PT, My Way

Last June—just as school ended—the Yongsan Garrison Commander decreed that, as PT (Physical Training) was an integral component of a soldier’s job description and Yongsan is first and foremost an army garrison with its mission priorities focused on troops, no motorized vehicles would be permitted to travel certain roads from 6:00-7:00 on weekday mornings to allow troops to train, run, etc., unhindered by traffic.  Multiple gates would close, too, during this timeframe so that vehicles can neither enter nor exit the garrison.  (For a true emergency, we have been assured, gate and road access would be granted . . . with a military police escort, no less!)  All three schools on Yongsan Garrison line one of the main thoroughfares barred to traffic during this morning training hour, and both gates that I normally use to access the garrison close. 

Last year I generally arrived at school around 6:30—an arrival time still possible when I walk!  However, for driving days I either need to be at school before 6:00 or else brave the glut of traffic entering at 7:00 and inching through the multiple intersections orchestrated by the whistles and hand motions of military policemen arrayed in camouflage BDUs and fluorescent orange vests.  Last year my running days dwindled to none by November, ultimately expunged by big city traffic and big city air quality.  Yet, during my first month in Korea while living on post (before moving into my apartment), I ran regularly in the early morning and quite successfully.  In fact, the garrison really is the best place to run because traffic is less dense, especially in the early morning, and better options exist for “greener” routes.

So, before school began this year, I experimented with driving on post before 6:00 and running during the “PT Hour.”  Five weeks later and I’m still running at least three mornings a week.  On school mornings, I head to school about 5:40 dressed to run.  (Interestingly enough, there is always at least one other car in the parking lot when I pull in, but, as of yet, never more than three vehicles occupy spaces until after 7:00.)  After dumping stuff in my classroom, I’m off, usually a few minutes before 6:00, just as first light truly breaks the dark. 

No matter how hard I have tried to remedy circumstances inherent in dressing for work away from one’s own boudoir, I think my presentation always looks somewhat wilted on the days I run; the hair, especially, I can’t get right.  I have made my peace, though:  I can surrender the ultimate “crisp” in appearance for the loveliness of a day with a run.

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[This morning I carted my little camera with me on the run.  A somewhat overcast sky flattened the magic of the early morning light often accompanying me on my runs this September.]

 I warm up by walking from school to the community playing fields.

 I stretch with the railing bar on the flat between the two flights of stairs.

 Believe it or not, this is an ascent!

 The curve before the highest point on my route.

 Now I descend toward Embassy Housing.  (Can you see the "gate" into Embassy Housing?)

 After running through two sections of Embassy Housing, I head to the path in back of the Fun Park; here is the skate park section.

 The path on the right I use for backward running, skipping, butt-kicks, etc. because it's mostly straight and rarely has anyone else on it.  (And, yes, that is a driving range on the left--another section of the Fun Park.)

 Then I head toward the schools again.  The elementary school is coming into view on the right.

 Looking over one of the elementary school's playgrounds.  At the top of the stairs on the left, I stretch out again after a run.

 Looking toward the middle school campus.  The windows on the right of the taller building is where my classroom last year was located.

 This year, though, I have a "hut" classroom; it's the farthest one back in this building.

 Here's the entrance to my classroom.

 Looking back to "office" building of the middle school from the sidewalk by the entrance to my classroom.

What I did during my summer vacation . . .

Having already reported to school nine mornings--the last five with students--and with Labor Day clocking in tomorrow, I shall here indulge in a farcically time-honored tradition:  A recounting of what I did during my summer vacation . . .

• I returned toTiananmen Square and the Forbidden City--seven years after my first visit (2004) and subsequent to China's hosting of the Summer Olympics in 2008.  Although Beijing manifests some notable changes, these two sites linger in a more timeless dimension invented by the respect, nostalgia, and perhaps even the hope that people can hold for the selective memory of history.

Group shot in Tiananmen Square in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City.

• With my friend Carolee, I learned how to navigate the Beijing subway system--a feat which greatly augmented our mobility in a city where we could not depend on taxis to stop for foreigners who probably spoke no Chinese and had little idea just where in the enormity of Beijing the desired destination might be situated.  Granted, we did have a few successful Beijing taxi experiences--usually because either the hotel or our tour leader orchestrated them.  Taxis that would stop generally wanted to forego the meter and charge a set price before the transport commenced!

• I experienced for the second time the Great Wall of China--the section known as Mutianyu on this occasion.  (In 2004 I visited the Badaling section.)  Even if the wall ultimately proved ineffective--it was breached multiple times--its symbolic legacy remains intact, both for China itself and as a testament to the imagination and ingenuity of the human spirit.

• I witnessed the awesome ranks of a terra cotta army, conceived and commissioned by a despotic ruler to guard his tomb.

• While on a bullet train between Suzhou and Shanghai, I observed the digital speedometer posted in our car steadily ascend until it recorded a top speed of 321 kph.  The view of the landscape outside blurred like it will while in a plane during those moments just before the momentum transfers from the wheels on the runway to all atmosphere.

• Also for a second time, I traveled to the DMZ--the no-man's land between North and South Korea.  Despite the splendor of the natural beauty of the area, an uneasy aura remains, reflecting perhaps the uneasy truce that originated this zone.

• At the invitation of grand-nephews, I put in some splendid trampoline time and rediscovered some forgotten trampoline technique.

• With launch support from my brothers, my sister Amy and a multitude of nieces and nephews embarked on a relaxing float atop the Henry's Fork of the Snake River at Island State Park during family reunion time.

