During the cold winter months, Volleyball has been a great way to keep active and it is so darn fun! There are always jokes and laughter involved, even when competing gets hard core! Volley ball is four days a week for about three hours every evening. Lately, I have been going three days a week. We start out with warming up by stretching, peppering, hitting, and doing some drills- yes, like I said, sometimes it is hard core! Then we normally play on both the men's and women's net for a few games.
Our club team, Chamdam Sang Am, just had a one year anniversary celebration. Many teams around the area have been together for several years, but this club is fairly new. The day of the anniversary, we played as usual and then had a huge traditional feast! There were so many delicious meats, flavorful vegetables, many types of kimchi (of course), and Korean rice and berry wine. Now the food was outstanding, but what really topped the party off, was the boiled pig head on the center table, surrounded by many other fruits and vegetable offerings. Having a pig head is the Korean custom and very common for these occasions.
Before eating, everyone lined up as we watched our new club president and several other older members in the club line up and bow several times to the table of offerings. I thought it quite strange, but it was explained to me that the bowing was for good fortune in the upcoming year. After awhile, everyone had a chance to bow and several stuck money in the pig's mouth. Chino, one of the funniest people I know, stuck a bill in it's right nostril! HA! I was told that the pig head is eaten, although, I didn't see anyone at volley ball eat it that night. It was quite an interesting and unforgetable experience! Little did I know we were going to play more after eating, especially after drinking a few cups of wine~ what a grand time!
This past weekend, I had my first tournament! I love our 'red' jerseys (fantastic color!), but I couldn't believe someone decorated it with sparkly rhinestones on the collar and in heart shapes up and down the front! Nooooo....WHY! Oh well, maybe this helps blind the other team from seeing the ball! he he
Jenni and I were the only wayguks, foreigners, at the tournament. Actually, this experience reminded me a lot of playing basketball on the Rez around Gallup in grade school and being the only white girl. So it didn't make me uncomfortable at all. If anything, I think these experiences are eye-opening and also, it was fun getting high fives by people I didn't know. This was Jenni's second tournament and several players from other teams remembered her. It was pretty funny when other team members mentioned how they would like to have foreigners on their team and joked how our team could at least spare one. Our team, faithfully said, "No way, we love these girls!"
Before we started played out of respect for others and the game, we bowed first to the refs, both coaches on our side and theirs, and then to the other team. Wow, there is so much bowing! Respect is so important in Korea. Basically, I just went with the flow and tried to take it all in.
Although, our games were tons of fun and we did great, we came up short and dropped out of the tournament early. It was so nostalgic playing the setter position and, for once, I also played a hitting position later on! The nets are a lot lower here and, just maybe, I'm taller than average height here, I can't always tell. :-) Overall, my body was beat and sore after the game (which felt pretty good), filled with kimchi jjigae and delicious warm tofu (truthfully, it was really tasty and great quality), and so pleased to have spent a whole Saturday getting closer to such awesome people.
Can't wait for future tournaments!
One of my favorites that was stuck in my head all day Saturday.
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changing as it flows
And the dreamer's just the vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores.
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide.
And there's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all.
Yes I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry.
~ The River, Garth Brooks
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