If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?

Rafting just north of Seoul

The bridge

Leigh about to jump off BACKWARDS!

Getting ready to jump

Well in my case, the answer is YES. Not because I am a "follower" or give into peer pressure easily, I just happened to be the second last person to bundgy jump off a 54 meter bridge north of Seoul, SK. I guess I should start by explaining the prior activites that eventually lead up to this exciting free fall.

A couple weeks ago, Leigh (my co-worker) and I were busy at work and decided to research stimulating and enjoyable things to do in Korea on our weekends. We had both been previously told about an organization called Adventure Korea (http://www.adventurekorea.com/) which cators to foriegners living abroad who are somewhat adventurous or just want to try something different. This past weekend, Adventure Korea was leading a rafting and bundgy jumping trip leaving from Gangnam, Seoul at 7:30am on Sunday. Still hard at work, Leigh and I made some phone calls to our friends telling them about this exciting opportunity (for a great cost to by the way) and rounded up 8 others to join our team.

As it turns out, this was the same weekend our very good friends from Gwangju were leaving us. With two years under their belt and an expired contract they were flying off to India to travel for a couple months before returning home. The amazing thing about living abroad is that your friends literally become your family. We are all in the same boat, living in a foreign country without anything remotely familiar, working the same jobs and forming close-knit relationships unlike any other. The downfall to this, however is quite obvious. Everyone has an expiry date flashing above their heads and it's only a matter of time when we turn the page and start a new chapter in our lives.

Saturday night, some friends and I from Gwangju, took Jessie and Kate out in Seoul for 'the last supper' (or in modern days- 'the final drink'). The following morning, with puffy eyes and an hour of sleep, we boarded a bus to begin our Adventure Korea, Korean adventure. First stop: rafting! This was my first time ever rafting, although even those who have endured this water sport in the past would probably say rafting in Korea is unlike what is recognizable to Western standards. The aesthetics are pretty much identical; large oval shape yellow boat, suitable for about 8-10 people. The journey through a river, however, differs greatly from what us "outsiders" are familiar with. During the calm patches of water there were several squares of sand along the side of the river. We docked our boat and enjoyed a fun water slide made out of two upside down rafting floatillas accompanied by two Korean men vigorously splashing water on the boats to warrent a slippery slide down. Ofcourse, being in Korea, there was obviously an abundance of alcohol (specifically soju and beer) being drank at our mini pit stop in the middle of NOWHERE! During another still arena of water, our guide proposed an idea. He directed us to stand on the edge of the boat directly across from one another in pairs, each holding one end of a paddle in attempt to push one another off the boat and into the chilled river. In the end, everyone ended up in the blue (and white) water at some point or another.

So with a bruised knee cap and soaking wet clothes, we headed out into the country until we spotted a lonesome red bridge approximately 54 meters above water. This was to be the bridge we would all commit our suicide pracitce on. Watching the first 2, 3, even 10 people jump was quite a bit nervracking to say the least...more like mindboggingly horrifying, questioning my will to live and crap in your pants type of scared... but considering I was the second last person out of 50 people to jump, made me mentally over-prepared (if that is even possible). However, that feeling of comfort and vigilence quickly diminshed when I was standing at the edge of the bridge realizing that the Korean man attaching the bundgy cord to my harness spoke extremely limited English (okay, that was generous... he did not speak English whatsoever)! So now, unsure of

a. whether or not I am mentally prepared to jump

b. if I will actually make it out alive

c. whether or not I am physically prepared to jump, because let's be honest here, a mis-communication at this point in time would be REALLY unfortunate!!

and d. why I even decided to do this in the first place?!

With 3 hours of built up courage and a brief count-down, I somehow managed to bundgy jump (or march) off the edge of the bridge, screaming into thin air. This was probably the scariest yet most rewarding experience I have ever gone through in my entire life! No, I would probably never do it again but would definitely recommend it to others inquiring.

All in all it was an incredible weekend filled with extreme personal challenges, stepping (jumping) out of my comfort zone and saying goodbye to great friends! The summer in Korea has been brilliant this far and there are still plans of camping and beaches in the near future.

Will write again soon!

Miss you all!

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha xx