Yoga Marathon, Flapper party, Canada Celebrations!

Saturday, June 22^nd, 2013 – Monday, July 1^st, 2013

I started off the weekend with a four-hour yoga marathon.  This was a part of Callie’s, African Yoga Project fundraising. 

 Y O G A

Date: Saturday June 22nd, 9:45am - 2pm

Yoga Marathon Schedule:

9:45 - 10am~ Opening Meditation & Setting Intentions

10 - 10:55 am~ Dynamic Vinyasa Flow.  Learn how to link your breath and movement with fluid transitions

11 - 11:55 am~ Inversion Workshop

12 - 12:55 pm~ AcroYoga Playshop

1 - 1:55 pm~ The Power of Pranayama & Meditation

2 pm~ Lunch & Yoga Chatting

This was the schedule for the event.  It was very well put together and everything ran smoothly and I think everyone felt very good after it!  We also had some fun with the partner yoga and trying to do different headstands. 

This was Callie’s message after the yoga marathon:

For four hours we flowed, flipped upside-down, tumbled, laughed, and breathed together for something greater than just ourselves.

I was so moved and am so grateful for everyone's love & support towards The Africa Yoga Project.

The Yoga Marathon is definitely one of my highlights from my two years here in Korea. ♥

Downward dog on two other people doing a downward dog

Good stretch

Later that day, we had a group lunch.  We ate traditional Korean food.  The same type I ate for my first meal in Korea and I hadn’t had since then.  This restaurant was slightly different because we wrapped the meat and veggies that were simmering in boiling broth in rice paper so it had a Vietnamese twist to it!  Later that night I went to the salsa club for some practice and to support my South African friend who was helping the club hold a South African party that night with traditional South African pancakes and some South African inspired music and decorations.

The next day was a bit rainy so I went to the mall with a couple of friends and did some shopping.  I was thinking of trying the skating rink in the mall but didn’t have the type of skates I am familiar with so I decided not to.  For dinner I ate at the Outback Steakhouse for the first time!  I was excited to have my first baked potato since I have been here.  It was comforting eating a baked potato but not exactly what I was expecting.  Things we consider savoury, sometimes Koreans prefer sweet.  There was a sweet butter on my potato, which did not quite hit the spot.  The same thing happened with the bread they serve before your meal. 

That Tuesday, at salsa, I was literally pushed into a contest I was not totally comfortable competing in.   The next thing I knew I was up at the front and I couldn’t turn back.  This was not something I would normally do, but since I was up there, I tried, and to my surprise, I won!  I was able to drink the beer the quickest with a straw!  My stomach was in pain for the next 20- 30 minutes, but it was an interesting thing to discover about myself!

Free entrance another day!

On Saturday, I did yoga on the beach in the morning and then soaked up the sun in Gwangalli the rest of the afternoon.  Since it is rainy season, we were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day and we took advantage of that!  I also invited my Korean friend Hadee and was able to talk to her a bit more and get to know her better!

That night, I went to a flapper party as another part of the African Yoga Project fundraiser.  We dressed up and drank a cocktail with some appetizers.  After, they had some baked goods left over so we went on the street and sold the remaining sweets to people on the street!

Sunday was another cloudy overcast day.  I went to Haeundae beach to take a look at the international surfing competition.  Since the waves were not very good that day, most of the surfers had to wait patiently in the water with no action for a while until someone would get lucky with one or two waves!  The yoga at night was rained out but I spent some time with the yoga teacher instead and she told me a bit more about her experiences with yoga and getting her training in India before coming to Korea.  She plans on returning to India for another 3 months to expand on her yoga training and practice!

Finally, on Monday it was Canada Day!!  A few Canadian friends and I went to the beach that night to create our own little celebration.  We shot off some fireworks, talked about our favourite Canada Day memories in the past and why we are proud to be from such a great country!

Some interesting rice cakes I was given at school, the green leaf with sweet rice and red bean combination was not my favourite but the middle by itself was good!

