Time Alone

This weekend, Gianni and I had some serious time apart. Not in a bad kind of way, but I had a busy schedule of things he wasn't interested in. So it was the first time we've done different things in a while. I think it worked out better for him that it did for me though! He got to hang out at home, playing video games and sleeping in. I on the other hand got up early both days (extremely early on Saturday) and didn't get to relax very much at all.

Saturday was Serena's black belt test. Serena's husband, Max, is in the military, and they started doing taekwondo at our gym a few months before we started. They're really great, and you've probably already heard a lot about them on this blog. Serena's mom and sister and Max's daughter were visiting from the States, so they got to see her black belt test also. I really wanted to go and support Serena and also see what the black belt test is going to be like for when I take my own, which will probably be in October. The test started at 9, but Master Hwang wanted us to meet at the gym at 8, so I had to get up at 6:30 and catch the 7am bus to get to the gym on time. It was the second earliest day I've had since coming to Korea! Not the most fun thing ever. We got to the stadium where the test was being held and waited around for stuff to get started. The "opening ceremony" was pretty cool. A demonstration team did a taekwondo skit where a mother and son get harassed by some guys at night, so the little son starts taking taekwondo. It was pretty funny, and he did all kinds of cool tricks and broke boards and stuff by the end of it. The belt test itself took a while. It was like being at a swim meet again. The little kids went through their tests first, and then the adult black belts. For the black belt test, you have to know 8 forms. You will always perform the 8th one, but the other two are random. The second on you have to perform is chosen at the start of the event, so everyone ends up doing two of the same. The last one is totally random and changes for each group. In the center of the stadium, there were 4 different blue areas. You move from one area to the next doing all 3 form demonstration and then one minute of sparring where you can only kick. Each blue area was divided in half and each half had one judge, so the judges look at groups of 6 people, but the people in one half are doing the same thing as those in the other half. It seemed really nerve-wracking because you get no feedback as soon as you're finished. You do the belt test, but you only find out 6 weeks later whether you passed or not! It's crazy! Serena did a wonderful job anyway. After their test, we all went out for kal guk su. We had the seafood version of this when we went to seonyudo, but we got the chicken version this time. It was basically Korean chicken noodle soup, and it was delicious. I went back to the gym with Master Hwang where I practiced my forms for a while before testing for my red belt. We were supposed to do it Friday, but we didn't pass, and I didn't feel like thinking about it all weekend. I knew the forms, but there were too many people around Friday, and I couldn't think. I performed the forms Master Hwang wanted me to, and I passed the test! Gianni and I were both given our red  belts on Tuesday (Gianni retook the test Monday), so our next belt test is black! We will be practicing for the next several months, so that's a relief.

On Sunday, I had to wake up a bit earlier than usual to meet a friend in her area of Daegu. She and her other friend had been raving about a salon that does permanent straightening. All the salons in Korea do it, but I didn't want to go somewhere untested for as big a thing as this. Korean hair is stronger than Western hair, and if they did something wrong, I could have lost my hair! So Colette and her friend had said this place was great, and they made me an appointment there. I do like my curly hair, don't get me wrong, but with the summer humidity in Daegu, straightening my hair with a flat iron is out of the question. As soon as I walk outside, my hair goes curly and frizzy again. Getting my hair permanent straightened is basically the only way to make it functional this summer. I took the bus to Colette's neighborhood and waited for her at the stop for a while. I didn't know, but she had gotten really sick the night before with some sort of flu. She felt okay enough to walk me to the salon, Bobo's, and get me set up. Colette's hair took about three hours to get finished, so that's how much time I had planned for. But I found out that my hair is almost as stubborn as I am! I had to get two treatments, and it took almost 5 hours to do! The stylists were really nice and helpful though. I think the stylists are very concerned about being precise here in Korea. Even Gianni's cuts seem to take longer than they do at home. The day basically went: wash, treatment, set, rinse, blow dry, wet, treatment (because it wasn't shiny enough after the first time, I guess), set, rinse, blow dry, super hard core straighten with flat irons (seriously! it took forever for them to finish this part), wash, blow dry, cut dead ends, straighten just a bit more. I got so hungry that my hands were shaking, and I had to ask the staff for food. They were really nice and got me some food in the area to eat while my hair set the second time. When I was done, they gave me a deep conditioner for free also! The were really sweet and definitely knew what they were doing. The woman who did most of the work spoke limited English, and I think she was the only one in the salon with any English at all, but they were still really great. My hair looks fabulous still, and it should stay straight for about 6 months!

So that was my Gianni-less, busy weekend. Not the most fun weekend I've ever had, but good nonetheless. This weekend, Gianni and I are going to finish the English stamp book by going to a place called Herb Hillz. And Happy July 4th to all those back home! We're going to watch the fireworks at Camp Walker on our South African friend's roof and have a BBQ tonight!