Thoughts

For quite awhile now I have been thinking my experience in Korea is more like a study abroad trip than the start of a career. Somehow, I still can't shake this feeling. While I am completely comfortable in front of a classroom and have embraced Seoul as my home, I keep waiting for a report card to show up. I spend the weekends like I would if I were in college. Usually this means going out to a bar or a club or it may entail hanging out at COEX. I'm still confused as to what all of this means.

The more I think about the time I've had in Korea, the experiences, the people I've met, the more I can see how I have grown. While I've always considered myself independent and mature, it is now more prevalent. I've gone to Japan all by myself, wandered around the metropolis that is Seoul and relied on myself to make friends (this in contrast to the "Laura Factor" at Ole Miss...she introduced me to pretty much everyone I hung out with). I don't even know where to begin start when I think back on the past 8 months (yes, it has been 8 months). I still feel like I got off the plane and while I say this over and over again, I truly discover something new everyday. Today, for example, I discovered that vegetable fried rice really doesn't contain many vegetables (meaningless discovery at best, but still).

I am thankful I have kept this blog because I think I'd forget the things that make Korea MY Korea. The little things that seem pointless in the moment, but they all combine into something wonderful. Snipets of what my students say, poorly written English signs, strange smells from the gutters and constant progress. Korea is evolving as quickly and as tirelessly as I am. One of my favorite things to do is to ride the subway at night and cross the river. The bright lights reflecting off the murky water of the Han River remind me of Christmas lights in the window and this somehow comforts me. Every time I cross the river, in the bright florescent lights of the subway car, I am home. I never thought I'd be at home in such a large city, but now I can't imagine not being around the culture, the hustle and bustle and the never ending options Seoul has to offer.