Blogs from Daegu, South Korea, Asia - page 17

Well the weather has finally cooled off to a lovely temperature and decided to take advantage of the incredibly broad-reaching wifi connections that this country has to offer and made my way to the park down the street from my house. I can’t believe how long I’ve been here and how quick its gone y. This certainly has proved to be the best decision I’ve ever made. It really has helped me grow and learn about myself. It really is amazing what your mind can assimilate as normal when given no other option. Somedays I find myself forgetting the rest of existence and I feel like I am floating in this great state of limbo. I am right where I should be at the time I am supposed to be here. Don’t get me wrong this ... read more

I've plunged right into my second year in Korea. I'm no longer able to enjoy the "writer/editor" status that separated me from the foreigner-English-teacher stereotype, I now have a chance to be around Korean children for six hours a night. I love it. I love hearing their konglish complaints, making them laugh, recognizing a formula within the English language and attempting to explain it in simple terms. I love miming out certain vocabulary words, and sharing a goofy moment with my favorite classes. Photos of my sweet students - coming right up - as soon as I bike downtown and buy the missing cord that attaches my computer to my powershot. Life has been pretty hectic since I started voice recording in Beomeo - approximately 27 minutes on the subway, 1:10 to bike there, :50 to ... read more

So it finally happened, I had to say goodbye to my first friend in Korea yesterday. It is the nature of a job like this that everyone you know will eventually leave and then one day it will be you saying goodbye to everyone left. It's a strange circle, I don't think I've really ever been in a situation like this, the closest I can relate it to is college when people graduate, but that is en masse and usually only once a year. In this case I think it is for the best, my friend Kat was not having a good time here and fate seemed to be stacked against her, I do have to hand it to her though, she stuck it out for 7 long months, through trial and tribulation. She is ... read more

But I have been busy settling in here. It strange how everything that was new and different is becoming common place. I have a job, I have a routine, I have friends, I even have my favorite resturants and bars. And believe it or not it only took me three months. My students have all come along very nicely and we've really started to connect. Other than that no real adventures to report on, I've been taking it easy lately and just coming to terms with anything. Battling a little bit of homesickness and fighting off the desire to keep travelling. It's been hard lately. My friend Kat is leaving to go back to the states due to a series of unfortunate events, my friend lindsay quit her contract and moved to a public school, and ... read more

"Anything that has been done once can and will be replicated ad naseum. All it takes is to have the possibility realized." Living a world away from all that is familiar causes the mind to run in strange directions. Without clear reference points, my imaginations seems to have been sparked again. Today I was riding home on my bike, taking my usual route. It brings me through green park, past the G.S. Supermarket, around the bend to the corner store and rounding off at a crosswalk that shares a corner with a very fancy Japanese Resturant. Out back of this resturant sit two dogs, an older one and a puppy. The Japanese man who owns the resturant speaks decent english and we have exchanged hellos and how are yous. In my mind I created a whole ... read more