Perhaps it's because I spent a good chunk of my childhood in the heat of West Africa, but I'm not into cold weather. I generally spend most of the winter months wishing I were on a tropical beach. A lot of people I know get really excited for the cold to come because that means they can go snowboarding or skiing. Me on the other hand? I've never believed in playing in snow. I could never understand why anyone would want to subject themselves to that kind of cold suffering! So I've never had any real desire to try any kind of winter sport- no ice skating, skiing, or snowboarding.
However, with the coming of a new year/decade, yesterday, I decided to get over myself and tag along on a snowboarding trip with a group of friends. Oh my goodness. I finally understand the obsession! I had soooo much fun!!! Far more fun than I ever imagined. We woke up before the crack of dawn to catch the shuttle bus to Daemyung Vivaldi Park Ski Resort, which is about a 1.5 hour-drive from Seoul. Once we got there, we had to pay for the ski lifts and rental clothes, shoes and boards, which came out to a total of about 85,000 won per person. I guess if you have your own gear, it's considerably cheaper. Apparently, Koreans are pretty into snowboarding, especially the younger generation- they come all decked out in their own fancy neon-colored outerwear and goggles. hehe
Anyway, after getting ourselves all sorted, we got to snowboard for about 3.5 hours. It was also snowing quite a bit- big fat, fluffy snowflakes. At the end of it all, I have to admit, snowboarding is awesome! After two rides down the bunny slope, I attempted the intermediate slope and made it down to the bottom in one piece! And by the end, I wasn't falling on my ass too much- although I did have to plop myself down once in a while because my legs were sore. haha. Man, playing in snow is a serious workout, and I know that my aching muscles will prevent me from functioning normally for the few days or so. But as my friend-turned-snowboarding-coach said, "it's all good pain."
By the time we were all loaded on the bus and on our way back to Seoul, we were all so pooped and starving. Good thing I had brought some sustenance- a batch of Pumpkin Bran Muffins from Isa's Vegan Brunch book! They were just what we needed, and everyone loved them. :) Sorry, no pics of the muffins- we were too busy scarfing them down to think about taking photos.
So yea... it was a pretty good second day of 2010. I think we're off to a good start this year! :)