The Tiger on the mountain

The Tiger on the mountain "Mom, you said last time was the last time" "But I thought you liked it" "Mom, you go to a boot camp and see if you like it!" I was begging my mom to let me stay home from the survival hike to the Odae Mountain in Korea. I dreaded going because of the insane guide that led the expedition, his name was Mr. Kim. He demanded his students to refer to him as 'sir', and if we didn't, we were punished. Among the slaves, we refer to him as the Bengal Tiger.He was straight out of my nightmares. He was virtually indestructible. I was convinced that he had three sets of eyes that never blinked. He always knew everything we were up to all the time. If I stopped for even a second, I would hear his roar.He was the kind of guy that inspired fear and demanded respect.Klausen Pass (el. 1948 m.) is a high mountain pass...One look at his muscular body and his snow-white hair made me feel like an ant on a picnic blanket. He was apparently in his 60's but he could have fooled anyone. He was strong as a t iger.It was not really a boot camp, but it was in a way, since he yelled like it was a cussing competition. I do not think I could even remember half of the horrors we went through. It would be impossible for me to recall all of the times that he made me feel useless. I spent countless nights clutching my sheets in fear of what the next day would hold.When I was very young, my mother decided that I needed to experience the world and all it had to offer. What she did not know was that she was sending her defenseless 9-year-old child out into the...