Hiking, Salsa and Jet Skies!

Saturday, June 15^th, 2013 – Sunday, June 16^th, 2013

I can now announce that summer is officially here!  It was that first weekend of the summer when you are constantly feeling that tiny bit of sweat trickling on your body.  Lately, it feels like every weekend is somehow beating the next, and after this weekend, all I can say is that I was left feeling very sore Monday morning!

I started off by doing another group hike on Saturday morning in an area called Igidae.  I was expecting another nice coastal walk along the sea.  I was very wrong.  It was a full-fledged hike in the hot summer sun. I now know my sweating capabilities.  We have one little obstacle near the start of the hike, which was almost like a group bonding activity.  We had to use a rope to pull ourselves as a group up a really steep part of the hike.  We would successfully hike our way up one mountain, have the feeling of accomplishment, and cautiously make our way back down the steep mountain, just to be faced with a new mountain to hike up; If felt like the uphill portion of this hike never ended.  The main purpose of this hike was to visit a glass floor built on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.  We finished the hike, I survived, and then the tourist attraction we were all waiting for was not open yet!! One day I will have a new blog with this mission to walk on the glass floor complete!

Waiting for my to climb the steep part with the rope!

A bit foggy but still a nice view!

The other side of the steep part!

The glass floor 

Next on my itinerary was to join the Salsa Festival in Haeundae!  I arrived in the late afternoon and joined the crowd watching the dance performances and said hi to my new Korean salsa friends!  I feel really blessed because the regulars and the employees at the salsa club I attend have really accepted me into their group and have made me feel very welcome and included.  After the performances and a couple of group dances that everyone was encouraged to join, they opened the floor to the public for salsa dancing.  The dance floor was on fire; so many people wanted their moment to shine.  I danced with a couple of people I already knew on the crowded dance floor and then with a few new partners from other salsa clubs, which was a bit more disastrous.  It was out of my league, but I tried! 

One of my Korean salsa friends, whose name is Dimple, told me we were eating dinner at 10:00pm.  By we she meant I was coming along, it wasn’t really an invitation; it was more of a request.  Off to dinner we went, I had no idea I would be joining a large portion of the salsa community for dinner (at least 30-40 people were there) and I would be the only foreigner included in this event.  We went to a traditional Korean restaurant and ate pork with all of the traditional sides.  It was the most authentic Korean dinner I have attended, where the majority of people were pounding down soju shot after soju shot (Korean liquor) as a part of the Korean drinking culture.

Dimple and I

Part of group and the owner of the salsa club giving a little speech, notice the green soju bottles

Left over korean food!

After dinner, a medium sized group returned to the beach after the festival was over.  They had a little blanket set up with more snacks and drinks, one person with the music, and more dancing on the beach boardwalk into the early hours of the morning.  I was more in my league with the fresh cool night air, my high heels retired for the night, way more space to move and partners who knew my level and were able to lead me to show off the best of my abilities!

My dance teacher!

The owner of the salsa club and an amazing dancer!

After all of the physical activities from the day before, Sunday was going to be a lazy beach day in Haeundae again.  Aimee and I met some friends playing volleyball and set up our beach towels on the beach with no set plans for the day other then to relax.  We went for a short walk to the less busy end of the beach.  We noticed some jet skies floating in the water.  Aimee mentioned she had never jet skied before and was wondering if it was worth paying to try it.  I told her jet skies are so much fun and if she ever got the opportunity, she should definitely try them!  After our discussion, we were about to walk back to your spot on the beach when a Korean man walked in front of us and asked if we wanted a ride.  Eol ma ye yo? (how much) was our first reaction.  He said, “free.”  We looked at each other and then without much hesitation said, “yes!” 

