Saturday, 04 October 2008

• Six Months...

  Well, yet again I have waited tooo long to blog. I don't know why I don't keep up with this thing better...oh well I guess. So, It has been six months here. That is unbelievable really. People told me it would go fast, but I didn't believe them. I can see how when you are just living your life, time flies by. So, if anyone knows anything about culture shock, they know that at about the six month mark, the person really misses their home country, and begins to see the deficiencies in the country they are living...well, that is pretty much how I have been feeling lately. I miss home more than I ever thought I would, and it seems that all the things that aren't so grand here are being illuminated. I am aware that these feelings will pass, so I am looking forward to appreciating the culture here rather than resenting their ways of doing things. I do feel bad that I have been feeling this way, but it's normal I presume. I am still liking my job, and my Korean friends, and of course there are new opportunities that present themselves that do seem to remind me that it's cool living abroad. One thing recently that was really cool was I got to go with my roommate to her family holiday celebration. They have this thing here called Chuseok-basically like Thanksgiving. Anyway, I got to go out of town with them to her grandparent's farm house. It was so interesting to be with the family, and see all the difference between our thanksgiving festivities and theirs. One thing I noticed first was that there was no kitchen table, or table in general. We sat on the floor around this cute little table that we would call a coffee table...it was adorable. I was the first foreign person who had been to their house so it was such an interesting experience. The family fed me soooo much food and tried to get to know me (well through translation)...so I had a really great time with them. It remains one of the coolest things I've done in Korea.

  So, I completely missed blogging about my trip to Japan...There is so much to say really. I spent three weeks there. I went by myself (my first trip alone). I stayed in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka. In Tokyo I met sooo many great people at the hostel I stayed at. I had a fantastic time with them, either sightseeing or just chillen at the hostel cafe. Some of them had recently come from Beijing because they played, sang, or danced at the pre-olympic events. Some were random travelers also traveling alone. One of my most favorite people I met was this older lady named Iris. She is from Chili and had been traveling around the world for the last two months by herself! She was a trip to say the least, but I just loved her :) After my week in Tokyo, I stayed in Yokohama for just a day. I mostly drank coffee and journaled because this was one of my days alone. I ended up taking a night bus to Kyoto ( a very cultural city) in middle/southern Japan. Kyoto has soo many temples, shrines, and cultural sites that it could keep you busy for weeks. I loved this quaint place, really. What I liked most about Kyoto was the vast amount of bikers there. Everyone from young children to working men in suits ride bikes...so I decided I would join them for a couple of days. I loved biking around the city. It turned out to be the best way to see the most while being in and amongst the people. My bike actually got towed one day because apparently bikes are like cars, you can't park it just anywhere. So it was a challenge to find my way to the bike place, and pay to get the bike out of jail :) I was also at that point dealing with money problems. For whatever reason my ATM card, Visa cc, and various other cards were not working....I was almost, almost at the point at calling my parents...geeeez. So, basically I used my little bit of money at that moment to get the bike back. So, after a week in Kyoto, I went to Osaka. I met up with some FSU alumni. I ended up staying with the one girl Danielle. She was so sweet to let me stay there given the money issues I was having. So Danielle, her boyfriend, Barabara and I had a great few days together in Osaka...mostly just shopping and chillen. So after 3 weeks that felt like 6, I returned to Korea, and yet again started another semester. I am now in the 4th week of the semester. It's weird to already be in the 3rd section of my work here. Time is flying like I mentioned before. So, I have a few more months here, and I just hope to have even more great experiences. I miss you all in Florida and can't wait to catch up on everyone's life when I get back :) Take care all.

  • 5:13 AM
  • 41 Views
  • 2 eProps
  • 1 Comment