1. Rushing off to school and swinging open the classroom door only to be greeted by a cold, empty and dark classroom wasn't really a surprise. I knew that they'd be away on their M.T. but I showed up just to make sure there was no one left behind.
2. And so on that note, I headed back to the office for some warm coffee and 2 hours to kill.
3. Just the other week we ran out of gas for our office heater and so lately it's been a wee bit chilly, to say the least. Actually, it's been down-right cold and we're all convinced it's way warmer outside. Happy-Go-Lucky and I hung out in the office and as a means of trying to warm ourselves up, we resorted to watching some of my silly YouTube videos... hehehe.
4. My second class of the day actually showed up and so we had a full class.
5. After school I had a couple of hours to do my errands (grocery shopping, banking, etc.) before I had to head out and meet up with the Arirang representative and writer. I had purposely dressed my best today at school, knowing full well that I wouldn't have much time in between doing my errands and my big meeting. It's a good thing too. Mind ya, I ended up taking my interviewers over to the club for a quick visit and so having to walk in while dressed to the max made me feel rather shy. Besides the occasional boxing "jeans and t-shirt" dinner party, my fellow team mates and the others have never seen me outside of my usual Adidas attire.
6. The three of us, the Arirang representative, the writer, and I decided to slip into a small coffee shop nearby. They asked me like a million and one questions and I rambled on a lot. It felt so good to have a nice long ENGLISH conversation but at times I had to laugh cause I found myself slipping in a couple of Korean words here and there. At one point I even told them, "Ah.. I don't know the English word for it but the Korean word is.... "
7. They asked me a lot of questions about my boxing but a good chunk of the interview was focused on my current relationship with Q. At one point in the interview, one of the girls stopped me and said, "Wow, when you talk about your boxing and boyfriend, your face really lites up and your voice changes!"
8. Some of the questions they asked:
Why is boxing important to you?
Now that I am in Korea, boxing means much more to me because what it has given me. It has given me a sense of family here in Korea; a connection to a country beyond that of a paycheck or a bill to pay. A connection that I didn't expect but have earned, now prize, and definitely respect.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, honestly, I have no plan. When I first came to Korea, I had my life all mapped out. I had a 5 year plan and I was engaged. But then things changed, I changed, and in changing I realized that I rather live without my life all mapped out than stick to a predictable plan that's only bound to change and cause me to miss out on numerous experiences. I live in the now. I know I should probably be more concerned about my future but I'm not, and I like that. My future will come soon enough.
What was the most difficult thing you had to deal with when you moved to Korea?
Despite having studied Korean culture in university, I knew to expect feelings of loneliness and discomfort. I never really got lonely though and my discomforts came not cause of the language differences but because of people's ignorance. You see, my hair isn't naturally dark brown. My natural hair colour is light brown, almost blond. When I came to Korea, I thought that my light hair would be quite the conversation piece, but what I didn't expect is what kind of conversations it was starting. To me, there's nothing quite like the feeling as standing on a beautiful sunny day at the crosswalk of a busy street and having some people yell obscenities at you cause of my hair colour. Two ignorant guys thought they had the right to yell at me and call me Russian. Ignorance had lead them to associate light hair with Russian, Russian with being a prostitute. So there I was, standing with students all around me as they called me a prostitute. I was shocked. Twenty minutes later, I was a shocked dark-haired girl with tears streaming down and a lot of bitterness in my heart. Since then though, I'm over it but have decided to keep my dark hair cause I've always loved black hair.
What is one thing that you learned living here that you didn't learn in your Korean culture class?
Just one thing?! Oh... there are many things. I think the biggest thing I learned about Korean culture was just how family oriented they are. Korea really prizes family and so it's a very communal culture. Most children live with their family until marriage, families eat together, yearly ceremonies are held for deceased ancestors, etc., etc., etc... they really respect the family unit and so I really admire that. Having come here solo, it's been amazing to see just how many of my Korean friends have really adopted me as a kind of family member.
Why were you so interested in studying Korean culture?
I first started studying Korean culture at university because I had to take a humanities course but upon attending class, my interest was sparked. Unlike Korea, Canada is so multi-cultural and so it's identity is based on what other countries have brought to it. But then there is Korea, a country so uniquely different. A country that is so proud and tries so hard to maintain it's own separate identity. If you look at the Korean culture, you'll note that there's a lot of things that are very much the same across the Korean map... kimchi, Chusok, hambok (traditional dress), even the game "kye-bye-bo" (rock-scissors-paper). There are many things that are really special to Korea's culture and so this was very intriguing to me cause, for the most part, I don't really know what is really "Canadian"... maybe our snow and hockey. But even those, other countries get snow and hockey, well, didn't they go on strike a couple years back?!
9. After my interview concluded, we all parted our separate ways. I raced home in my heels and got geared up for boxing. Junior Mint wasn't there when I went earlier on but he had heard all about my silk skirt and fancy high heels... hehehe. Sometimes, I think they seriously forget that I am a female... hehehe.
10. After training, I pretty much stuck to hanging around the house. Did dishes, some studying, and then killed too many hours on the computer.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What do you think about Korea?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.
-- Sandra Carey
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.
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