I have to say that the timing for me was just wrong, a lot of things happened at the same time, and made this trip not as happy as it could be. Nobody's fault, but it was a bit of disappointment for me. Although, there were positive moments, and I am thinking of this trip quite a lot, which means it was worth it! Here I just want to write down my feelings about the whole thing.
Negative moments.
First of all, I just got back from my long trip to Russia, had enormous amounts of work for the whole week, slept 4 hours a day, was totally stressed and just needed some rest, and not another trip.
I was stupid enough to forget to pick up my visa from the Korean embassy, so I had to change my flight and go to Seoul by myself (which ended up to be a good thing). Traveling from the airport to the city alone in the middle of the night wasn't fun. Then I washed my hair and went to bed, because I was exhausted. I knew that I will get sick from doing that, so guess what? It happened. In the morning I woke up with sore throat. :(
The city itself didn't impress me that much. It's too similar to Beijing, in my opinion. It's actually the first time I wasn't very excited about a new place... Maybe because it wasn't that new for me after China? :)
I guess the pain in my throat wasn't enough, so I had a very bad headache the whole first day. Therefore, I couldn't really dance or enjoy life; even pills did not help.
Next problem was food. I don't really eat meet and I can't eat spicy... Oh, wait! Korean food is all meat or spicy.. or spicy meat, yeah! So, no food for Leru. I ate something, but every time it was either bland, because without the spicy sauce it just doesn't taste like anything, or it hurt after.
Moving on, the first night at KLR, the very first dance at the party, I got stepped on my foot pretty bad. It was very blue and very painful for the rest of the trip.
I don't really have any complains about KLR as an event, except that everything started very late, and the advance track wasn't nearly advance. But I do know how hard it is to organize a big event, so I don't want to say anything bad about it. There were some moments to improve in my opinion, but you can't please everyone in any way. The band was great, but I got really tired of it, because it was every night. No matter how good the band is, you want to switch to something else after some time dancing to their music.
Dancers in Seoul have very good level, but it was weird, that most of them dance absolutely the same. I'm not kidding! Same moves, same variations, even in the same place! It's like dancing with one person for the whole event. The other thing that eventually made me hide from people is that they ask you to dance no matter what. It's nice, but you also need some rest, and you want to ask people you want to dance with too. Nope. You talk, or walk away, or try to eat - no one cares. I hate saying "no" to people, I love when leaders invite me to dance, but it borders with a nightmare after a while, when it's too intense. Because of that, I almost didn't have a chance to dance with the people I wanted.
Also, because I was in constant pain for the whole time there (my throat, my foot, my stomach), I was sour and grumpy all the time. I don't know how people manage to be around me! I was inpatient, annoyed, demanding and all those kind of pretty things. In other words, I was the party pooper. I can't say I was happy about it.
The last dance party was also a big disappointment. I came late, because I needed to get some rest before dancing, I took some medicine, so I feel a bit better, my foot wasn't as bad anymore, so I really wanted to dance till the end. BUT! The party ended at midnight! Sad, sad, sad. Then we tried to go somewhere to have a drink, but it didn't work out the way we wanted, so I got back to the hostel in a pretty foul mood.
Positive moments.
Of course there were good moments and things I liked, so I just hope that I will forget all the negative after some time, and the best will stay.
The first thing I really liked was the train cafe. There was just a cafe that Josh recommended to me, that is decorated in the train theme. It's very nice and cozy, very cool design! Plus, I had there the most delicious apricot tea ever! I wanted to go back there at some point, but we just didn't have time to do so, unfortunately.
Another nice moment was when I went to see a park by myself (which was a right thing to do, because then I stop annoying people around me). I was walking for some time, and got pretty tired. I saw a bench in the far corner of the park, when nobody ever goes to. I had the sweetest little nap in my life on that bench! :)
I really liked the hostel we stayed at. It was more like a hotel, very big, and had nice rooms. People told me that it is the former Korean CIA building! I wanted to go to the roof top the whole time, but again, no time. It was nice to stay with a part of our Beijing crew in one room too.
