Amanda Takes Off...

A photo, because it's been a while. I had fun taking it because the boys weren't paying any attention.

Master started teaching my Koryo, the first degree black belt form, so I guess that means I passed.

For those who have wondered why I haven't crossed Black Belt off The List, it's because I haven't been told if I've passed and I haven't received the black belt yet. When you test in Korea, you test in front of a panel of Kukkiwon-approved judges (meaning they aren't normally your own instructors) and you have to wait to get the results of the test.

Several months ago Tired Guy and Blue got their belts. Tired Guy had said, "Amanda! Look!" with a sweet doofy grin on his face. I'd asked him when he'd tested and he said 2 months before, if I remember correctly. So it takes time.

Master told everyone to do poomse, sent me to the back, then changed his mind and dragged me to the white board. My training today mainly consisted of being shown 8 new actions/terms, which I dutifully copied down in my notebook. He drew the lines of all of the black belt forms and told me their names and meanings. He explained that the taegeuk series is "for children, and practice of basic moves" and that the black belt forms are "very hard. Much practice."

I practiced a double side kick, using the window sill for balance. As a group, we did Sa, Chil and Pal Jang. Then Master moved the entire front line to the back of the class and had them do Koryo, pointing out new things. Early on he said, "Amanda! Don't look at them!" referring to the older boys, "look at them! They are good," he continued, pointing to the younger boys, who mostly blushed in response.

Cocky took me out for dinner tonight, no, not at Outback. Cocky wanted to take me out and said, "I have 6,000 won!" I started laughing.

I told him my head hurt and I was tired, but he kept asking, so we went out. (As soon as Master walked in the studio, Cocky said, "Amanda's head hurts!")

On the way there, he said to Tired Guy, Late Boy and Grin's Brother, who joined us, "Hey, give me some money. We're taking Amanda out because she took her black belt test." Crybaby Gold Medal Girl joined us and a good time was had by all.

Speaking of going out...

Last night during our class break, Master invited me out for drinks with him and his Haan Dong friend after class. Unfortunately, his friend had to take one of his students (a women from the "mothers' class") to the hospital, so it was just the two of us. (I found out today that she had an MRI done because she'd hurt her neck. She can move her hands but not her feet. That's terrifying.)

We went to this hole-in-the-wall place in the market and had 동동주, dongdongju, thick rice beer with some kimchi and Korean pizza as sides. I'm not a big fan of beer and rarely drink, but damn, that stuff was good. It was milky white, sort of sweet, and the fermentation was pleasant. It was served from a brass teapot into shallow bowls. I only had one bowl of it because I wasn't sure what sort of punch it would have, and frankly, I don't like being drunk, but it was good.

The majority of the conversation was in Konglish like this.

Master (mostly in English): Amanda. You, Korea. Why?

Me (mostly in Korean): Same style. Choppy.

It was one of those meaty, meandering conversations. We talked about our families, why I chose to come to Korea, how "Korean [I] am," how lucky I am to have him as my Master, the TempStudio, how I was a teacher in America, Korean history, taekwondo of course...

He was the one who said I was lucky to have found Tongil, which I thought was bold for a Korean since normally they wouldn't say that about themselves, but he said it in English, which probably explains the boldness.

I found out a bunch of stuff that I didn't know. When the Nambuk studio opened, that his father had been President of the Gwangmyeong Taekwondo Federation for three years and is currently Vice-President, why he proposed to his wife, the hardest English sounds that he learned in his middle school courses...

I thought he knew I was a real, certified teacher, but he didn't know until I gave him one of my new business cards. I also thought he knew that my parents were divorced, but he didn't. We talked about that, my home state, he found out more about my brother, friends back in America, too.

I told him I was a little nervous about my mom and stepdad visiting in May because I'd have to speak Korean. He said, "You have problem, you call me, I'll help."

I smiled. I thought that was funny. Not his offer—which was gracious—but the fact that indeed, I could call him and eventually make myself understood enough to hand the phone off to someone else for him to tell them what I wanted. I found it even funnier to consider that despite knowing several fluently bilingual people, I would almost certainly call him first. It will probably end up happening at least once.

His friend got out from the hospital and I was going to join them for drinks elsewhere but it was late. Master literally ran me to the subway station and shoved me through the turnstile. Not that he needed to, I had about 7 minutes to spare before catching the last train.

There's a saying: When the student is ready, the Master appears.

The thing is, I didn't know how ready I was until—by pure chance—we met.