What a gift my time
in Korea has been. I can’t even believe the unplanned and amazing opportunities
that came along for me in the past three years. I recently read a list of goals
I’d written before getting to Korea and realized I’d completed very few of them
but I ended up learning a lot more things that I hadn’t even expected. I had my
first lessons in Korean (of course), Asian & Korean culture, skiing,
snowboarding, surfing, pole dancing, running half marathons, Korean cooking,
Loving What Is and The Art Of Living (the last two both literally and
figuratively). I had a blood transfusion, learned about what my grandfather did
when he fought in the Korean War, saw multiple people get hit by cars (and a
bus once), learned some about yoga & meditation, learned about nutrition,
got to dance with Jorjet Alcocer and meet and dance with some other incredible
salseros & bachateros, I learned a ton of salsa from my Korean friends,
made amazing friends and spent a good chunk of time in some ridiculous but
enjoyable relationships.
From the very
beginning of this trip, life has taken unbelievable care of me. I made friends
on the airplane and continued making new friends all the way through including
on the plane trip home. I’m just bursting with gratitude for the people that I
met in Korea. Seung Yeon who I first met on the plane and later helped me shop
at the grocery store, Deon who, even though we only met recently, has become an
awesome friend and member of our family and totally got me to the airport and
on my flight home smoothly, Yeseo who was the only person I knew when I moved
there and came to the airport to pick me up, Jacqui, my coworker who arrived
the same day as me and was my first partner in crime exploring the country,
Philip and Jessica, the cutest couple in the world and such wonderful and
inspiring friends, Logan, who made me laugh constantly and made work so much
fun, Justin, Justin & Jonathan who always made KNC a good time, Anton who I
met randomly at a lame salsa club and then introduced me to the best club in
Korea where I continued to go weekly and meet the majority of my friends,
Renata who the words friend and sister don’t even begin to describe so we’ll
call her my angel, Nicole who was also unbelievably there for me in my times of
need, Erica, my wonderful friend that taught me so much about professionalism
and introduced me to my wonderful boss; Jin, who gave me more opportunities
than I ever could have imagined, gave me space and autonomy to grow on my own
as a teacher and person, and became a wonderful friend. Then there were my
fantastic students, kids and adults (although I’m not referring to any of the
middle schoolers I taught here lol) who accepted me in their culture, respected
me, made me laugh, taught me about their language and customs and truly made me
LOVE my job. Life changed once again when Lizzy came along and made me laugh
harder than anyone, taught me what the words beauty and generosity mean,
allowed me to move into her apartment, went on countless adventures with me and
encouraged me to be the best person I can be. Our salsa crews who were my
first, craziest and possibly most fun friends in Korea – Jay, Yoyo, Lanny,
Albert, Vincent, Ricardo, Bruce, Gabriel, Gyu, Jimmy – not to mention Max &
Ricky who provided countless nights of fun for us. My family – Tania, Franz,
Aillen & Christian who have been so generous and kind in every way, putting
smiles on my face every time I saw them and always ready to have a great time
together. The Art of Living friends that I made who I could sit and listen to
for hours – Sonia, Kat, Forest, Sagar, Prashant, Saatchi and everyone – I’ve
learned so much from you guys! Terrie who was here for such a short time but
made such a big impact with her hilarity, big personality and giant smile. Ryan
who taught me a lot and gave me an opportunity to grow. Greg, Jiae, Christine,
the Liams and everyone who made working at the Herald such a fun experience and
provided me with so many enjoyable conversations. Reza and all the soccer guys
on both HBC and Hunters who let me play in the men’s league, were awesome
friends and a damn good time!
I was so focused on
leaving Korea, saying goodbye to everyone and getting all my last-minute
moving-out-of-the-country errands done, I now realize that I barely had time to
think about coming home. I spent the majority of my day talking to my new
Swedish friend (the guy who was seated next to me on the plane), catching up
with other friends when I had wifi and sleeping so now I’ve just landed in Ohio
and I feel mentally unprepared. It’s a strange experience to be here again – I
already know this from the couple of hours I spent in Dallas Airport. Lots of
white people, lots of fat people and really dramatic news channels are the
first things I’ve noticed (quite similar to my experience in the States a year
ago). Not because of those things but just because I’m no longer in my home –
Korea – it feels really weird to be here. I’m going to enjoy every minute of
it, though, and then head off for another beautiful adventure with my Lizzy!!
*Disclaimer – I did
NOT mention all the people I’m grateful for meeting in Korea. I ran out of
time!!!! You are all amazing and I’m forever grateful.
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