Something Fishy

So last night for dinner we had fish. I like fish. However, I was not expecting to have an entire fish plopped on my plate. Yes, that's right. A whole friekin' fish just laying there on my plate, dead, and cooked. Poor fella. I thought I'd give it a try but after eating everything else I could on my plate, the fish still laid there untouched. I started to slice it open with my chopsticks but the thought of seeing the guts and brains of a fish right before putting it in my mouth just grossed me out. I couldn't do it. I started to feel my gag reflex come up from below. I stood up and said, "Can someone please take that fish off my plate?" Some of the other teachers laughed. "Poor Rebs. You'll get used to it," they said. "I don't think so." Anyhow, my goal each meal is to be willing to try something new. However, I still refuse to try the squid soup that smells like Dusty's feet. Not going to happen. I am however, getting used to the milk with the weird aftertaste. I hardly notice it anymore. So enough about food.

Last night we went to the bouldering gym. The Koreans seemed excited when we walked in. It's like they could't wait to get their hands on us. The only other female climber there was a Korean. She showed me a few problems. Then she became my personal trainer, pushing me to keep doing the same problem in repetition until I collapsed from exhaustion. Everytime I fell off the wall, she'd give me about 5 seconds to rest before making me get back on again. I loved it! Finally someone besides Dusty to push me. Our conversation was minimal but communicating was easy. The love of climbing was our common bond linking us together. We climbed together for over an hour and barely spoke a word the whole time. It was so much fun! The Koreans are amazing climbers. So graceful and light on their feet. They make every move look so effortless. They are poetic in their climbing whereas I'm like an elephant. Huge and loud and not coordinated at all. I try to muscle my way through all the holds. I rush to get finished so I can let my muscles relax. I need to morph myself into a graceful ballerina and learn to hold those tricky positions and relax my body and mind. I'm working on it and getting better but I have a long way to go. We decided we're going to Thailand for Lunar New Year in February. We have a week off of work. We just got our plane tickets yesterday. We're planning to go to Railay Beach. It's on one of the western islands and is close to Koh Phi Phi and Krabi. We're really excited. It's some of the best climbing in the world plus it's one of the most beautiful places in the world too. How much better can it get? So... we'll be training hard this winter to get ready.

Well, Dusty and I are off for a hike up the mountain. We have the day off and it's warm in sunny so we're going to take advantage.