Hey, everyone! I just want to say that, despite worrying about this trip for weeks on end before it happened, I cannot express how greatful I am for the opportunity. This trip with my incredible team mates is a precious experience I will never forget.
This morning's walk in a downpour with thunder and lightning and little frogs hopping everywhere was amazing! The entire racing experience has been simply awesome.
The comoraderie between teams...from all over the world was something to remember for sure. I feel so proud of my team, not only for paddling like badasses, but also for the way we represented our country with friendship, smiles everywhere we went and just plain ole heart, spirit and good will. The other teams seemed to not quite know what to think of us at first, but by today they all wanted Wasabi Gang Green t-shirts! Everywhere you looked this afternoon, it was a sea of wasabi shirts, just like at home! A couple of other teams even raced in our shirts today!
OK, that's all for now...
XOXO
Celest

Silver!

We are currently at a sports pub not far from the race venue. IIn a very Dr. Chen-like fashion, they opened up at 4:30 for us instead of the usual 6 p.m.

Closing ceremonies are complete and we are enjoying some beer and foozball...and a SILVER medal in the 2000m race!!! We were the ONLY team on the 2000m course out of 12 teams with a woman tiller...Steph! She was awesome and steered her first 2000m ever at the World Championships...wow! We're very happy with the results and the times were close, very close.

We can't wait to share our experiences with you all...did we mention the dragonflies yet? They are beautiful and EVERYWHERE!

We're so grateful to have had this opportunity, so happy to represent the USA & Wasabi here. Some banners will be coming back to decorate the boathouse...of course...we know our jobs here!

See you soon...we're back Tuesday.
Eyeball

Pouring rain & lightning...yikes!

It's 7:45 a.m. right now and it is POURING RAIN with a touch of lightning thrown in! We are hoping the rain and wind lighten up a bit before our 2000m race at 11:30 a.m. We'll try to post tonight!

The opening ceremonies on Friday were great and the Welcome Dinner last night was fantastic! The food...can we just talk about the food for a second? It's by far the best I have ever had at an international event before...we are spoiled rotten!

Members of our team have been interviewed for TV at least 4 times as well as Coach Jeremy...but he's the only one that's been asked for an autograph so far! Could his head get any bigger? LOL!
Some members caught the sports edition and saw our whole boat during the 200m race on TV...wow! We're hoping to get a copy so we can share.

Oh, and did anyone mention pineapple yet? The BEST EVER EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

Ok, the Hungarians are waiting for the computer and I will be a polite American and sign off now.

The comraderie between all the teams is wonderful...the best part of why we are here.

Later gators,
Eyeball

500m Day

We raced 3, 500m races today...

1: kickass
2: hard, we lost our mojo
3: all heart, came in 3rd by less than 1/2 second (less than a dragon head!)

It's amazing how much can change from one race to the next. Standing in the back is like riding a rocket and when you scream for more and the team gives it all, gotta say, there's nothing quite like that.

Tonight we ate dinner with all of the other paddlers at a Welcome dinner and toasted and took many pictures. I'm sorry we're behind in the pic department. We were at the venue all day and night. Now it's time to rest and prepare for the finale...

Tomorrow is our last day and we'll race 2000m with 9 men's boats and 2 other women's boats...12 boats in a Guts & Glory in South Korea in the heart of downtown Ulsan.

It still seems unreal.

Man, do we want to hear the Star Spangled Banner....

Opening Ceremonies!

I think that last night would have to be one of the highlights of my sports career to date. The ceremony held to celebrate the opening of our "games" was a fantastic spectacle of color, light, sound and excitement.

Walking in to the reserved seating through a sea of faces really brought home what a huge event this is, not only for the team, but also for the city of Ulsan. The crowd of Ulsan citizens in attendance last night was large and enthusiastic - even better, it was free for all in attendance. A show of that magnitude in the States would have had a premimum ticket price. It just goes to show the friendly and encompassing nature of the Korean people that we have already had the priviledge of experiencing extends beyond just visitors.

