|
| Well, it's been a few months (around 6?)
Where to begin...
My stay in Korea has been rather enjoyable. Made some best friends, met some incredible people from all over the world, traveled to the beautiful Thailand and had the time of my life. Gorgeous beaches, incredible food, amiable people and exotic culture all contributed to my new love of Southeast Asia. We went to Japan twice. Japan is honestly one of the most culturally rich places I have ever been, not to mention the people are soooo nice! Not at all pushy like the Koreans. I would love to have the chance to live there one day. I have developed a true passion for Asia that I never knew existed before. I've always been interested in culture (I even majored in it), but I was never really that interested in Eastern Asian cultures, as we're pretty removed from it being in the States. I was always more into euro, african and middle eastern cultures. Well, Korea has changed me. I'll never be able to smell the aroma of burning incense again without forever thinking of my time in Asia, standing at the foot of some beautiful buddhist temple or shinto shrine.
In two months, we're leaving Korea, spending almost a month in Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Australia and New Zealand, before heading back home to Arkansas for about a month. We are in the process of finding new jobs in Seoul, which is sort of tedious. Not because there aren't ample jobs available, but finding the right start time, and the best job is not as easy as it seems. We are very excited about all of the time we'll be spending traveling and what makes it even more exciting is at the end of it all, we get to come home to Arkansas, chill and see all of our fam and friends. We are so excited! I cant wait to eat, eat, eat and go to the lake and maybe take a road trip? ahhh. As much as I love living in this massive city of 11 million and this crazy traveling lifestyle, there's nothing like the simplicity of just hanging out at the cabin or around the campfire with friends and family.
Can't wait for it all.
Until next time...
| | |
| it's almost thanksgiving, but it doesn't feel like it. i'll be spending my thanksgiving at work, and korea doesn't have turkey, so no turkey for me! it's kind of sad, but i'm sure it'll be fine. i have a big group of friends here, so i'm sure we'll do something to celebrate.
christmas is going to be really bizarre, i think. some korean's celebrate christmas, but they don't really celebrate like they do in america. i'll be in koh samui, thailand on christmas day, which will be even stranger than being in korea on christmas day. christmas, on the beach, in a buddhist country. we'll be staying in a bungalow on the beach for 6 days and nights and then fly into bangkok to spend two days there. pretty exciting stuff. we plan on riding elephants, seeing temples, eating banana pancakes on a daily basis, drinking fresh fruit smoothies and getting massages. all that good shiz. pretty excited. it'll be like a dream vacation!
i'm still loving seoul. the culture is pretty frustrating at times, but i have grown to really love it. there are many contradictory things within the culture, but there are contradictions in american culture as well. it has been hard to get used to being around so many people. i have visited new york many, many times, but seoul is more crowded than anywhere i have ever been. it's hard to get used to being packed like sardines in the subway. koreans also don't have manners with strangers, so they are constantly pushing and shoving without remorse. the worst are the ajimas (old women), who loooove to push you out of the way. very strange. i'm always getting pissed about it, but i'm starting to accept that it's just a part of the culture. i'm afraid when i come back i'll just be pushing everyone all over the place and it'll get me into trouble!
we're moving into a new apartment next weekend and we are ecstatic! for 4 months we have been packed into a tiny, dorm room-esue apartment. we have one tiny window that overlooks our neighbors apt, which we can see directly into. we call it: the dungeon, because it feels a bit like jail. haha. our new apartment is made for two people, so we'll get ample space for our clothes, as well as a small living room and dining room area. pretty excited about it. it'll be nice to have somewhere to sit other than the bed!
i'm having trouble keeping up with time these days. i honestly feel like it was just july, but next week will be the first week of december. we've been here four months already, and there's a part of me that can't believe that, however there's also a part of me that feels like i've been here for a year already. we're not sure what's going to happen in the future. we're planning on going to japan in january (for my birthday!) and next summer is when we come home (to visit more than likely). we plan on going to australia before we go home, which is really exciting because i've always wanted to go there. it's so strange to be able to just look at a map and to be able to realistically pick and choose where we want to go. we are very blessed. that's why we're trying to take advantage of all of this while we can!
anyway, i do miss everyone at home a lot. i miss my family sooo much and all of my friends. i miss lauren and kelty sooo much and having girls that i am one in the same with. i miss animals! the dogs here look like rats. sometimes (always) i just wish i had a huge, furry cat to cuddle with. ha. i miss authentic mexican food, barbeque (mmm whole hog), and my grandma's sauce! i wish that there were a way i could experience the two lives simultaneously.
| | |
| still kickin' it in seoul.
busy working from 10-4:40 everyday for small kiddies. i don't know how i'll ever be able to adjust to american job times again. i'm so spoiled now.
