6 Months

It has been exactly 6 months since I have woken in this country. 6 months. Wow. I honestly cannot believe it. I hardly remember my first weeks here, they seem so long ago. Yet at the same time I feel so new to my job and my friends (more like family) here. I haven’t done half the things I’ve wanted to do in this country, but half my contract has passed. If you have kept up with the blog, then I see no need to recapitulate everything I have written. Instead I’ll just talk at you a little longer and wax nostalgic.

6 months ago I boarded a plane as a wide-eyed and foolishly (falsely) over-confident lad bound for the Riches of the Orient. Enticed by tales of gold and adventures rarely seen by my peers, I nervously pledged myself to a full year of cheerful service. I must admit, the first half of that year was less than cheerful at times. Yet life is about perseverance and resolve. In my first taste of the real world, I have seen a little more of what life has to offer. Strangely enough, I have come to find that life in the real world isn’t always so upbeat as life was previously back home. I have begun to see that there are so many people in life who shelter each of us from hardship and pain. So many people who provide us with seemingly unceasing fountains of happiness: Friends, Family, Significant others, and Co-workers, all of whom provide a solid presence and comfort through our everyday trials. At home I had those protectors in spades. Now, having flown halfway around the world and presented with the opportunity to forge new bonds of friendship to support me… Well, the task has been immensely rewarding and all colors of fun. I truly am grateful to everyone here who has made my life easier and helped me reach this point in my life. I am happy, I am dedicated to my job, I am content in my current situation.

Looking back, I guess I can classify these past 183 days as a time in my life where I built. I built friendships. I built confidence. I built experience and built upon my skills. I built my life in my own patterns and fashions in my environs. I have built a foundation for the next 6 months. With my comfort, I want to seize every opportunity and strive for more experiences – travel to more cities in Korea and see more culture, really dedicate myself to Korean language instruction, try to bring as much passion and love of learning into my classes as possible (we can make these kids want to learn, I swear it!). So much to do and so much I have to look forward to. I think if I had to sum up the past 6 months of my life in one word it would be “foundation,” but for the next 6 months I want it to be, “immersion.”

Well, I bore you. Apologies. I will go seize the opportunities that life presents and wring every drop of happiness from them – both for myself and my friends. Then I’ll write about them so you can share in this ambrosia. Now! I must prepare myself for a night in Seoul to celebrate!