We had a good team feeling among Beijing people all the time in Korea. I truly enjoyed this! We did have a great performance, and really fun Team Battle, which wasn't really a team battle, it was a bit strange, but who cares, because Beijing Team ROCKS! It was funny, cool, joyful, and people loved it! Thanks to everyone who was in the team!
Of course I have to say that the dance level in Korea is great. I enjoyed dancing with Korean leaders, except the moment that I mentioned above. But it was really nice to be invited all the time, and some of the dancers are very good. I still think that Storm is the best leader I danced with in Seoul. He is the star! :) Too bad I was not feeling well to get 100% of dances with him. A few other best dances of the event I had on Saturday night, after the band. I was DJing and could actually ask people to dance myself. It was a lot of fun to dance with some Korean guy (too bad I don't know his name), and Japanese British girl (what was her name?). She is an amazing follower!!! In the moments like this, I wish to be a better leader. The best dance I had on Sunday was with Josh, actually. I was tired of watching people dancing, and I really wanted to dance myself. Even though I try not to dance with people from my city while i'm at an event somewhere else, I wanted to dance, and there was Josh. That was the best dance of the whole Sunday indeed!
A lot of positive I got from shopping and doughnuts. Mmmm... doughnuts!!! Because i couldn't eat korean food, I usually spent my lunch time at Mr.Doughnut. :) I'm so happy, that they don't have it in Beijing. Otherwise I would look pretty much like one of those doughnuts. Shopping was great, because they have a lot of cute stuff very cheap and you don't have to bargain! I bought some stuff I'm really happy about.
Of course it was also nice to see some people again, and meet some people that I knew only online. It was really cool to chat with Nina. I think she was the only one of the teachers who actually hanged out with other people.
Funny moments.
Interesting that Seoul has a lot of signs in Chinese, mostly traditional characters. When I just arrive to the airport in Seoul, I was confused, because I could only see English and traditional Chinese. To be honest, I freaked out, because they were boarding two flights from the same gate in Beijing: Seoul and Hong Kong. For a few minutes I thought that I may got on the wrong plane! :) Bathroom saved me from going insane - there were some signs in Korean.
Also, a lot of restaurant staff could speak mandarin. It was nice, because then you could actually get what you want, even if they don't speak English. Isn't it interesting?
That is everything that I can recall at this point. I may remember more later, then I will add it here.
Negative moments.
First of all, I just got back from my long trip to Russia, had enormous amounts of work for the whole week, slept 4 hours a day, was totally stressed and just needed some rest, and not another trip.
I was stupid enough to forget to pick up my visa from the Korean embassy, so I had to change my flight and go to Seoul by myself (which ended up to be a good thing). Traveling from the airport to the city alone in the middle of the night wasn't fun. Then I washed my hair and went to bed, because I was exhausted. I knew that I will get sick from doing that, so guess what? It happened. In the morning I woke up with sore throat. :(
The city itself didn't impress me that much. It's too similar to Beijing, in my opinion. It's actually the first time I wasn't very excited about a new place... Maybe because it wasn't that new for me after China? :)
I guess the pain in my throat wasn't enough, so I had a very bad headache the whole first day. Therefore, I couldn't really dance or enjoy life; even pills did not help.
Next problem was food. I don't really eat meet and I can't eat spicy... Oh, wait! Korean food is all meat or spicy.. or spicy meat, yeah! So, no food for Leru. I ate something, but every time it was either bland, because without the spicy sauce it just doesn't taste like anything, or it hurt after.
Moving on, the first night at KLR, the very first dance at the party, I got stepped on my foot pretty bad. It was very blue and very painful for the rest of the trip.
I don't really have any complains about KLR as an event, except that everything started very late, and the advance track wasn't nearly advance. But I do know how hard it is to organize a big event, so I don't want to say anything bad about it. There were some moments to improve in my opinion, but you can't please everyone in any way. The band was great, but I got really tired of it, because it was every night. No matter how good the band is, you want to switch to something else after some time dancing to their music.
Dancers in Seoul have very good level, but it was weird, that most of them dance absolutely the same. I'm not kidding! Same moves, same variations, even in the same place! It's like dancing with one person for the whole event. The other thing that eventually made me hide from people is that they ask you to dance no matter what. It's nice, but you also need some rest, and you want to ask people you want to dance with too. Nope. You talk, or walk away, or try to eat - no one cares. I hate saying "no" to people, I love when leaders invite me to dance, but it borders with a nightmare after a while, when it's too intense. Because of that, I almost didn't have a chance to dance with the people I wanted.