Last night became even more memorable as I had a personal "olympic moment." All the atheletes in attendance were asked to stand and be recognized by the spectators. Standing and waving to them with my team was a moment that I will have etched in to my memory forever.

I am so grateful to be here and be a part of this special experience. I wish that all my Gang Green teammates were here to share in this in person - you're here with us in spirit!

Andrea

Today there is cloud coverage. I am still happy for the lack of the rain. Today will be wonderful if the wind stays calm and the clouds stay mellow.
I got chills yesterday when we were on stage to recieve our bronze medal and watched them raise our flags. All of the teams are friendly and there are several shirts that I would like to trade my jersey for at the end of the race days.
Today is all about the 500 meter races and that is our race. We are long strong and comfortable with the 500s as opposed to the short 200 meter races.
Opening cerimonies was amazing, from Taiko dummers to traditional dressed court dancers to Korean pop music it was all entertaining and wonderful.
I am also well impressed with all of the media coverage here. Three of our team members have been interview by the news station and all of the team made the news while we were dancing to the Korean Pop music. Couldn't miss the Americans in thier bright Hawian shirts! It was a great start to a great weekend of racing and comaraderie.
I wish all of you were here. I would love to have my other Gang Green ladies with us for laughing, racing and staring at the other teams with thier shirts off and dancing on the party bus.

Korea...in a nutshell

Beer at Gustav's. Flight delays. Disco bus. Resort on a mountain. Hot, humid. Hungarians arrive. First practice, 30 mph winds, yikes. All food, fabulous. Russians arrive. First race day, nerves, loudest music ever at the start line, close races, bronze. More disco bus, dancing on the bus. Opening ceremonies, fantastic, beautiful, colorful, awesome.

and not so nutshell...

The Korean hospitality is fantastic. The people are incredibly friendly and polite and wonderful. The waiters in the athlete's cafeteria are wearing tuxedos!!! The food is ridiculous, as in ridiculously good and variety is crazy.

We're excited and nervous about the 500m races. We are hoping we can do a little better even.

We're staying at a resort on a mountain...really. It's a long winding road up here but the view is great. And it's got a Jack Nicklaus golf course that hosted an LPGA tour a few years ago...might have time for golf on Monday.

Oh, our bus driver is amazing as well...we have witnessed 2 car accidents already but he misses things by mere inches!!! We're glad to have him.

We love the comments and emails from home...keep em coming!

Later gators,
Eyeball

4:30 AM on Saturday

Anyo Hasido! (that's my fractured Korean Hello).
I think I'm the first person up today. I plan on taking some photos of the sunrise from the deck of our room in a few minutes when the sky starts to lighten.

The wind is very gentle and I hope that means we will enjoy another day of great race weather.
Our condo unit is perched up on a hill and we have a wide view of the lush green hills that cascade all the way down to the sea. The geography and plant life remind me of home, although it's possible that here, an even wider variety of things will grow.

As we drive in to Ulsan each day, we pass a mix of business, industrial and residential buildings. No matter what type of district we are in, there are little gardens that utilize spare ground, right up to the road. These gardens are lush and well tended. The Koreans obviously value health and fitness, as there are bike paths and exercise stations sprinkled all around the area.

Today will be very challenging, with 3 races and the following ceremonies and Welcome Dinner, but the team feels strong and everyone is in excellent spirits. We can definitely feel the love and support of our friends and families back in the USA, keep those good vibes coming!

I can't think of a better place to experience my first international championship, or a better group of people to be here with.

Jan

200 Meters

Gang Green has completed our first day of racing...all 200m...all as hard as we could paddle. We are now the proud recipients of our first Bronze Medals in Korea. The awards ceremony was an amazing experience and we are back in the hotel, showering speedily to get ready to go and take part in opening ceremonies.

