Muppet hand has turned into a slight deformity...no more bandage, and swelling is down, but when I hold my hand in a normal limp position the pinky juts out to the right ever-so-slightly too much. And now its just a sore-type pain, so it is getting better. But I still can't completely bend or straighten my last two fingers so I think I am going to go to the hospital today (actually I thought I would be there by now so maybe I am not going today..? I will insist on going though because, ouch. Ish. But it would be nice to have all of the functions of my fingers in the future. And hey, if not, I will just find some way to use it to my advantage.
This weekend was an interesting one. I didn't go to practice at all on Saturday because Coach thought it would be better if I didn't ride on the roads if I didn't have full use of my right hand, which is used to operate the brake for the back wheel, which is the more important break or the two. I also took the day off swimming because it was sore...so I studied with C for much of the day. After studying and riding my trainer, C came back to pick me up and took me to a party that one of his co workers was having. The party was for his baby's 100-day birthday, called 'Baek-il". There were "Happy Birthday" signs, and balloons that said "It's a Girl!" (in English) so I felt a bit familiar with those - but other than that I was completely lost. Especially since there were over 200 people there and I knew...one? That actually didn't bother me too much - the only thing that makes me feel awkward in situations like that is when people try to talk to me in Korean and I can't understand. I know I say this all the time but I feel rude being in other people's countries and not being able to speak the language - I feel like they all automatically have a bad impression of me. Anyway.
So this party took place at a really nice restaurant, which had a really big buffet. Lots of food - huge King Crab to name one of the noteables. And since it was a Saturday night, there were LOTS of people there...that actually made me really anxious and a bit uncomfortable, I'm sure only because of the initial discomfort. But it was very interesting. I need to start taking more pictures (and I actually just bought a new camera so expect lots of new pictures soon :) ) There were multiple big rooms in this restaurant and C's co worker had rented out one so we were all in there together. The father and the mother were both wearing what looked to be traditional Korean celebratory dress, which was very beautiful. The baby was also wearing traditional dress, which matched that of her parents. She was SO cute! And hour or so into the dinner the baby started to pick numbers out of a bowl (I think it was a bowl) as a raffle-type thing, but I don't really understand what that was about (I should ask C...I was too busy just looking and sucking it all in...the atmosphere was so nice, everyone seemed like one big family, very energetic and vibrant and loving). During and after the party I met a few of C's co workers - they were all really nice, especially a few of the older ones (by older I mean in comparison, probably in their 30s) who knew a bit of English - they were very extremely welcoming and friendly. The man who was having the party at one point even came over and said, "Hello, Catie! Welcome!" (Or something to that extent) I was very surprised to hear my name...haha.
So amongst all of the other people who were there (family and friends, etc), there were many people from the man's work, which is the pool where C works. So, later on in the night, I met a bunch more Korean swimmers (or x-swimmers). A few of them were pretty sick (meaning really fast..:) )...they are very interesting people. I love how I randomly meet C who happens to be a swimmer and then I meet all these other Korean swimmers...I almost know more Korean athletes than American athletes now (not really but if we are talking percent of American athletes and percent of Korean athletes, I probably know a higher percent of the latter). So that was fun.
On Sunday I realized that my heart rate for running 8:30 miles is insanely high - way higher than it should be - although I am not breathing too hard...I'm not sure what that means...my resting heart rate is decently low (like low 50s) but when I am running 8:30-ish miles (maybe towards the end around 8:10s, with somewhat long, low-grade hills) my HR is between 178 and 185...?! But I am breathing with my mouth closed comfortably (like not trying to keep my mouth closed)...is that normal?! And my max HR is only like...well I have only gotten it to 197 since I got my HRM...but I will mave to monitor this because it is a bit unsettling...ha. Anyway.
Also, I bit the bullet on Sunday and told Coach about my special Korean man-friend...I was really nervous about this because Coach's opinion means a lot to me so I told him that I wanted him (Coach) to meet him (C). For the first time I saw his face go serious...haha. I was prepared for that, although not expecting it. And he started asking me many questions, like what his occupation is and where he goes to school, etc. My heart was beating so fast in anticipation of how he would react (he and his wife of course, both of their approvals mean a lot to me). I told him that I love them so much and so I want them to meet him to make sure they think he is a good guy, and Coach said he thought that was a good idea (haha :) ). His wife later makes a comment that 'he (Coach) is so serious!' But she said he is only like that because they really care about me and want to make sure that this guy is good for me. So we will all meet sometime probably in the next week. I am a little scared, but interested to see how it goes, and what Coach thinks. It's not like I would do anything that he said without thinking twice about it, but I feel that I know him well enough now that I can definitely say that I trust him and his wife, which is not a word that I throw around lightly. So yea...that's that...
On a more...UGH...note, 6th graders are wearing me out. I stayed up for about 2.5 to 3 hours last night making a Thanksgiving-day powerpoint (yes I know it is late) for today's class, and actually put a lot of effort into it to make it fun and interesting and educational. One class got to maybe the 4th slide out of 14 because they were so obnoxious. I lost my appetite after teaching 3 classes. If I get an ulcer here it will be from the 6th graders at Allak..ahhyyyeee. Don't get me wrong there are a few that are good, but...bah. Anyways. At least I learned a lot about Thanksgiving that I actually didn't know before making the presentation. It's interesting (and maybe pathetic?) that it took me traveling to South Korea to actually learn all about a holiday that we celebrate in North America...
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