일요일, 10월 08, 2006

First Time ... 처음 ...

My palms are sweating.

My heart is pounding.

Maybe I should listen to my favourite song "Perhaps Love". It may help to calm down my nervousness. There the music from my mp3 starts .... 언제였던 건지, 기억나진 않아 .... ooooh what a nice song. It seems to help.

Oh yes. I have to breathe. Yes, breathe. Remember what the yoga teacher says whenever you are in a challenging posture, "Remember to breathe and smile". Exactly! I am not in a challenging posture at this moment but i am in a challenging situation right now, am i not? Five minutes before the korean speech contest starts. Ok ok ... breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out ...

... remember to smile .....

... remember to speak slowly .....

... remember to .....

Thousands of thoughts flooded my mind during those last 5 minutes.

Yesterday, i attended this event for the first time. And yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, i spoke in front of so many people. It was really a knee-wobbling experience!




Despite the stress and anxiety for the past two weeks, i must admit that i learnt quite a lot. Especially my prounciation.




Most of the contestants spoke very fluently. It was as if korean language was their mother-tongue. I did not win but i was happy to receive a $50 korean restaurant voucher and a korean book titled "Prayer" (기도 in korean) by Thich Nhat Hank (틱낫한 in korean). I also made some really nice friends. Plus, I was honoured to be speaking on the same stage as these contestants who spoke korean so fluently. It was really a good experience!

My friend who won the second prize emailed me last nite, "You did well too. You overcame your fear on the stage, and you should be proud of yourself for this. Get this experience and participate again next year!"

I replied, "I dont think i will participate again .... but if i suffer from temporary loss of memory next year and forget the fear and nervousness that i had gone thru this afternoon, who knows, i may be crazy enough to do it again. But i doubt so."

I am looking forward to next year's korean speech contest ..... but as an audience.


"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles." - Siddhartha Buddha

댓글 6개:

Unknown :

친구야...축하해... 내년에 우리 같이 가자!

Song :

축하합니다^^ Spicebears씨는 분명히 잘하셨을거라고 생각해요. 저도 그 자리에서 볼 수 있었으면 좋았을텐데... ^^;
여하튼 축하합니다^___^

Equinox :

한국어 말아기 대회가 수업이보다 더 재미 있죠? 발표자들의 발표를 다 잘 하셨어요. 다 승리자들이 보일 것 같아요. 축하합니다!

Spicebears 스파이스베어 :

여러분 감사합니다 ;)

익명 :

keep trying, u can make it~!

Spicebears 스파이스베어 :

hi ronnie. thanks! you did very well! though you did not get first prize , you should be proud of yourself that you did not learn korean thru formal lessons but thru your own efforts.