On the 5th of December I had my first experience snowboarding! We got up around 5am and got ready, heading out into the morning before it had even started to get light, trying not to sl
ip on the icy ground while carrying all the snowboarding gear. We went to Suwon first, where we were to catch the ski resort bus to Jisan, and grabbed a bite to eat along the way – we knew we would be spending at least a few hours n the bus. We got to the ski field and hustled to get ready… everyone I was with had season passes and their own snowboards so I was the only one who needed to get a day pass and hire boot and a board. As soon as we were ready we jumped on a chair lift and headed up the bunny slope (still looked fairly huge to me at this point…). I haven’t been skiing in 10 years, and I have never been snowboarding, so sheer terror is probably the best way to describe what I was feeling when we hit the top of the first slope. I had assistance attaching the boots to the board, which was als
o a scary, having your feet strapped to something and unable to move is unnerving at first – I’m guessing it just takes some time to get used to. Then I tried to stand up. Then I tried to stand up again…and again… and realized I was going to be spending a substantial portion of my day sitting on the snow and probably head home with some spectacular bruising! The first run was a nightmare, I was a quivering mess by the time I eventually got to the bottom, I seriously considered taking the board off and walking down but my pride wouldn’t allow me to give up that easily. My stomach and arm muscles were killing me from trying to hoist myself upright while still leaning backwards so I didn’t go flying down the slope accidentally, I was trying really hard not to cry from sheer frustration at the fact that I couldn’t seem to pick it up in the first 5 minutes, for those of you who know me well you would know that I assume there is something very wrong with me if I can’t master a new skill in 30 seconds (which I am 
well aware is ridiculous!). I had also become incredibly grumpy and was unbelievably relieved when my companions suggested lunch. After lunch I sent them off on a run and relaxed after giving myself a stern talking to, they were back fairly quickly and I decided to give it another go, after all my pride wouldn’t let me stop after just one run…and my snowboarding pants are so cute they really needed to be worn!
We went for a steeper slope this time around…which I thought was a really bad idea given how much trouble I had on the bunny slope but my companions insisted that it was easier to stand up on a steep slope…so I pulled myself together and climbed onto the chairlift. It was great! It was so much easier to stand up and I felt like I was starting to figure it out, the balance thing was getting easier, and I wasn’t falling as often! I made it down a couple of r
uns with only 1 or two falls – the one time I was certain I was going to make it without falling I was taken out by a girl who apologized about 15 times in English. By the end of the day I was incredibly sore and tired but feeling very satisfied that I had given it a real go and I wasn’t a complete waste of space on the snow! As soon as we got back we headed to the “all you can eat” Galbi place and ate till we were like balloons trying to get through the door on the way out, went home and fell asleep within about 10 minutes! I have been once or twice since then - I am still terrible - but I can stand up a little better now. I may well go back to skiing though!
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