Goodbye Korea

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In my laziness while desk warming in Korea the past few weeks, I have fallen behind on writing about my various travels abroad. I’ll get to that soon (to those who care) I swear. This isn’t much of a post about traveling, about adventures, or visiting far off lands as most of mine are. Rather, I wanted to write this one last blog entry while in Korea to commemorate all the great memories that I have made here. All the places I have been blessed to visit, the food that has hooked me like a drug, and of course… the people; friends and strangers alike who have made this past year better than I ever could have expected. In the ending days of my time here in Korea, this is above all else, a thank you to these people for giving this young man one of the most fantastic years of his life… oh that’s right; we’re getting sentimental here mo fo’s.

So here I stood a mere 14 months ago, unsure of where I was heading off next, unable to find a job and above all else… stressed about life in general. Along came an opportunity, take a TESOL course in Thailand and move to Korea for a year to teach English. BINGO! They had me at “guaranteed job.” As was the case before departing on my year long Europe adventure 2 years ago, the one thing that scared me most of all was the people; not like that big green monster from the Muppets, but the groups I would come into contact with abroad. Back home, I’ve been blessed with friends I think of as family and have had amazing times with them over the years and it hurt to think I might be leaving them to end up with a couple of dweeby teachers who wanted to sip tea, play crocket, and talk about the weather.

In Thailand, I was lucky enough to meet my Changster’s; a group I have frequently spoken of in my blogs who will always hold a special place in my heart. Who knew such strong and hysterical relationships could form over the course of only 4 weeks in one of my favorite cities on Earth, Chiang Mai. From taking motorbike rides up to Doi Suthep, swimming in waterfalls, tearing up the jungles with ATV’s, to sucking down Chung beers on the infamous Sinthana Balcony; we had an incredible and unforgettable month together. They were dear to me and made my training amazing, yet left me all the more worried for what was to come in Korea.

Then I arrived in Korea; lonely at first and lost in a strange and unknown land. I mean…… who can get around when all the signs read: 백 터미널, 서점, 병원, or 김밥? I was lost, and at first, a little bit nervous about what was to come. I don’t really ever get homesick; it’s not that I don’t love my friends and family back home or anything, I just love to travel, its part of who I am. Yet, as the first days came upon me, I started wondering if the long term commitment of moving to Korea was a good choice.

Then, I found my school: Hongcheon Cheodenhakeo. My two co-teachers were ever helpful in teaching me of Korean culture and teaching methods that would best serve me. In the end, I feel like they truly are family to me and will never forget what Gunhae and Heoyeon (my Korean Mom) have done for me in making me feel so welcome here. They turned a confused traveler into an English teacher and, while some say we are just robots repeating things over and over to students and are so very “replaceable,” I feel I’ve done a damn good job and have been commended on it (not trying to toot my horn here but there have been far too many times when my principal, co-teachers, and students say they love me and really wish for me to stay).

I have grown to love my students (except for some of those damn 6th graders!) and developed a relationship with them that I will not soon forget. Sometimes, they seriously just make my day by either making me laugh at some word I say wrong, they say wrong, or just doing ridiculous dances or things like that in general. I will miss Hongcheon elementary with all my heart and hope that I have at the very least made a minimal impact on the students here. Whether or not they will remember me remains to be unseen, but surely I will always remember their smiling, laughing, and sometimes angry faces.

I really don’t want to ramble on forever about the next part, because I think other posts by me have said enough about how much I enjoy the food. Dak-Galbi, Dok-bolki, Samgyupsol, Shabu-Shabu, Kimchi Jiggae, Kimbap, and Gamjatang: I will never forget the delicious flavors you presented me with this year. Like a drug, I have become addicted and will never forget the smells (though sometimes unpleasant) and amazing tastes that I have experienced in Korea. It has now officially surpassed Thai food as my favorite food on Earth.

Then there is of course Korea itself to discuss. My favorite was always the vibrant, lively, wild and crazy city of Seoul with its beautiful architecture and 100 dollar nights out. Though often confusing for me to navigate, I will never forget nights out in Seoul with my friends, going to see the World Cup matches in city hall plaza, or just walking around and trying to find something cool if I was ever bored. There is nothing boring about Seoul and though it may get tedious taking the hour and a half subway ride home at 6am on a Sunday, it is one of my favorite cities on Earth and I can’t wait to return.

