Sangnok Resort: Compound
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2005
1
10
49
Trip End
Aug 29, 2006
Cheonan,
Korea Rep.
Monday, September 5, 2005
After discovering the patch of leather, shriveled skin accompanying the source of my pain at 6:30AM, I was kindly informed that I was actually staying at the resort for the entire week. You think that this would be a good piece of information. It wasn't. I had actually asked on Friday whether I was staying at the resort, but apparently they did not understand the use of future tense content in my conversation.
I had already spent almost a week inside the country with no perticular means to wash my clothing (I should note here that my host did offer to wash some clothing the following evening - but (foreshadowing) I didn't recieve any until the folowing Sunday). So here I am at 6:30AM desperately trying to organize my meager belongings - with a 1 hour time restriction. Now, I know your probably saying " How long does it take a man to get clothes together?" but this large sweaty man + humidity equals foul ordour if proper quantities of clothing are not brought along. Well you should have seen me with the suitcase, it was like a Greco-Roman wrestling match - I practically had my legs wraped around the bloody thing to get it open. After a few well placed drop kicks I got it open to dicover the bane of my morning: I didn't realize a little piece of cloth stuck in the zipper could be such a potent foe. But persistence and violence paid off, defeating the suitcase in an epic battle of wills. Jeremy 1, malicious suitcase 0.
I looked at the clock and time was running thin. So I stuffed what little reamined of my life in my backpack and scampered to the breakfast table. The rest of the morning went relatively smoothly for a change, and te scenery on the way to the resort was beautiful. A little bit of a history lesson was dicatated on the way and apparently during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) in 1919 a young lady started a revolution against the Japanese Overlords. She was tortured and killed as a result. She is now a integral National Hero and a huge museum (Independence Hall) is dedicated to the implications of her courage and national pride. Japan is very disliked for past misdeeds in the Asian region and unwillingness to apologize for them.
So we arrived at the resort. First impression unanimously agreed upon by the teachers is: Compound-esque. We were uncereminously told that we were not to leave unless under supervision (which was never offered), enhancing the bleak, sometimes Communist labour-camp feeling exhuded by the physical structure of the resort. However, pleasantly, there were no labours to be seen - this eased my feeling of a cover story of 'teaching' to bring in foreign slave labour. Further inspection of the area revealed a vast network of trails and a golf course too. An odd combination, furthered by the top-notch quality of the rooms. The resort became our home - a home with an amusment park.
The seminar started off slowly, but people were really friendly aand this helped ease us into the routine. Owen, Faith, Carole, Paul, Steve, Tonya, Stephanie, Mr. Kim (Franke) and the rest of a wild bunch. We also had two amazing young-ish Korean ladies who helped make us feel comfortable in our new environment. By the end of the day our group was tightly knit and we went to the 70/80 Club an outdoor venue in the resort that played live music. We were like a bombshell in the Korean midst - Koreans' flying every-which-way and they were in their glory to have us there. They bought us copious amounts of beer and soju (a rice wine like saki), and we got them dancing. A conga line. Which they loved - it was a great evening.
We had a curfew that we we're being monitored on, for 10PM. We broke it. But we felt bad cause our host got in trouble for it - but sometimes scarafices must be made. And we bribed her back into good favour with a present.
The rest of the week ahead... yikes