• A legion of years has passed since I last wandered a zoo, but with my nephew Justin's family I renewed my acquaintance with said facility.  Zoos are so much more fun with kids!

• And . . . there's nothing else quite like a walk in summer with a grand-niece to hold your hand.

China #4: a Summary (continued)

3.       Night Trains: 

Interesting experiences . . . and would be quite doable overall if the toileting status were upgraded.  Actually, I’m perfectly fine with the “squatty” style of toilet—and the trains definitely incorporated the “squatty” style—but cleanliness becomes such an overwhelming issue when 50+ people are relegated to one squatty for an eight-hour journey.   (Personal bladder directive issued subsequent to perusal of the available facilities:  only ONE release authorized!)

We took two night trains—one between Beijing and Xi’an and then another between Xi’an and Suzhou.  Our tour group occupied two “hard sleeper” compartments, each compartment outfitted with six narrow bunks, three per opposing wall.  “Soft sleepers”—four-bunk compartments—are more expensive.  For some reason the first night train was more fun and provided a better night’s rest…maybe only because it was novel.  The second one, although certainly tolerable, unfolded more as a “suck-it-up” experience.

 Our tour group in the Beijing train station waiting for our train to Xi'an to be announced.

 I slept in the top bunk!

We had the "party" compartment!  Here's looking down from the top bunk to the game crew below.

4.       Xi’an (June 26 – 27):

·         Misty mountains line the eastern edge of Xi’an, where the terra cotta warriors stand at the ready, entombed with emperor who commissioned their creation.

·         Everything you have ever heard about how amazing the terra cotta warriors are—well, it’s all true.  Their presence is stunning; their conception is mind-bending.

·         The history of the people and events—factual and legendary—connected to the discovery of the terra cotta warriors in 1974, the subsequent excavations, and the development of a UNESCO cultural heritage site makes for some fascinating reading.  Check out this article.

·         Xi’an’s original city walls still stand.   These days one can circumnavigate their perimeter from on top either by foot, bicycle, or open mini-bus.  We bicycled—nine miles, round trip!

China #3: a Summary

Because I can’t quite fathom any mode that will truly encapsulate the China experience of June 19 – July 1, I shall succumb to summary—and not a very formal one either.  Numbering and bullets shall abound but within a chronological arc.  Also know that I have been to both mainland China and Hong Kong before:  The summer of 2004 I taught English for six weeks in Yangzhou, China, and this opportunity included “field trips” to Beijing and Nanjing, as well as to some smaller sites and cities near them.  A layover at Hong Kong’s airport the summer of 2006 triggered a strong desire to actually see and do the city that looked like almost a fantasy realm from the air, and in 2009 I finally did spend my Thanksgiving holiday there.  This past February I traveled to Shanghai for a long weekend and also visited Suzhou, so really only Xi’an was a totally brand new destination for this journey.  Hence, without further ado, the summary—of sorts . . .

1.       Hong Kong (June 19-22):
 Although still my favorite Asian city, Hong Kong summers are staggeringly sultry; even the most refined of ladies must forego glowing for down-right sweating.   As one who has a fascination for heavy air, perhaps even an affinity, I can carry on most satisfactorily while often my companions wilt.  I love the integration of sea, a changeable sky, peaky hills swathed in jungle green, and skyscrapers; I love the unique rhythm of a culture with a Chinese melody and a British beat; and I love the chance to sway in the upper deck of a double-decker bus as it winds through Central’s hilly terrain and then catch the sea breeze on the Star Ferry as it crosses from Central to Kowloon.

2.       Beijing (June 22-25): 

·       Carolee and I learned how to do the subway on our own.  Okay, we did have some input beforehand from the hotel staff!

·       One site Carolee and I both remembered quite clearly from our time in Beijing in 2004 was the Temple of Heaven.  Its beauty imbues a spirit of reverence.

·       The Forbidden City becomes the Imperial City once one enters.  I suppose because it is no longer “forbidden” if one has arrived inside!  All the buildings have tall thresholds—as well as mirrors—to keep out the evil spirits.  Apparently, evils spirits are short and shuffling sorts.

·       We visited—and climbed—the Mutianyu site of the Great Wall of China.  (In 2004 Carolee and I visited the other site near Beijing:  Badaling.)  Most of our Intrepid tour group walked up the “1000” stairs to the wall, although this site also has a gondola.  Then most of us took the “slide” down from the wall.  Yeah, baby, now I, too, am one who has slid down the Great Wall of China!

·       CONFESSION:  Somehow I got caught up in a Chinese TV soap opera during our days in Beijing.   Despite lacking any ability to understand the spoken language, I became entranced with the saga of Michael and Julia.  (When they instant messaged each other, those were their screen names…even if everything else they wrote was in Chinese!)  For a while I could not decide whether they were police or military.  (In China lots of people wear official-looking uniforms of various sorts.)  But I think they were military, and I think they were partners assigned to dangerous missions, and I think they fell in love, and I think they broke up (like the day before I started watching), and I think they still loved each other, and I was inordinately dismayed (and also embarrassed to be inordinately dismayed) to never know the full story!

·       There are no longer the legions of bikes on the roads like there were in 2004, yet a bike and its rider can still show up anywhere—any time.

The Temple of Heaven (a couple of hours before the rains!)

The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu)--climbing the 1000 stairs...all the way to the slide down.

The Forbidden City

And now the Imperial City.

3.     Night Trains:  (to be continued)