As I've mentioned before, it's been fairly gray here for a few weeks now.  This week, we've been getting peeks of sunshine, and I even had a sunny beach day on Saturday at beautiful Hyeopjae. Did a little snorkeling with Rob and we got called out of the water by the amazing Korean lifeguards which I can swim circles around with no legs.  Their rationale was that we were out of the 'designated swimming area' and were in a dangerous 3-4 feet of water.  They took out their rubber boat, motored over to us, leaving hundreds of Korean (incapable of swimming) standing all alone in the dangerous 2-3inch waves coming through and blew their whistles for about 5 minutes until we noticed.   Since we were close to some rocks, the 'lifeguards' didn't want to get to close, and risk getting wet, or touching something that wasn't sand.  They made no attempt to get in the water and alert us, just sat about 20m away, blowing.  Once Rob and I realized what was going on, we were basically forced to climb atop the sharp and slipper lava rocks, where we could easily break an ankle (especially Rob), get a concussion or a nasty gash.  This was definitely a lot safer than casually swimming the extra 30m to get back to the sand near where we were sitting....  It's absurd here how over-protective the Korean lifeguards are.  I think a lot of it has to do with their fear of the water, not the fear of people actually hurting themselves.  A few weeks ago, an ex-pat surfer supposedly had to paddle over and rescue a Korean stuck on the rocks at Jungmun while the lifeguards stood looking at him blowing their whistles.  That's what I need when I'm drowning, somebody to blow a whistle at me and let me know that I shouldn't be drowning.  I'd definitely stop at that point.    So anyway, Saturday we even played a little American Football in the sand.  I easily would have traded Marian for Rob.  Their skills were about the same, but I think she had a little more heart. 
School has stayed 'very very so-so'.  Nothing really new to report.  Our kids attempted to put on a little dance for a local school festival a few weeks ago which apparently was a disaster.  They spent nearly 3 weeks solid of 2 hours per day practicing a routine for 'Under the Sea' from 'The Little Mermaid'.  I designated myself the sound technician, so I merely pressed pause/play on the cd player for all 30 hours of in school practice.  (There were unfortunately way too many surf-sessions and late nights where that song was repeating over and over again in my head.)  The kids learned a little bit of the song in English, and elaborate fish and lobster costumes were rented for the kids to perform in.  Unfortunately they didn't take into account that the leader of one of the dance lines freezes under the slightest pressure.  Little Mary...  So cute, with her chubby little face and dimples.  But from the report, she didn't look too cute when she froze on stage and ruined the routine for the school.  I heard it wasn't even 'little kid funny', it was just embarrassing.  I do feel sorry for the kids that actually paid attention and tried, but I think it was a pretty big undertaking for such young kids.  And seriously, we're an English school, do we really need to be dancing instead of learning more English?  I guess it's all about trying to appear like we're making an effort. 
Still no decision on my trip out of here though.  Paul and I are starting to think that a few weeks just driving up and down the east coast of Australia might be worth it.  Indo is extremely rainy in January, and therefore could be a giant mud puddle.  Australia will be hot, sunny and have pretty consistent surf.  Plus, it'd be nice to hear some form of native English again.  There's also a trip in August for 3 nights-4 days for about $430usd to China that I'm thinking about taking.  It includes airfare, meals and I'd get to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square and a few other things.  This could be my only chance to see that stuff, and it's a great price.  I'm still on the fence, but if I can find somebody to share a room with, I think I have to do it.  Any thoughts?

Mary. (Meg's Photo)

Thanks Meg/Paul

I had a great 4 1/2 hour surf session with Pavi (Paul) today.  It was definitely a great relief, and surfing just seems to melt all my stress and worries away.  The waves were nothing incredible, about head-high, sectiony and breaking at different points.  It's still better than the average day in Folly.  I had a few good waves were I made connections to other waves inside, and ended up with good long rides.  During some of the close-out waves, I could still get a good drop-in, go around the whitewater and shoot straight up the wave, launching myself into the air.  It's not a very difficult exit, but it's fun everytime.  I'm like a little kid, with this big grin on my face when I see it coming.  It's just so nice to go out in the ocean with friends goof around, talk about anything, get a great workout and catch some decent waves.  I feel like my surfing is getting a little better.  I'm still not good, but I can tell big differences in the way I surf now as compared to last fall.  I have a little more confidence and am turning a little tighter.  It's great after all this time to finally be a 'competent' surfer.  Basically a surfer that doesn't wipeout everytime, but only every couple waves.  I'm still really nervous surfing over reef, in hollow conditions, but I guess that will come with time.  There's a guy here that's been surfing for over 20 years, and he just kills it in all the conditions, just like the South Africans, so it's good to pick up techniques and advice from them.   The reason I named this blog entry 'Surfing Purgatory' is because this place is just so 'in the middle'.  It's not great, it's not bad, but it is better than Folly.  Plus we're still in the 'rainy season' (I've used way too many quotes so far...) and it's jsut been gray every day.  The sun has peaked out once or twice in the past week, but it's just been cloudy with the occasional rain.  I think Rob jinxed us when he said that it had been an unsually mild rainy season and that it was ending soon.   Apparently it just keeps going.
  I still haven't made any decisions about my surf trip in January, but Indo is lookin bad.  Not because of the bombings, but because it's the rainiest month, and dirt roads don't handle rain too well.  Paul and I are still researching and looking into the Caroline Islands/Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and a couple other spots, but in the end it's going to come down to the airfare.  I was talking to one of the Southies, Grant, today about Indo and how I was nevervous going there, being a mediocre surfer and he made a good point that no matter where I go, if there are enough waves, I'll be able to find one that suits my ability.   Well, I'm pretty exhausted, so I might just watch some TV or read and pass out for the night.  Another crazy Saturday night, right?

Thanks Meg/Paul!