past two weekends we've been traveling. first weekend we went to wando, where my good friend eva grew up. it's a gorgeous island off of korea with incredible food, lovely beaches and very nice people who seemed to be in awe by us waygooks (foreigners). this past weekend we went to pusan, a coastal city where there was a huge international film festival. we saw two films while we were there. one sucked and one was great, a french film called "last song." the producer was there, which i thought was kind of neat. there were a vast amount of white people and foreigners around, which was a little strange. i am no longer used to seeing western people or hearing english besides the people i work with, so when i do, it's always a bit odd. hanging out all day and night on the beach, though, was fantastic. i love living here.
kelty is seriously talking about coming and visiting me around december and i am sooo excited. i cannot imagine how cool it will be to be able to see her and show her around this city that i love!
we are getting ready to buy tickets to thailand as well. we'll be spending christmas there, which will be both really great and really bizarre. christmas on the beach, in a buddhist country. very memorable, i'm sure. i can't wait.
soooo, i feel like all i ever do is eat here? good thing we have to walk everywhere, eh? ryan keeps eating weird food, like live octopus and raw fish. i just can't get into it. it's more of a cultural, social thing, but still. i like my food cooked, seasoned and tasty... not moving, rubbery and bland.
i got my nose pierced, which is funny because no one has nose rings here really, besides some of the college kids, so i get double stares now. i'm a waygook with a piercing. ha. it's funny. the kids freak out about tattoos, too, because in korea they mean that you are in the mob or something. they're always pointing at mine and all my friends tats. it's funny.
next week i am teaching 6 year old koreans about india, kenya, the u.s., and egypt. i'm going to show them pictures of people that look different from them. since this country is so homogenous, the kids are naturally pretty racist. the other day a black man was at the school and some of students (not mine, but some other ones) pointed and said "brown face!" also, they asked me why my hair was dark like theirs and i said that my grandfather was full blooded american indian and my dad is italian, and they LAUGHED and patted their mouths and made indian calling noises. ha. so, i think some cultural exposure is necessary. oh, korea.
that's about it. just lots of fun happening all the time. i'm pretty comfortable currently. life is pretty much always exciting.
loveyou, later.
| | |
| hollllaaaa.
i was down the last post. could you tell?
things are good.
i am sick, physically, but feelin pretty good.
living here is exciting. everyday feels like an exciting exploration.
here's how life as an english teacher at a renown english school in seoul works:
work 6 hours a day.
get paid a lot.
pay no bills.
hang out with awesome peeps who are fun and have the same interests as you.
explore the country every weekend.
eat a whole lot of food.
vacations/long weekends=traveling!
i will be spending christmas in thailand!
my birthday in japan!
life is more exciting than ever.
i miss those folks who know me best, though. the 501/972 folk.
my parents sent ryan and i this huge package of stuff yesterday. it included:
a million bags of popcorn (its different in korea)
two jars of white chocolate wonderful peanut butter and company peanut butter (my fave)
two boxes of white cheddar cheez-its (YUM!)
a vanilla woodwick candle (all you can find here are things like lavendar and green tea)
baby dill pickles (you can get them here, but they're super expensive because they really only eat sweet ones)
yahtzee and uno (clever/pleasant gift)
spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, and noodles (my DAD)
microwavable cookies and brownies? (nobody has ovens here)
hair clips
toothpaste (can't find the crest vanilla here)
medicine (nice, since ryan and i are both sick)
a pretty thoughtful package to say the least. very exciting to receive. it felt like christmas in september.
it doesn't seem like much if you're in america, but lemme tell you, it's amazing when you're an american in korea!
| | |
| the past few years have sort of been a downward spiral for me.
the past few months being the worst.
though my cynicism has reached a peak, i have realized that you can be anywhere in the world, but if you are not satisfied spiritually, nothing is relevant.
i want to write again. i long to be inspired again.
i desire to feel as though i am a real person again.
being in a new place has been an incredible experience, culturally, but it has been hard on me as well. i have spent my whole life moving around from place to place, always being the new kid. attending 10 different schools in 7 different towns, and three different states, i never made real friends until two years after i moved to arkansas. i was 16. i had forgotten that feeling of being new and feeling so self-conscious. i was finally able to overcome my social anxiety around 16 (thanks to my dear randi), but those old familiar feelings seem to have resurfaced. though, i have met great people here, all whom i see on a daily basis, my self-consciousness leads me to believe that i am simply not a likeable person.
that being said, i realize that maybe the reason that i assume people dislike me so often is because i don't like the person that i have become. i feel as though i have become the type of person that needs approval, and that is certainly not the person that i desire to be.
my prayer is that i can rely on the one whose judgement truly matters.
| | |
|
