I'm Now a Korean TV Star!

Yesterday SBS News did a live segment exposing Korea 재키스피닝 , my spin studio. The news show wanted to show what a class is like and interview the instructor plus a few students. Obviously, my spin teachers asked if I would be willing to be interviewed. They are really, really proud that a foreigner comes to their spin class and they know that more Koreans will want to join the studio if they see that foreigners attend. I told my teachers I would participate and they couldn't have been happier. I was reminded about the interview everyday for about a week. The morning of the interview I received the two questions I would be asked in Korean and began rehearsing my answers with my unni. I was really, really nervous about having to answer on Live TV in Korean, especially since one of the questions was rather difficult. Luckily, when I showed up and the TV crew met me they told me it would be best if I spoke in English. They also changed the questions that I would be answering because they thought it was amazing that I had never attended a spin dance class like this in America. The taping for the TV show was really fun. Various members from all five classes attended and we did two of our dances while the anchor walked around and interviewed people. We did a few trial runs before we were filmed Live and I actually thought we were still rehearsing when we were being filmed. I guess I wasn't paying attention when they announced that we were being filmed. I'm still working on procuring a copy of the video and will post it when I do!

My spin class is probably one of my favorite parts of living in Chuncheon this month. It has been an awesome way to bond with my unni and I have met so many nice people through the class. I have met several of my unni's close friends but also have met a few people my own age. I've also loved how much the other class participants support me and check how I'm doing everyday. It's so nice to be able to bond with people even when you don't speak the same language. For example, every class one of the spin instructors will come up to me and grab my hand, smile and speak rapidly in Korean. I only understand what she is saying about 50% of the time but I always understand her gesture of friendship. Today the 9:30 and 10:30 had a 회식, which basically means we all went out for lunch together. Since my unni doesn't have a car we caught a ride with the two instructors who live in the apartment across from us. Lunch was so fun and was another great opportunity for me to bond with my classmates in a more natural setting. I was also really touched when multiple people expressed how upset they were that I would have to move back to Hwacheon in March. Although I'm excited to teach again, I will really miss living in Chuncheon and the friends I have made here.

Lunch with my spin class