it's all over now, baby blue.

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I knew Margo before I even met her.

That is, I had read her blog while sitting hunched over my laptop on a sunny day in California, trying to glean information about the town I would be moving to in South Korea. I read that she was from South Africa. She liked her little town of Geumsan, but loved her friends in the city of Daejeon. She enjoyed partying and expected people to keep up with her. In my imagination, she was a black girl. Obviously, I was ignorant on most everything related to South Africa. Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron, wild animals, and Cape Town. That would be the extent of my knowledge. Now thanks to loquacious and patriotic Margo, I know about things like "lekker" and "robots" and the infamous "braais".

I first met Margo at orientation in South Korea. She seemed bubbly, colorful, and like someone I wanted to borrow clothes from. She didn't find it weird that I opened with, "Oh my god, I totally read your blog." I'll give you a good old cliche and say that we instantly became friends, because well, that's how it went. We spent the rest of orientation having irreverent conversations, gossiping about the people who awaited me in Geumsan, and I attempted to nickname her Margot Tenenbaum. That lasted maybe a week.

She was my only good friend in Geumsan for awhile. She'd come to my apartment where we would watch movies, bake cookies, attempt art, drink wine, shit talk, or I'd do my thing while she "borrowed" my bathtub. It became regular for her to be at my apartment after school. People took to calling us twins because we both had blonde hair, similar features, and were usually together. This also had to do with the fact that we taught at schools that were next door to each other. Margo and I were super close in those first few months when I was settling in, but boys, life, and other friends came around and we stopped hanging out only with each other (thank god, or we may have become total weirdos).

I've lived in Geumsan with Margo for a year and a half and I'm really quite sad to have her leave. She is the main fixture in Korea for me and I've got to say, the world will feel like its been turned on its head for a bit. I'll miss the sunshine dates we have outside our schools when the weather is fine, "friendship tests", griping about "AMAB", laughing fits, drunk grandma, snowball fights, van gough cookies, serious talks about rihanna's personal life, dancing to frivolous music, miley cyrus impressions, setting roofs on fire, drunk shenanigans, bitches be cookin', being taught how to open a bottle of wine, and the way she says "can't". We've only had one fight the whole time I've known her and it was when I was the drunkest I've been in my life. It was over whether or not Kate Moss deserved to be idolized. Others saw this fight as insane and annoying, but to me it was a matter of principle and to her it was a matter of me pissing on what she found holy. In the morning, we hugged and the fight had ended. But to this day, I tread carefully around the name Kate Moss..

Margo is the sweet to my mean and the one person who keeps me on the optimistic side of the fence when I seem to be leaning towards the bitter. The friends who mean the most to me in life are the ones who make me a better person and Margo does that. She's been the person hugging me when I got the news on Easter that my grandpa had died and and on my birthday when my grandma died. Both times I went outside to cry alone and both times she followed me because she knew I needed someone. I love her and I'll miss living with her in Korea, but we will meet again. It's inevitable.

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Good luck at home twinsie! Write me a weird poem from AfrikaBurn and see you in Turkey!!
YOLO.
<3 Hanzy

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Comments

[Rikki]

Need advise!!!
Hello there! My name's Rikki and I'm from London. Just wanted to get some information about a few things. First of all I'd like to say I'm sooooo bloody glad i bumped into your blog. You don't understand how hard i've been trying to get some information about working in geumsan. I've only been told that i'll working there for a year in Puri elementary school. What's the experience been like over there? I mean, is there anything to do out there in the sticks? This will be a massive change from the city life i'm used to living. What's the weather like out there in general through out the year and what's the nightlife out there (if there is any lol). Is there anything that i need to bring that you can't get over there like for instance a pint of guiness. I must read more from your blog as your life sounds quite interesting out there. Any info would be wicked, looking forward to hearing from you, cheers!

[Where in the world is Hannah]

Hey Rikki, My email is [e-mail] or you can find me on facebook and I can send you an email with LOTS of information on Geumsan and give you any help you need. I don't really want to relay all that information on here, but I will let you know that Geumsan is VERY small and there isn't any nightlife to speak of here. That being said, every weekend the foreigners here go to other places like Seoul to party or do things so you save a lot of money living here and keeping things cheap during the week. It's really beautiful and I enjoy living here but it's not for everyone! My blog definitely can give you a good idea of my experience, but message me because I know I needed help when I first got here! When are you coming to Puri?? I actually work there! That, my friend, is even smaller than Geumsan ;) Oh and regarding that pint. I'd bring some emergency ones for winter haha. I don't drink Guiness (because I can hardly finish one ha) but I'd assume they have it in Seoul and other cities. Not out in Geumsan though. OH AND BRING WARM CLOTHES. winter is a bitch. but the weather is quite lovely right now :)