11364 Steps (4.94 miles)
Tuesday, July 30th, was another fairly normal day until the evening. The WWQ had a quick, make sure we have our shit together rehearsal, and then drove over to the Dragon and set up. On the way, my bassoon strap got caught on my ribbon rack and I managed to lose one of my ribbons... ugh! But we made it work and got me presentable. The General had his dinner inside the ballroom and then we were the surprise after dinner entertainment. We played 4 pieces, then introduced ourselves and then two of our vocalists and a guitar player sang/played We Go Together which I think is incredibly moving (though everyone says that I will be sick and tired of it after a year here). Both our 4 Star General and the Korean 4 Star gave us their coins (the Korean's is both a bottle opener and a magnet! Talk about practical!)
11068 Steps (4.81 miles)
Wednesday, July 31st, I didn't have to go to PT in the morning, but I still had to get up early to go to the last recording studio session. There were just a few of us there to record the really random parts. In my case, second bassoon on a bunch of marches. They put me in a room, put headphones on me, played the recording we had already done as a group and had me play along with the 2nd parts. It was a very strange experience. Makes you very aware of every single chip and crack possible! After work, since it was the last day of the month, I went over to the Class 6 to buy my rations of alcohol since I hadn't bought anything all month. Still haven't drank anything I bought, but at least I feel like I utilized my rations!
5872 Steps (2.55 miles)
Thursday, August 1st, found out that the General's wife loves WWQs and loved us the other night. She put in requests for us to play at the General's house twice in the next week. It's nice to feel wanted!
5907 Steps (2.57 miles)
Friday, August 2nd, started with a 4 mile company run. In formation. With cadence calling. All NCOs had to call at some point... even me with my high and squeaky yelling voice. At one point, the battalion commander decided to join our formation and was running next to me... and she wasn't even breaking a sweat! Afterwards, they gave us Gatorade and bananas and I was a happy camper! For lunch, we did a Hail and Farewell which is saying hi to the new people and introducing them (including me!) and goodbye to the people about to leave. Apparently we do a lot of Hail and Farewells here in Korea since there is such a huge turn over. For dinner, we went out to Chicken and Beer (which yes, is a thing here...). I came back early since I was tired.
15441 Steps (6.72 miles)
Saturday, August 3rd, got up really early, met up with a group at 6am. We took 4 different buses and 5.5 hours later we were on the east side of the peninsula where "some of the best rapids are". We did stop at a rest stop on the way and I had this great fried potato thing that I managed to dump some of it in my lap. I actually had a good time, though they were very tame rapids. We wore this big life vests and yellow helmets. Our rafting guide didn't seem to happy though to have 12 Americans crammed into his raft. However, the weather was gorgeous and the water was the perfect temperature! Afterwards, we showered in a group shower situation (separate sex though) and then got a Korean lunch (which was incredibly spicy!!) Then it was back on the bus for what turned out to be a 6+ hour bus ride since we got stuck in traffic. Lots of stop and go and stop and go so once we got back into Seoul, at the first stop we all got off. Some people took the subway back but I joined the group that hopped in a taxi.
2665 Steps (1.16 miles) - phone died halfway through the day so it was actually a bunch more than this!
Sunday, August 4th, was a lazy day for me - thank goodness! I spent most of the morning reading, then went to the commissary. Then more reading. Then skyping! :-) Couldn't ask for a lazier day!
8354 Steps (3.63 miles)
Monday, August 5th, was another day off due to a Good Conduct Holiday which basically means that for the last 30 days no one in the band has broken curfew, gotten arrested, gotten a DUI, or tried to get their Itaewon jump wings. I slept in a bit since I had been up late talking with people, but managed to do laundry, go for a run, get caught up in band drama, and go spend a couple hours at work since there was something wrong with our slides to present to the battalion commander. Its how things go... I got an awesome package from Michigan that I had to huddle under my rain jacket and umbrella since it started to downpour on my walk back to my BEQ. Anyway, that evening, my WWQ did another last minute practice and then headed to the General's house. It was the same arrangement as last time with them having dinner and then we were the "surprise" after. Though, since we were in their house, the "seats" for us consisted of a plushy couch. Can't say I've ever played bassoon on a couch before! Again, we were wildly appreciated. A couple of the wives thought it was fantastic that all members of the WWQ were female (which, I have to admit, is pretty cool :-))
19610 Steps (8.52 miles)
Tuesday, August 6th, I woke up and went to PT (got beat up my Caroline and the SGM), then had rehearsals in the morning and training paperwork all afternoon. During lunch the sky got super dark and then a torrential storm let loose! The water rushed down the street and created a river of our sidewalk. It was pretty amazing to see. Mail call was especially exciting for me today - I got 6 packages!!! Including brownies and goodies from my Aunt and raspberry and chocolate macaroons from Aleks. I went about feeding my band since it was too good not to share! After some drama of the day, I really appreciated the packages! Made me feel extra loved! After work, I trudged back to my BEQ with all my goodies and then ran across post to the gym to meet up with Caroline and Hutch for Crossfit class. Holy crap! We did 5 sets of 5 pull ups (I used assist bands), then 3 sets (21, 15,9) of squats (with weight), pushups, box jumps and then a 400 meter run. Then the cash out was 500 meter row as fast as you can (1:50 for me!) I am going to be so sore tomorrow! However, I need to get in better shape so this is all just part of the plan...
13561 Steps (5.90 miles)
The new river by the band hall...
Macaroons!
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