We were out on the water for the next hour and a half, riding the jet-skies in almost every way imaginable!  We drove, they drove…we switched partners, we were flying over the waves and getting huge air, we were doing 360’s.  They would drive past us on their jet skies and splash huge amounts of water in our face, and when I wasn’t paying attention one time, I almost feel off just from the impact of the splash!  One guy jumped on our jet ski while we floating, causing our boat to flip.  This was the best way to have my first swim of the season!  We drove to the other end of Hauendae beach and we could see Gwangalli beach and the diamond bridge.  It was so exhilarating and thrilling and such an unexpected surprise.  I even tried riding on the back while we were both standing up going through the rough waters!  I was holding on so tight the entire time, and that was a major factor as to why I was so sore Monday! 

After our crazy adventure, we went out for a group dinner and I had my first cheeseburger in at least 6 months!  We then went up to the 14^th floor of a building where some other Korean friends are part owners of a bar to play a quick game of darts.  We could see a really nice view of Haeundae from there and noticed they had another dance festival going on down below.  The dancers were amazing and had the full make-up and costumes on.  After watching a couple dances, it was time to go home and crash after an action packed weekend!

Beach Yoga

Saturday, June 1^st, 2013 – Sunday, June 2^nd, 2013

Thursday, June 6^th, 2013

Saturday, June 8^th, 2013 – Sunday, June 9^th, 2013

The last couple of weekends have consisted of mostly staying close to the sea and doing various activities along the sea and also some beach bum relaxation!

I have gone to a couple of yoga classes on the beach at 10am on Saturday mornings.  We have the view of the ocean right in front of us, the bridge in the early morning hours and the waves quietly crashing against the shore.  It is the most peaceful and serene setting for a yoga class. The sun hasn't been out so it has not been in our eyes but it has been warm with a cool breeze.  The only thing that has been interrupting our peace and relaxation is the sound of Korean's cameras clicking in the near distance. 

The view we have!

On Saturday, June 1st,  at 1pm the fun continued with a Zumba class on the beach!  That again was so much fun and it was really funny when an ajumma (older Korean woman) would come and join in the dancing for a song! 

Participating in a large Zumba fundraiser June 1st! 

On Sunday, June 2nd, I went to Haeundae beach and checked out the Annual Sand Festival while I was there.  It was pretty impressive!

Thursday, June 6th, was a holiday here in Korea.  It was their Remembrance day holiday.  I went on an organized group coastal walk!  We walked a really nice wooded walking path along the coast and eventually made it to the beach.  This is a beach a little bit off the beaten path but still the third most well-known beach in the city but the least crowded, it is called Songjeong Beach.  For this reason, it is some people's favourite beach to enjoy a full beach day.  We sat there for a while and soaked up the sun and played some frisbee in the sand.  Some of us returned to Haeundae Beach for the rest of the afternoon.  The festival was still on and they had a giant sand mountain and some little sand hills kids could use to build their own castle.  After a full day of hiking and sand, I went out for dinner at a fancy Brazilian restaurant near Haeundae beach.  It was a Brazilian steak house and it brought back memories of visiting Brazil based on the amazing buffet along with the endless meat!  It was soo nice having this extra day off and I filled every minute of it!

He was mimicking me!

Or you could interpret it as him doing some beach yoga as Grandma did :)

Songjeong Beach

People can camp out at this beach

Part of our costal walk

Saturday, June 8th, was also a busy day.  I did the yoga class in the morning.  I then went to a goodbye beach picnic for a super nice girl I met here from Boston who is now starting her new adventure.  They had an air show going on.  After that, I went to Dalmaji Amphitheater, which is an outdoor theater in the park with a gorgeous setting and the sea glistening in the back.  The play we watched was a Shakespeare play, 12th night and it was done by foreigners and  it was really well done!  After that, I had another nice dinner overlooking the bridge at night while it is all lit up and then an 80's party supporting the African Yoga Project!

Sunday was another relaxed beach day.  It was a bit cool and windy but a nice day for walking around.  I did another yoga class along the beach but this time during the sunset with a different teacher! 

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