As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, January 17

1. DOOMS DAY!!! I woke up at 6am and then closed my eyes again, hoping that this was a dream. Honestly, I really don’t want to go snowboarding today! But, Kim Tae showed up at 7am and I was ready. Five minutes into the ride, I discover I forgot my camera at home! I’ll post some pictures later when the others email me theirs.
2. Bundled up in all that snowboarding gear… the jacket, snow-pants, gloves, hat, and those super fat snowboarding boots (they look like moon boots). My toes were feeling uncomfortably numb and I was counting down the hours till it’d be over.
3. Must admit, I was definitely taken back by the sight as we walked out and checked out the slopes. The view was so beautiful and never before had I thought Korea would be so incredibly breath-taking.
4. Another confession I must admit to, I definitely started off in a sour mood. After I had reached the top of the slope, I refused to go down. I knew I’d eventually go down but I just wanted to check out how other learners were doing it. Byung Hyuk and Kim Tae didn’t understand me and so I got frustrated and embarrassed.
5. Kim Tae was super patient with me and so much respect to him. He proved to be a great snowboarding teacher and so I was able to pick up pretty quickly on how to snowboard.
6. Am convinced I must have fallen 1000 times on my butt but thankfully I only had three major wipe-outs where I feel face first. Dang… it really hurt and I ended up eating some of that fake snow… ㅋㅋㅋ
7. My favourite part of the day was when Kim Tae and I played some silly game we made up. As I tried to board down the slope, Kim Tae would rush up to me and try to push me. This meant I had to really try hard at stopping and controlling my board. It was really fun but I ended up almost taking out this little girl. Kim Tae, on the other hand, collided head first with some other dude and so I teased him for the rest of the day, claiming that it looked like the two kissed…ㅋㅋㅋ
8. Although I was able to learn how to snowboard and did have fun with Kim Tae, snowboarding isn’t really the sport for me. I don’t like winter sports in general actually. Snowboarding is expensive and cause of it being so expensive, you kind of feel obligated to stay all day and board. Nonetheless, it was an experience.
9. After a super long day of boarding and hanging out outside, I was definitely ready to call it a day. It was only 7pm but I was already passing out in the car ride home.
10. Unfortunately the day ended off on a sour note. Kim Tae said I MUST go to dinner with the three of them. It’s not that I don’t love the company of my friends, because I do, but I was getting a headache from trying to stay awake. My body was craving sleep. Later did I find out that me going home labelled me as a “rude girl”. Sorry but telling someone what they HAVE to do isn’t exactly respected where I’m from. You try pushing any one of my Canadian girl friends around like that and see what that gets you. Most likely it’ll get you a slap in the face or no call back! Anyway, as a result, I ended up posting a note on my door explaining to Kim Tae that I am NOT a Korean so don’t treat me like a Korean girl.


QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is it that makes you think I'm a Korean girl?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Just do it.
-- Nike

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

AMYYYYYYYYYY,

Hey I totally know what you are talking about in terms of feeling like you are obligated to do things. I enjoy hanging out with Korean men, so I too am often placed in situations like this.

This is an important part of their culture. I remember an instance when my boyfriend was at my house watching a movie and his friend called him to go drinking. Well since his friend was older, you can imagine what happened. He had an obligation to go drinking even though he didn't want to.

At least you know Kim Tae has your interests at heart, so I am sure he doesn't want to offend you........and afterall we are in their country. I am interested to know what his reaction to the note was, so let me know what happens, I'm curious!!!

Jennifer

ps. thanks for adding me to your blog ;)