I consider myself (and have included in my Blogger profile) a swimmer, a cyclist, a wood carver, a photographer and a canoeist.
Well, maybe I don't consider myself a photographer, the term has professional overtones, but it is certainly one of my hobbies; and from the list, the only one I suppose I can legitimately claim these days. I take one to 30 pictures a week; most of them of Alex, my son, but many of Gangwondo's wild scenery.
It's been a long time since I last swam and years since I stepped foot in a canoe. The latter is not for lack of trying; on my last trip to Canada I hunted for a canoeing partner spend an afternoon on a river. That was in late December. There were no takers and rivers froze up unusually early.
The reason I am writing about this is two articles I recently read. The first is titled, "Monarch of cycling conquers mountain challenge" and describes the chairperson of the Bike Lovers Association (apparently, a women's cycling group). Heo Hae-sook is a real cycling hobbyist, riding several times every week and riding challenging routes I have gone out of my to avoid. When she was 66, she rode from Gangneung to Daegwallyeong, going from sea level to about a thousand metres of altitude. Last summer, I enjoyed a few good rides but deliberately kept to the coastal roads so as not to climb uncomfortable hills.
The second article is titled, "Carving Buddhist Teachings on Wood" and describes a wood carving monk who has put serious time into his carving while remaining modest about his work, "He even rejected being called a ``master of Zen wood engravings.'' ``There was no such things as Zen wood engravings, but just wood engravings. And I am not a master either. Publishers wanting to sell more of my books invented the title,'' he said. ``I am not a good calligrapher.'' "
He has a website: www.heaan.co.kr
Perhaps I will dig out my chisels or take the piled boxes off my bike and put some kilometres on it tomorrow. Maybe I can use these two articles as motivators. Well, if you see travel shots here in the next week, you will know I have returned to my bike. The chisels will remain where they are; they don't mix well with an increasingly mobile baby in a small apartment.
Now for the 'more'.
Update: There is no intensive course in the summer - the dates July 24-Aug 20 are the school break.
I just received a letter from the 'Sokcho Lifelong Education Information Center' - how did they get my address? Anyway, however they managed it, I am interested in what they sent me: information about Korean Language Classes for Foreigners. The letter is in Korean, which means they are looking for students with some solid basics already understood or they don't really understand their target market. The website given is also in Korean only. Still, it seems that registration will be from the 15th to the 17th of Feb and classes run from March 7 to Nov 30 with a summer class from July 24 to Aug 20. I will post more details once I get help reading the letter.
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3 comments:
Check again, I'm pretty sure it was a summer break they were talking about. IT's not geared for the likes of us, though, with afternoon classes. It's probably aimed at the Vietnamese and Cambodian young ladies who come to marry the fishermen and farmers around here.
Believe it or not, there are around 500 foreigners registered in this town, not so many of them "visible" minorities.
Sorry--I just noticed your update.
BTW, there are also free morning classes once a week at the YWCA--for women, but they have been known to make exceptions. There's about a 50% focus on language and 50% on things like culture, cooking, and arts and crafts.
I'm a beginning carver. My interest comes and goes too. You sound like you've been doing it longer. When the mood reaches you again, maybe it will be time to carve again.
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