Random Babblings of an American In South Korea: 가러사티

Shadiyah and I in Jeonju ( home of bibimbap a popular Korean food) and apparently hotdog soup is as well but thats another story.

The inside of the Hanook Folk Village in Jeonju

Jeonju "Hell's Angels"

So It has been quite some time since I have posted anything, however I have been quite busy.

Well let just see, I signed up for, attended and then quit my Korean Language course. I now work Monday - Friday. I teach English on a volunteer basis to children who can not afford it on Sundays from 3-5 and I also teach a private lesson on a NON volunteer basis on Saturdays.Of course this is also with out mentioning the time allotted in between for the usual English teacher chaos and insanity that seems to appear out of thin air. Like English teachers celebrating Halloween in a country that does not celebrate Halloween:

And of course because Halloween costumes are limited in a country that does not celebrate Halloween, one can understand the need to be creative. Hence the "T-Money" card above which is the card that we load money onto for the subway system here in Seoul and of course my " Kim-Bop Skirt" which really is the Kim minus the bob ( Kim means seaweed and bop means rice). I just couldn't come up with a way to get the rice to look fashionable, but I sure did make a high class seaweed skirt:

So as for the rest of my time here in Korea; well I have also been doing a lot of settling in. It is amazing how someone can go so far from home, to such a different place, yet find themselves right back in their old routines. There is really no use in fighting it, I believe that it is just human nature. Sure I do things like climb mountains and find old temples at their peaks, and go to Korean bath houses where I scrub myself with exfoliating cloths naked in front of 50 Koreans. But I also eat breakfast, listen to the news, drink coffee while reading a book in the park, and drink wine while watching movies or Sex and the City with my neighbor and new best friend Shadiyah. I don't go out during the week ( usually) and I explore Korea or go to a hot new club in Hongdae or Gangnam on the weekends.

I believe that the initial "shock" of the move, the culture, and the time zone has finally worn off and I am finding my place in Asia and what a great place it has turned out to be.

Of course one can always stop to appreciate when a little piece of home pops up in a "Kraze Burger" in Itaewon:

I just found out that my best friend who was engaged before I left is now having a baby. So congrats to Mel and Nick! I wish that I could be there to see you get as big as a house! These are the things that I miss at the end of the day, but I know that they will always be there for me when I get home.

And that gets me thinking about one of the things that I have had to consider as an older teacher living here in Seoul. Most of the teachers that I have met range from:just graduated college to 24 years old and a few oldies like me at 26-29.
Most of them have traveled long term before,some haven't, but we all seem to have one commonality, and that is lets make the best of our time here and have as much fun as we can. Although at the end of the day someone who is 26 , about to be 27 in 5 months has to seriously think about their future outside of just having a good time. Which is exactly why I came here right? To clear my mind, open my options and try to see the bigger picture of life; a life that doesn't depend on 1 week vacations to Florida and Ocean City Maryland. A life that isn't subjected to the terms and conditions of the American dream; a degree, a car, a house, a husband, a dog, and finally a baby. I decided a long time ago that this isn't the life that I want to lead. These things do not make me happy. I do not seek god because I do not fill my head with concerns about existence and post death details. I do not have unanswered questions and I do not have concerns about the meaning of it all. Therefore I sleep beautifully knowing full well that a little mystery is good for a person and sometimes its good to just accept the strangeness of life and all that it has to offer. At the same time I do not feel as though I should follow the lead of majority on other aspects of my life. I have never been one for doing what others want or expect of me, so why start now?

So as for being 26 years old and living in Seoul Korea as an English teacher amoung a large group of young people who may have come here to postpone the realworld, while I am trying to escape it? Well I think that its the best idea that I have had yet. And I will tell you something else.....Samuel L. Jackson spoke to me at the peak of Mount Suraksan today, and he said " so where do you think that you are? in Mother F*cking Ko-rea?"