Rather than ramble about all the other places I have visited, my most frequented visits occurred in Songnam; more specifically in Bundang. It makes me sad to think of never revisiting this town directly next to mine where I have spent countless hours out with my friends playing football, video games at Sessions apartment, watching movies, having barbeques out by the lake, blasting out songs at Norebang late into the wee hours of the morning, trivia nights at Dublins, and of course: the standard Travellers to Pub 210 weekend extravaganza that happened… well let’s be honest… every weekend I have been here. I truly feel as though I lived in this city and Bundangerous will not easily be forgotten.

I truly wished to make this a short blog. I don’t want to go too far in rushing descriptions I truly cannot put into words. I never thought I would have such a pit forming in my stomach thinking about leaving Korea. I will truly miss it with all my heart. Above all, I will miss my friends. The Sportsmen: Brad, D, Marc, Sessions, and Bret; though we may have been looked on from the outside as a bunch of hooligans who drank too much and were often a bit too silly… that is exactly right. They are my brothers for life and I will never forget the memories we made together that made Korea the best experience of my life. In all honesty, without them I would not at all be the same person I am today and would not ever hold Korea nearly as dear to me. I shall miss them each day as I travel forth and wish them all the best of luck in the future. We shared a bond that may have been looked on with envy from time to time, and with disgust at others, yet to the core we have always held true to one another and the mistakes we have made and problems that we have faced; we dealt with as a group; a true Fellowship. Beyond them are my other friends who I also hold so dearly to my heart (again I don’t care about the sentimentality here… just telling it as it is): my New Hampshire brotha from another motha Jake, my spooning buddy and ex-roomate Burch, my ladies Nicole, Kristin, Lindsay, Janice, Christi, Danni, Charity, and Faith who lit up rooms for me when I got to see them out at the bars or off on the river. All my other homies: Jared, Tom, Craig, Jason, Zan, Zach, Dan, Brian, Nick, Kyle, Jeremy, and everyone else that I forgot to mention but didn’t just because I had a bad memory (if I did forget you, don’t hold it against me for surely I know you and will never forget you once I look back years from now at the pictures from our amazing year together). Of course I cannot fail to mention one of my newfound best friends and current girlfriend (say what you will I’m just throwing this out there) Suzie who I only wish I could have met earlier in Korea. Over the past few weeks, she’s shown me what a nerd I really am and has made me laugh harder than I possibly ever have… I seriously feel like I need to go to the hospital after hanging out with her sometimes.

So there you have it. I short list of people who have impacted me more deeply than I could have ever thought possible before coming here. To you all, I love you and wish you the very best on your travels through life. The Irish have a blessing that I always use and… since this is in no way like any of my other blog posts anyways I felt I might as well throw it in here: May the Road Rise up to Meet You, May the Wind be Always at Your Back, May the Sun Shine Warm Upon Your Face and The Rains Fall Soft Upon Your Field, and Until We Meet Again, May God Hold You in the Palm of His Hand.

What I’ll remember

I’ll remember the Tancheon; the bike rides to Seoul where drunkenness turns to breaking into Olympic Stadiums and duathalon’s take down the lesser of all men,
The smell of the river on a warm sunny day as we sat in our Pagoda with a barbeque, guitar and football to get us through the days,
I’ll remember Suji; my home where easy days were spent in front of my computer watching How I Met Your Mother Re-Runs, and episodes of Dexter,
The sheer miracle of how many people can fit into one small flat on the eighth floor playing X-Box and torturing polar bears,
The looks of death in our faces as we reached Hans Deli trying to escape the sun and get home on a cold Sunday afternoon to complete our Lord of the Rings marathon,
The Red Door,

I’ll remember Bundang; the sheer “loosing of all control”, my first trip to Los Angelus, open mic at Travelers, the smell of smoke in 210, trivia at Dublin’s, the look on our faces as we realized the sun had risen while we sang out “Wonderwall” into the hollow walls of a crowded Norebang,

I’ll remember the Doosan Bears; my team, the beautiful cheerleaders who taught me how to love, being called up onto the field after being spotted by the Jumbotron, learning how to say “you play ball like a girl” in Korean,

I’ll remember Halloween; the most aggressive pick up line ever, Bubble Boy, Da Bomb, D, Somali Pirates, and a Toga Man,

I’ll remember Muido; the conquering of Sojesus and the best drunken football game ever played on any beach ever,

I’ll remember Wizard battles; flashes of light soaring towards me as I held my Roman Candles true while being pummeled in the gut by hot explosions that still show in all my undershirts, hitting Nick in the face and blaming it on Brad,

