Coming back from Bali. Indonesia at the end of January was welcome in some ways; in that it gave me access to hot showers and clean drinking water, but oh it also came at the expense of being generally warm and toasty without having to wear 6 layers of clothing. When I first moved to Korea I knew that it would have 4 seasons, but I never for the life of me expected them to be so COLD! Now, I come from Northern Ontario and we are used to hard, cold Winters, but I thought that I was escaping the cold rather than moving from one cold place to another! I guess I should have done better research. However, despite the cold and the snow it has been a great winter vacation so far and February is shaping up to be a rather awesome month for two particular reasons.
First of all, I still have nearly 3 full weeks of paid vacation left before the next semester begins. When I came back at the end of January, I still had over a full month of vacation days before I needed to be back on campus. This is one of the main reasons that I love my job so very much. Although I will need to be spending some of those weeks preparing my course, at least I can do it at my leasure.
Secondly, this time off has given me the oportunity to get out and be increadibly socially active without having to worry about being tired by work or having any time restrictions for meeting people at their convenience. I have really appreciated the freedom of being able to go and meet anyone at any time of day both near and far from my apartment. The development of some friendships in particular have been really important to me recently.
Winter in Korea is still full of activities in which to participate including the famous ice rink at City Hall. It may in fact be easier for complete beginners however, because the skates are rediculously dull and most people have no idea how to skate at all. It was like trying to cut a loaf of heavy French bread with a dull butter knife; possibly frustrating. I was constantly amazed how no one was actually runing into each other and knocking each other over (there were people ALLLLLLLLLL over the place doing random things). But I am generally amazed that traffic is able to move at all and more people aren't trampled to death on a daily basis in this city, so i guess I shouldn't be surprised that ice skating is no different. Hahaha! In the end however, it brought a smile to my face reminding me of all the times I used to skate with my family when I was young and how much a part of my Canadian identity it actually is.
Another reason this holiday has been so enjoyable is probably largely to do with all of the time I have spent with Ryno becoming best friends and just enjoying life. Ryno is a Public middle school teacher in Incheon originally from Durben, South Africa. We first met at the Halloween ugly sweater party back at the end of October. This inevitably led to being friends on facebook and chatting casually throughout November online. We went out a couple of times in December and stayed in touch throughout my trip to Bali. Although things began relatively slowly, they have picked up steam since my return from vacation and are now chugging along at a nice pace, full steam ahead!
I feel really happy to have made friends like Lindsay here in Korea. We are both from Northern Ontario and get along really well. It can be hard to make good friends in Korea with people always coming and going, but I feel like when you DO connect with someone, it can lead to lasting and meaningful friendships based on mutual compatibility and interests. She is an amazing girl and I really love hanging out with her because of all the crazy adventures we have!
Dating in many ways is like becoming best friends with someone you also find really attractive not just for their personality but also for their looks. It's that step beyond friendship that we don't often take because it also poses the risk of destroying the friendship if the relationship doesn't work out. It's a scary thing in many ways to expose yourself to someone else, but the benefit comes in being trusted with their experiences and stories in return. I think I would say that the risk is worth the payoff in general though, because it's been so much fun to get to know someone as sweet and caring as my man.
A friend I will be sorry to see go is my friend Lauren. She has been accepted into a Masters program in England next Fall term and will be going home shortly back to Seatle to prepare for her big move. It's sad to have friends leave, but just part of the natural order of things when you are all foreigners working and living on work Visas in a country that is not your own. I think that working and living in Seoul has been an increadibly enriching experience in so far even as it has given me the possibility to make friends and aquaintances with people from all sorts of countries and cultural backgrounds that I never would have otherwise. Despite the hardships of living so far away from home in a culture that is so unlike your own at least we know that we have our friends to help us work through our trials and to suport us when things get tough. For that I am increadibly thankful and I hope that I will be able to continue building these great friendships for the foreseable future. It wil make life a brighter and better, and that's a good thing!
No comments:
Post a Comment