until 6 in the morning to wait for the public transport to start again, That’s Good!

Taking fireworks on the beach, lighting them, and chasing your friends with them – That’s so much fun and Good!

Drinking on the beach, nuf said.  That’s perfectly legal and Excellent!

Parking your vehicle wherever you want because honestly, you’re not getting a parking ticket.  The sidewalk, lane closest to the sidewalk, the narrow street that you will stop traffic for are all good parking spots.  Parking wherever, That’s Good!

Staring at what people are looking at on their phones, no matter how obvious you are, That’s Good!

If you invite someone out and they are older, they take the bill, not you.  That’s Good!

This is just a short list that I am sure I will do a part II for eventually.  Oh Korea, you’re so cute!

Two Week Mark

I've officially been teaching in Busan for two weeks now but honestly, it feels much longer.  I have already stepped into a groove with my teaching, my free time, and in general, my life.  It's amazing.  I know I was a little butt-hurt from not being able to speak Korean that well (from the post "Culture Shock") and I swear I have been as good as my word.  I've been studying about 45 minutes a day and I already see a huge difference - in a good way.

So, as I promised, here are some much wanted pictures of my school.  The more I reflect, the more I realize I am so lucky to be in the position I am in.  My Co-teacher helps me when I need it with classes, she doesn't generally thrust things on me and expect me to just figure it out, and she genuinely wants her students to learn English.  She has surprised me a few times too with her generosity.  She heard me say I liked bulgogi so when she was at the supermarket, she bought me some and dropped it off at my apartment.  When she came into the English classroom and saw me studying Korean, she bought me a book to work out of so I could learn more.  On a side note, the book is like a kindergarten writing book but its colorful and has lots of stickers - so I'm down ^_^

So here is my beautiful school, that I am so in love with....

It's so nice to be out of the city for school and have that ocean breeze always bringing in some fresh air :) except when its smoggy - then I don't like that.

This school is pretty big for the whole 38 students it has to accommodate.  But once again, I am happy that my classes are an average of 6 kids a class.  I love my students and I especially love trying to figure out their personalities.  The exception is my 4th grade class.  Those children are fun outside of class and inside class, they are little monsters.  It's a challenge to get them to cooperate.  And it's not like I can threaten them in English...like they would understand.  I'll find a productive way to get them to behave.  I just need a little time to figure it out.

Finally, here is my classroom!  Lots of books to pick from, a million different audio tools, visual guides and games.  It's adorable.

And that is my desk in the bottom right corner....I was on facebook but shhhhh don't tell my Co-Teacher :P 

The teaching is beginning to get easier as I understand the students and their varying levels of English. That's about all I can say now about school.  

                -OOOOO but before I forget!  Korean cafeteria food is not the garbage americans serve   to their students.  It's fresh and delicious and full of healthy things that I would never eat otherwise hehe.

With my free time, I have managed to book myself up in a typical Jade Marie fashion.  I guess I just don't like having too much down time.  Since joining the MMA/BJJ gym in Busan, I have been going to at least two classes a day which amount to around 3 hours of practice.  It's what I did for wrestling so it's not a big deal to me.  I'm enjoying getting into shape for realsies.  Not just practicing when I felt like it and stopping when I was tired.  I am pushing myself a little bit harder everyday and if I know my body correctly, after next week, I'll be in such a good groove I won't even realize my body aches or how tired I am.  

Learning jiu-jitsu is fun and I think I am starting to understand it.  It's hard trying to learn the rules to a new sport when the rules are explained in Korean but luckily, it's close enough to wrestling that many conceptual things aren't too difficult to grasp.  I also choked out my first guy today in sparring - rear naked choke - it was exciting.   But I have to remember that when the people in my gym see me getting better, they will start going harder on me so I'm trying to not get too excited.  I'm jsut working hard.  

Joining the gym has made me want to see what I can do in the span of a few months.  For the first time ever, I made a list of goals and I want to start accomplishing them.  Yes, they mostly pertain to my fitness but honestly, that was the one thing that I couldn't really maintain in the U.S. so why not start trying here, when I am in a new place with a fresh start? I'm already eating loads of vegetables from my school lunches and I've bought post workout friendly food for after practice.  In just a week I already see a difference.  I'm sticking to my no-scales rule though.  I still get anxiety about seeing a number.  But me feeling good in my skin is what I'm after and I feel really good right now :)  I just want to see how much better I can do and push myself again.  I missed doing that.  

So it's way past my bedtime and I actually have to get up and look pretty in the morning (I never had a job where I had to do that before).  So good night everyone, or good morning, wherever you are.