Not afraid of heights

Eun-mi took me to Nami island today. The travel time was a bit much for a day-trip, requiring a 45-minute bus ride, a 20-minute subway ride, an hour-and-a-half long train ride, a taxi, and a ferry to get there. Whew. But it was completely worth it! We got to spend some quality time together, the weather was gorgeous, and I got lots of pretty pictures that you unfortunately cannot see. Sorry. I have a few from Eunmi's camera though!

The island was tiny, but there was lots going on. It seemed like there was a new surprise down every side path. At first it looked like a pretty standard weekend destination with hiking trails, lawns and parks, music, restaurants, cultural exhibits, rental jetskis, etc.

Then we saw the ostrich.

Ahahaha! I got to pet an ostrich! I don't know what it was doing on the island, and I don't know if it's safe to have an ostrich wandering around that many small children, but it seemed to be working out just fine. I sidled up to it, Eunmi snapped my picture, and I fluffed its feathers a little until it gave me a look like it was thinking about pecking my eyes out. They're big birds, and I wouldn't want to get on one's bad side. Their necks look strong enough to clothesline you, and their feet are dinosaur feet, I swear to God.

We rented some bikes and zoomed around the island for an hour. It was so small that we went all the way around twice and still had plenty of time left over. Afterwards we went to a little outdoor barbecue restaurant and had some delicious dakkalbi (spicy chicken).

We took the ferry back to the mainland, but I wasn't done yet. There was a 55ft scaffold suspended over the river, and people were bungee jumping off of it. I'd never bungee jumped before (I was terrified after watching a cord snap during a jump on video courtesy of SpikeTV). But I love heights and I love adrenaline, so I figured I had better take advantage of the opportunity.

While waiting for my number to be called, Eunmi and I watched from the bottom. As the announcer called out, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE!" a person would tilt themself off the top of the tower. The human-shaped speck would rapidly become a flailing body, and we would watch as the cord went taught and launched them back high into the air. On the second bounce the person would cover their face with their hands - apparently that was part of the instructions. When the cord lost some of its bounce, they would swing wildly until a man in an inflatable raft snatched them out of the air by their ankle or wrist, unhooked them, and brought them back to shore.

Some people screamed on the way down. Some kicked and waved their arms, some refused to jump, some covered their eyes and didn't look until they had stopped bouncing. Eunmi told me that at one point, the announcer even had to inform a girl over the megaphone, "You can uncover your face now." I was determined to show them how it was done.

The wait was excruciating. I don't think the operators really wanted me there, since I couldn't understand their instructions, but Eunmi could see how excited I was. She argued for me, and finally they let me harness up while she translated their directions. As I got ready to go up the lift, I gave her a thumbs-up and told her that I would signal her somehow when I was about to jump so she could begin filming.

The top of the scaffold was dizzying, and it swayed slightly in the wind. There was a narrow walkway out to the jumping platform; when I was halfway across it, I leaned over the railing and yelled downward, "KIM EUN MI!" It' a good thing she heard me, because I think I about gave the operators a heart attack.

Jumping was easy for me. I had gotten over my fear of stepping off high platforms at the various summer camps of my youth, where I signed up for every ropes course rotation they offered and learned to trust the carribeaners and knots with my weight. It was so easy that I was in freefall before my brain really kicked in and noticed, "Hey, you're falling really fucking fast."

I'm used to less forgiving ropes, so I expect to feel a sharp pull to let me know that I'm attached. But the bungee cord didn't give me that. I fell faster and faster, spread-eagled like I was still in mid-jump and trying to fly away. The acceleration was astounding. All I could hear or feel was the wind on my face. The faster I fell, the more I braced for the terrible shock that was sure to come when I changed directions and shot back up into the air.

But it never came. Instead, I slowed, stopped, and was lifted back into the air seemingly by magic. I remembered to cover my face, but to keep from obstructing my view I kept my hands several inches in front of my nose and peeked through my fingers. The second time I bounced skyward, I put my arms back out like wings and gave a whoop of joy. The bouncing turned to swinging, and I was able to find the observation deck and pick Eunmi out of the crowd. She had the camera pointed, so I gave her a wave, but then I spread my arms again and got back to the business of flying. I got a small round of applause for a brave jump.

In a word, spectacular. I highly recommend it. My only regret is that I seem to have beaten the fear of heights so completely out of myself that it wasn't as good an adrenaline high as I had hoped for. Either I'll need to learn to work myself up better, or find a higher place to jump from.