Paragliding and a New Camera...

Mmmmm....fresh pineapple for chun won! Saturday, Kaley and I found ourselves with nothing to do so we called up our girl Kelly and decided we needed to explore Namdaemun market. We explored it and were completely overwhelmed. This market is HUGE! We escaped with one bottle of Hersey's syrup, two packs of American gum, three delicious pineapple skewers, and only one "Where did you go?" phone call! All in all a highly successful endeavor.

It was a little hazy and rainy all day so we decided to head over to Yongsan to LOOK at cameras. I am in the market for a new camera because my point and shoot decided to start taking really grainy pictures...A few weeks ago I mentioned to Kaley that I wanted to buy a new camera and she started researching for me...she was pretty excited. My friend Laura just bought a new camera and she scored herself a pretty good deal so I was going to go with her and see if we could get a similar deal...but then I saw the cameras and started talking to the guy and before I knew it I was headed to the cash machine to withdraw some money for a new camera. I went there wanting a Nikon...but I ended up with a Canon...the price was right...The last few days Kaley and I have been playing with this camera and we have been having a lot of fun. We have to play with it because the manual I got is in ALL Japanese...I don't speak or ready ANY Japanese...
Okay...Sunday...the real reason for this post...PARAGLIDING...About a month and a half ago I was looking at the USO website in Korea and I discovered that you could go paragliding...I mentioned this to Kaley and she said..."We are doing it!" So we signed up. Now, a few years back my girl Whitney and I went Para-sailing and I loved it...so I figured Paragliding would be equally fantastic...well folks...it was better. I loved it! I absolutely loved it!

Here is how it all went down. We left Dongnam Aparta (where I live) at 7:30 caught the 30-2 to the train station, got on the subway, took a little nap, and got to Samgakgi station at around 9:15. We had a little time, but we wanted a little bit extra time because we were not exactly sure where the USO office was. It turns out it was really easy to find. So we went looking for a coffee shop. Instead we found...grass...ahhhhhh.....grass!!!! Now to all you Midwestern readers grass doesn't seem like that big of a deal...in fact grass is somewhat of an annoyance at this time of year because you have to mow it ALL THE TIME!!! But to these Midwestern girls living in South Korea grass...real grass is a treat! We were so jazzed we had to take a few moments to soak it up.
After our snooze on the green we made our way to the Coffee shop...unfortunately it was closed...BUT...I found a great place to take a rest! Right in front of my coffee. Holly's Coffee is a big chain in South Korea...since I don't drink coffee I can't tell you if it is any good...but I think it is pretty neat. Since the coffee shop was closed Kaley settled for a coffee from 7-11 and then we decided we had burned enough time, so we went to the USO.
We got on a bus, sat back, enjoyed the hour ride while watching the goriest movie I have ever seen, Ninja Assassin, and soon arrived at the Paragliding site. Excitement brewing we went inside the office for our instructions. The guy did not speak very much English so our guide from the USO translated the important parts. These were our instructions:
1. Get strapped in and when they say run...run and don't stop...no matter what don't stop running...even when you feel like you can't run anymore...run...I looked at Kaley and I said..."So we need to run." Okay I can do that.
2. When you get in the air, put your arms here and push your butt back into the seat as far as it can go. It is really important for you to get your ass in the seat...as far back as possible...This was when I got the giggles because I had never heard a Korean say ass before...real mature Holly...real mature.
3. When you land, put your feet up. Don't try to land on your feet because you will get a sprain. Just put your feet up. You might think your butt will be in pain but it won't it will be fine. Just put your feet up.
That was it...those were our instructions. Okay...no problem...LET'S GO

We were a group of 8, so they told us we were going to split into 3 groups. They wanted the lighter people to go first because the wind is not as strong in the morning. I was going to be in the second group and Kaley was going to be in the first group. Kaley climbed on the back of the truck for the trek up the hill and I waited at the bottom. Soon I saw the two girls that went up with Kaley come down and then I saw Kaley. The longer I looked I realized that It looked like she was holding something. She was holding a video camera!
She landed like a pro with a big smile on her face! I was getting super excited at this point and couldn't wait for it to be my turn. Then it started to sprinkle and I thought for just a moment that I was not going to be able to go...I was getting a little long in the face when Kaley said "You will go! I know it!" Not two seconds later we were loading up for the bumpy, bumpy, bumpy, narrow, rocky, bumpy, branch swatting ride up the mountain. It was great!
I got to the top...helped my instructor carry our chute...answered a question about my weight...saw the look of surprise/disbelief/amusement on this Korean man's face...watched him share his newly acquired knowledge with his buddies...watched their surprised/disbelieved/amused faces...and strapped on my gear. While I was waiting a middle aged guy from Australia came over and started talking my ear off. He had A LOT of great stories about paragliding and said that Korea was the 4th best country in the world for the sport...He was VERY interesting and knowledgeable and I liked my chat with him. Then it was my turn to jump off the mountain. This is when I discovered that I too was going to be in charge of the video camera. I was nervous about this...What if I dropped it? Oh dear...In what little English he had he tried to explain to me how the camera worked. He said all I had to do was hold it and then when it was time to change it from video to picture to hand it back to him. My thinking as all of this was going on? "You want me to hand you a $3,000 camera in mid air? While you are driving our chute? Are you crazy?!?" But I managed to maintain my composure. And I did step one of the directions I ran and ran and ran and ran...It was a success! We were air born! I a heck of a time doing task #2 because I was holding that camera and couldn't get a good hold on my seat...so my butt was not able to make it all the way back in the seat. This was not the most comfortable feeling in the world...but as the ride went on I was able to scoot back a bit more.

Now for the mid-air hand off...I know all kinds of crazy things are possible in this world...Jets re-fuel mid air...people walk from one hot air balloon to another...but none of these things require ME...I was nervous. First hand off was successful...Second hand off was different...He told me he wanted me to fly! Uhhhh What? You want me to fly? I don't believe in my 5 minute prep time you said anything about flying? I have no instructions for this...Okay...Sure I will take the controls and turn us 180 degrees to the left. Oh now you want me to go 90 degrees to the right...okay...oh to the left? This went on for the next 6 minutes! I was PUMPED!!! I had such a nice long flight. It was in the air for 26 minutes and I successfully flew AND handed off the camera 3 times! Wahooo!!!!!
This is me in the air...marveling at the awesomeness of God's creation and then ingenuity of the human brain to create such an AMAZING thing...I mean who was the first person to decide "Oh I think I could jump off this mountain with a chute and gently glide around for a while and then land?" God is an amazing creator and designer!
This is me post landing telling my instruction "Good Job!" Kaley made fun of me for that! But I was just so pleased with my ride and so thankful that he allowed me to drive and that we made it without problem to the landing site!
This is my "Top Gun" pose...As my brother said, "I feel the need...the need to gently glide down a mountain." This shot was taken by Kaley and I must say "Good shot PB good shot."
Two very happy girls who want to go AGAIN!!!! The guy at the top said that it was very addicting and many people take it up as a hobby...I now see his point! It was so fun and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE.


Hols