The next goal is to take 'em in the 500m races and hear the Star Spangled Banner when they raise those flags tomorrow afternoon.

Missing our friends and family and our Gang Greenies back home.

We all feel so honored to be here...so much fun it hard to wrap our minds around it.

More on the opening ceremonies later...and pics =)

I have been so impressed with the hospitality so far. We have been taken care of in every way. South Korea really knows how to take care of thier visitors. There are many world competitions going on here this month so there are many athletes of all kinds running around here.
The sun has finally poked its head out for race day as opposed to the wind and rain. I am hoping it will stay that way all weekend for us to make for great racing, even if it is hot. Better than monsoon like wind and rains. :) Can't wait to do the 200 meter races today and then opening cerimonies!

First Practice

This afternoon we had our first and only practice on the race course. Wow! The boats are tight quarters, the wind was howling with gusts that must have reached 30mph and we had our first paddling adventure in Korea. I have to say, it was challenging, but if we can handle that...which we did with flying colors...then we can handle anything. It is still unbelievable that we are going to race tomorrow. We'll start at 9:30am in a 200m race, 3 races total tomorrow. The awards ceremony will follow and then at 7pm...the opening ceremonies parade.

At the informational meeting, the race organizer did tell us that there would be a little surprise for the first race..."Don't be terrified," he said, "there are going to be fireworks but just keep paddling". Phew! We're in Race 4.

Hello!

We are going to have our first practice today...I can't wait! It is windy here in the mountains where we are staying, but perhaps will be more mild down at the race venue. I love the climate here so much! The wind is warm, and makes alot of noise. It was fun to watch the wind blowing the fog around this morning!
Like Andrea said, there are the most amazing dragon flies everywhere! Here and at the race venue.
Just wanted to post and say hi to everyone! Miss you all!

Good Morning!

Despite the amazing wind storm during the night that kept some of the team awake wondering why they had left their windows open, a group of 10 of us woke up at 5:30am to take a walk through the hills surrounding the hotel.

Beautiful green hills covered in an ever-changing layer of mist and cloud stretched far into the distance, every once in awhile offering a glimse of the coastline. Our hotel is very close to the Sea of Japan, though not directly on the beach. The constant breeze kept things cool as we made our way up and down steep grades, some of the group jogging while others kept up the pace with a power walk.

All in all, it was a great way to start the day! I'm now actually hungry enough to eat the delicious breakfast I know is waiting for us. We're planning to eat lunch at the race site later today and to finally get some water time in, followed by a visit to the beach.

It's real peeps - we're in Korea! :)
Andrea

On site

So, we visited the race site in downtown Ulsan...very cool...dragonflies everywhere. Visiting the market later today.

we made it

Well, we had quite a trip to Korea. After 10 hours in the plane to Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan we hopped on the final plane to Busan, South Korea. Once aboard the word was we might have to wait until the next morning to get to South Korea...scary weather. After about an hour on the tarmac we were released for departure. We arrived in Busan about 10:30pm and were greeted by our guides Sam & Jeannie. Then finally a bus ride to the Mauna Ocean Resort...and sleep. More to come...it's Wednesday morning and we're off to get our racing credentials. Wow, we're really here, stay tuned.

Here we go

We're sitting at Gustav's in the airport, drinking.  Just a few more minutes of  calm here before we get on the plane for more waiting, and drinking, then...KOREA!

It's actually real, we're actually going. "Waiting for the total reality to hit"...Lisa Hillhouse

Headed to Ulsan, South Korea

Yes, it’s true, some of the Wasabi Gang Green family is headed to Korea in, gulp, 3 days, to race in the ICF World Club Crew Championships. We’re going to do our best to keep our friends and family posted on the experience so check back daily.

I think it is accurate to say that we are all incredibly excited for our adventure and cannot wait to see what Ulsan has in store for us.

If you'd like to check out the site for the event...

http://www.ulsan-dragonboat2009.com/doc/E_index.php

More soon!