Alright I’ll be honest, this is one of the only few Korean phrases I know. But it definitely came in handy in the cold today as I was desperately trying to stay positive.
After our grind from DCA-LAX-ICN-Gangneung, including sports law quiz sessions and Panda Express chronicles, Leila, Murphy and I finally arrived at our dorm at 2am. I rested surprisingly well the first night considering jetlag and the day-long travel. Shoutout to my roommate Paul for waiting on my arrival.
One of the highlight today I have to say is ice-cream for breakfast. The owner at the SQ25 has that OG vibe where he would be chucking on a joint while chatting with you. He got us a cab to our following destination too, needless to say I’ll be getting ice-cream from him again tomorrow.
As Mike, Murphy and I were wondering in the city to get our uniforms and gears. We bumped into the myth, the legend, the lady Yang Yang herself, multiple Olympian gold winner, multiple World Championships, and continuing her legacy in the Chinese sports realm as a part of the IOC. All these I didn’t know till today, thanks Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Yang_(speed_skater,_born_1976)
Came the afternoon after I got my beloved gears, I made a rookie mistake by leaving my jackets behind and wearing only two layers against the -2 Celsius Gangneung freeze. But, this is when the kamsahamnida (thank you) and the annoyong haseyo (hello) served as lifesavers. When doing long hours of work, I always try to find the small things to entertain myself with. So as my victim, Allie was bombarded with my broken Korean phrases and the fact that I was saying them to virtually every Korean staff that walked pass us. On the other hand, I have to proudly say Allie indeed (potentially) learned those two phrases. (Picture below are of the Curling Center and dinner lounge in Gangneung).
By the end of our training, we had gone through the lounge, parking lots, seating sections and the security lanes. Another shoutout to Gloria for keeping me awake on the ride back home, chatting with me. We had been classmates for a semester but never gotten to know each other, it felt great to do so.
See, it’s the small things that gives you that boost in the clutch to grind through.