I’ll remember Busan; Ghetto Bar, the world’s greatest wingman, casinos on the beach, drinking on Gwangalli, and the infamous battle with the drunken Scotts,

I’ll remember Chuseok; a much different, surprisingly drunker, yet active thanksgiving that led to me covered head to toe in sewage water while attacking Sessions, how quickly Diplomacy can actually unbind the strongest of friendships,

I’ll remember Hongdae; but only barely, the clubs and kebabs that will melt your heart, steal your soul, and send you back home on the worst subway ride known to man where you circle the green line three times and don’t end up back home until 5,

I’ll remember Monkey beach; sleeping in alleys and dancing on tables with buckets of booze in the richest neighborhood in Korea,

I’ll remember Ajuma’s; and never to try and out push an old lady who could play O-Line for the Patriots,

I’ll remember Century club; the bile and blood that we battled through and the loss of a Sportsman in the process, the “lost night,” and the death of an elevator,

I’ll remember Yongin; the greatest defense militia to hold back the DPRK all for the sake of Y-Rabble, the ghetto, the bike ride that almost cost me my life,

I’ll remember Ganglleung; the beach that showed us a beautiful sunrise and a fantastic outdoor barbeque, hanging out with my best friends on the beach playing football till our toes bled,

I’ll remember Soju; though it has taken so much from my brain, the memories it created was worth every minute of the impending cirrhosis to follow, that beautiful green bottle that some love and others despise will either make or break you in this land, combining it with Pocari and Vitamin water and just laying back at a baseball game or park and loving life amongst friends, chugging competitions,

I’ll remember our Sundays; be it in Wangshimni, watching marathons, playing video games, or taking medicine, they were always ours and always chill,

I’ll remember slap bets; broken noses on St. Patties, wrists, fingers, and emotional wounds that will never fully heal,

I’ll remember Christmas; away from home yet still with family, gift swaps, pizza for dinner, and the most ridiculous Christmas morning ever that none will ever be able to compare to, not going skiing,

I’ll remember Anyang; heaving ice glasses at walls legally, Madill, Kyokowa, and sneaking past security at Hokey games, Brad giving the team a pep talk,

I’ll remember Mudfest; giants wrestling in pits with terrified Koreans, D loosing a limb, Sessions climbing on stage with a K-Pop Band, singing in the rain,

I’ll remember Orientation; the single greatest thing to happen to me in Korea in that I met my best friends there, Cartesian golf, my first failed attempt at a stealth mission to escape an army base,

I’ll remember climbing mountains; beautiful hikes through the countryside that led to stunning views of… well mostly just apartments, but still awesome,

I’ll remember my runs, taking off through Suji, Yongin and down the river while listening to Radiohead and letting the world slip away from me as I ran towards something I still don’t know for certain what was,

I’ll remember New Year’s; close friends on Seoul Tower, Dak-Galbi in Jongak, Kazakhstani cheese balls, and missing the year ring in,

I’ll remember dinners; so many there were that I cannot count, whether 2 or 30 friends, just sitting and eating as much meat as our stomachs could handle and as much Soju as… well you can never have enough Soju,


I’ll remember Gimcheon; though small and in the country, home to two of my favorite Changsters and a place that truly reminded me a bit of home, the best steak Galbi in all of Korea, laying in bed watching movies,

I’ll remember Thanksgiving; the greatest feast ever held in Korea, Wild Turkey’s gobbling through the halls, Norebang,

I’ll remember snowboarding trips; waiting for hours for a bus in the cold, making Koreans bleed in the wake of my rented board, Soju, ski fights,

I’ll treasure and remember all the good times we have all had in this Land of the Morning Calm with one another. I’ll learn from the mistakes and disasters that I have caused or instigated. I’ll never forget Korea and to those who read this, know that you have made my life being here with me to share in this amazing adventure and that despite the chemicals I may put into my system that “Doctors” claim fade the mind; I will never forget you and all you have done for me.


Carpe Vita.

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Comments

[Turtlebutt]

So heartfelt!
Hi! just cruised on by looking for info on traveling in Korea and read your entry. Sounds like your stay in Korea has changed you as a person and made such an impact on you. What a great entry! Beautiful memories, Thank you for sharing:)

[BrokenBradley]

I'm glad someone remembers this stuff
Yikes... that's a lot of stuff in one year. I might have to steal this general layout for one that I write (and obviously I'll be writing about a lot of the same memories). Well done, sir.