Also, because I was in constant pain for the whole time there (my throat, my foot, my stomach), I was sour and grumpy all the time. I don't know how people manage to be around me! I was inpatient, annoyed, demanding and all those kind of pretty things. In other words, I was the party pooper. I can't say I was happy about it.
The last dance party was also a big disappointment. I came late, because I needed to get some rest before dancing, I took some medicine, so I feel a bit better, my foot wasn't as bad anymore, so I really wanted to dance till the end. BUT! The party ended at midnight! Sad, sad, sad. Then we tried to go somewhere to have a drink, but it didn't work out the way we wanted, so I got back to the hostel in a pretty foul mood.
Positive moments.Of course there were good moments and things I liked, so I just hope that I will forget all the negative after some time, and the best will stay.
The first thing I really liked was the train cafe. There was just a cafe that Josh recommended to me, that is decorated in the train theme. It's very nice and cozy, very cool design! Plus, I had there the most delicious apricot tea ever! I wanted to go back there at some point, but we just didn't have time to do so, unfortunately.
Another nice moment was when I went to see a park by myself (which was a right thing to do, because then I stop annoying people around me). I was walking for some time, and got pretty tired. I saw a bench in the far corner of the park, when nobody ever goes to. I had the sweetest little nap in my life on that bench! :)
I really liked the hostel we stayed at. It was more like a hotel, very big, and had nice rooms. People told me that it is the former Korean CIA building! I wanted to go to the roof top the whole time, but again, no time. It was nice to stay with a part of our Beijing crew in one room too.
We had a good team feeling among Beijing people all the time in Korea. I truly enjoyed this! We did have a great performance, and really fun Team Battle, which wasn't really a team battle, it was a bit strange, but who cares, because Beijing Team ROCKS! It was funny, cool, joyful, and people loved it! Thanks to everyone who was in the team!
Of course I have to say that the dance level in Korea is great. I enjoyed dancing with Korean leaders, except the moment that I mentioned above. But it was really nice to be invited all the time, and some of the dancers are very good. I still think that Storm is the best leader I danced with in Seoul. He is the star! :) Too bad I was not feeling well to get 100% of dances with him. A few other best dances of the event I had on Saturday night, after the band. I was DJing and could actually ask people to dance myself. It was a lot of fun to dance with some Korean guy (too bad I don't know his name), and Japanese British girl (what was her name?). She is an amazing follower!!! In the moments like this, I wish to be a better leader. The best dance I had on Sunday was with Josh, actually. I was tired of watching people dancing, and I really wanted to dance myself. Even though I try not to dance with people from my city while i'm at an event somewhere else, I wanted to dance, and there was Josh. That was the best dance of the whole Sunday indeed!
A lot of positive I got from shopping and doughnuts. Mmmm... doughnuts!!! Because i couldn't eat korean food, I usually spent my lunch time at Mr.Doughnut. :) I'm so happy, that they don't have it in Beijing. Otherwise I would look pretty much like one of those doughnuts. Shopping was great, because they have a lot of cute stuff very cheap and you don't have to bargain! I bought some stuff I'm really happy about.
Of course it was also nice to see some people again, and meet some people that I knew only online. It was really cool to chat with Nina. I think she was the only one of the teachers who actually hanged out with other people.
Funny moments.
Interesting that Seoul has a lot of signs in Chinese, mostly traditional characters. When I just arrive to the airport in Seoul, I was confused, because I could only see English and traditional Chinese. To be honest, I freaked out, because they were boarding two flights from the same gate in Beijing: Seoul and Hong Kong. For a few minutes I thought that I may got on the wrong plane! :) Bathroom saved me from going insane - there were some signs in Korean.
Also, a lot of restaurant staff could speak mandarin. It was nice, because then you could actually get what you want, even if they don't speak English. Isn't it interesting?
That is everything that I can recall at this point. I may remember more later, then I will add it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment