I have now been in Korea for almost three months. I cannot believe how fast time is going
by. I often think back to a year gone by
in high school or college and I hope that this year does not pass me by as
quickly. I can say I am sincerely enjoying
my time here. I am taking advantage of all
of the opportunities that lay in front of me.
I have been spending more time trying to learn Korean. So far I have successfully taught myself how
to read and write Hangul and as time passes, I find myself having the ability
to read it more quickly. Sang Won has
been really good about teaching me some Korean phrase when we have free time
during or after school. We try to do
language exchange together on occasion.
I can see his English improving slightly but I am not so sure about my
Korean. He is a good friend to me.
The past month I have made it a point to break away from
just spending time with my foreigner friends and have made many Korean
friends. I spend a lot of time with Ga
Ji Young, Unhee, and Sang Won. The past
two weeks we have had dinner together three or four times, and have seen two
movies together. I have also made
friends with the music teacher. Her name
is Jung Hyo Young. She is 29 Korean age
and lives very near to me. She speaks
English very well, although I was not aware until recently, as many Koreans are
shy to speak English with me. We went
for sushi together, shopping, and for coffee. I introduced her to Forever 21
for the first time (Yes, they have it in Korea and it’s 5 floors… way better
than the US!). She told me that my English is very easy for her to understand
and I make her feel comfortable, so I feel good about my communication with
her. Three weeks ago, I joined a boxing
gym with my friend James. There are two
trainers, Kim Ji Young and Metin. I have
been getting to know them both very well. I talk to them every day and we have
recently started going out and doing things together. This Thursday they have a festival at their
University and invited James and I to go with them. I think it will be a really
fun night! I really enjoy my time with
them and look forward to seeing them three times a week at boxing. I have also made a Korean friend named Bok
Jun. I really enjoy spending time with
him. We have seen each other many times
the past week. He is a Korea University
student and is the same age as me. He speaks English very well and has many
foreign friends. One night we went on a
hunt to find and a roof top to sit on at night… after about 5 attempts, we
found an open one. We sat there
contently talking, listening to music, and cracked a beer together. It was a
really great night. We can talk easily
and he understands western humor which is a plus! I think we understand each
other very well and I am looking forward to spending more time with him. I have to say, this has been the highlight of
my past month. I have made so many new Korean friends. It is nice because I get more exposure to
Korean culture and language this way.
One of my new year’s resolutions for 2012 was to get to know someone
completely different from myself so I think I’m getting close to checking that
off the list.
Sang Won and I at dinner.
I have had so many new experiences this past month. I think this is due, in part, to many of my
new and wonderful friends. I saw my
first Korean film, took a trip to Busan, and have experienced many strange
Korean foods. Ji Young, Unhee, and Sang
Won took me to see my first Korean film. It was called 간죽학개론 and it was a love story.
This was such an interesting experience just due to the fact that there
were no English subtitles so I had to pay attention and use the picture to
determine what was going on. I actually ended-up loving the movie. I think my coworkers were surprised by how
well I really understood the story line.
The only problem was that I did not understand the funny parts when
people laughed at the dialog, but it was still a great experience. The past week I have tried many strange
Korean foods that I actually thought I would never have the courage to
try. I have surprise myself in many
ways! I ate 낙지 twice now (moving octopus) and 번데기 (silkworm pupa) as well as these small dried up fish… complete
with eyeballs and scales. I actually
somewhat enjoyed the moving octopus just because the experience was
insane. We got to pick the octopus we
wanted from a fish tank, Cameron held it and we got a picture, then, they cut
it up and you dip it in a sauce and eat it while it’s still moving. It is quite
a strange sensation. You can feel it
suction to your mouth and move while you eat it. The silkworm pupa was quite disgusting. The small fish are not terrible, but just not
quite my thing. Lastly, I took a trip to
Busan with Aileen and Cameron. It was a short little getaway from the city, but
well worth the trip. Busan is a beautiful beach city in South Korea (I believe
the second or third largest city). We
didn’t do anything too extravagant while there… just explored the area, tried
some new foods, and visited the beach. When it hits you that you are dipping
your feet in the ocean on the other side of the world… it is quite
exhilarating. It was a great time with
good friends. All in all, it has been a really eventful month.
Busan Pictures!
If I think back on this month and I
had to pick out one special moment it would be this: a self revelation. I had a moment of pure happiness while
venturing home from Busan. It happens
often here that I find myself smiling for no reason and just breathing in deep
to the feeling of pure and utter happiness due to my newly found self dependence. I have always been the type that needs to
know when and where, how long, what time, etc… but, I believe Korea is making
me more flexible and open. I went to
Busan last minute, and with no return ticket home. Although I went with my friends, I decided to
leave early on Sunday morning and they returned to Seoul later. In the morning I packed up and set out on an
adventure to find the bus station. As I
walked out of the building alone, I felt a surge or energy and bliss. There I
stood with my mini rolling suitcase. I had no idea exactly how to get where I
was going… no clue of the names of the places on the subway or their location.
I could so easily get lost. However, something
about this journey felt so incredible to me.
I made my way, of course, and got to the bus station just fine. As I sat there, waiting for my bus, I thought
about how I was feeling. Could it really
be that I was experiencing a change in myself right at that moment? I used to be the girl that didn’t like
unfamiliar places, and being alone scared me.
Yet, there I was, waiting to get on a bus back to Seoul for a 4 hour bus
ride home ALONE, in a different country, and where I don’t speak the language. Instead of feeling anxiety, nervousness, or
fear… I simply felt liberated. And so I
continue to have these life- changing moments and I have Korea to thank for
that.
The moment I had my good feeling moment... I captured it... (oh and my new haircut!)
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