KOREA Week XXXXXIII

April 30, 2010

It's official. Twelve months in Korea. Wow!

I arrived on April 27, 2009. I've lived through four distinct seasons here and I feel as if my time should soon expire. Honestly speaking, I'm slightly bored. The excitement has started to fade and I feel it's time to go home.

Looking back, its amazing how fast a year can pass. Each day, Monday through Friday, I've awoken at 5:30a.m. Thats 240 days of teaching plus 24 Saturday classes. Luckily, I've been blessed with many three and four day weekends, usually an average of one a month. This has provided me ample opportunity to rest myself and to travel. In addition to this, I managed to extend four days of vacation time over the week of Christmas and New Years into a much needed 11 day vacation.

I've taught over 200 students during my tenure, and in many cases, they taught me. My students have included housewives, doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, college students, high school students, and even a few school children. Truly, they have been the best part of my existence in Korea.

While I have been a student of everything Korean, I've learned some of the language, though not enough to be considered fluent. I do take great pride, however, in what little vocabulary I have learned, or the pronunciation of these few words I seem to have mastered, and it's always a pleasure when someone compliments me on my use of the language.

In the past year, I've witnessed many events in this country, both good and bad. On the low side, I've seen firsthand the country mourn the death of two beloved presidents, and I've recently seen the country struggle with the loss of 46 sailors aboard the Navy vessel which sunk under mysterious circumstances in the West Sea. This latest incident may soon prove to be the second naval skirmish in disputed waters with North Korea within the past twelve months, and will likely become a major roadblock to any form of reunification talks.

On the bright side, I've seen the country celebrate one of its proudest moments following the Gold medal victory of Kim Yuna at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and an overall fifth place finish with seven medals. Additionally, I've watched 37 year-old South Korean golfer Yang Yong-eun celebrate a triumphant win as the first Asian to win a major event at a PGA Championship.

I've also witnessed a sort of smart-phone revolution following the long-awaited release of the iPhone last November, and I've watched many other companies struggle to release products to compete. The entire revolution occurred almost entirely within six months and it has been intriguing to watch this unfold.

One of my proudest achievements; I've traveled extensively throughout South Korea, seeing almost everything there is to see in a country roughly the size of the state of Indiana. Seriously, I have been many, many places and have learned a lot about the country.

I've documented these travels as best I could, and I have published over 60 blog entries detailing my experiences and attempting to describe Korean culture. This blog, by the way, was named as one of the Top 100 blogs by the Korea Tourism Organization. In addition to this, I've posted over 800 photographs onFlickr capturing my travels and random images of Korean life.

Skype has really and truly been the most wonderful way to stay in touch with friends and family back home, and I'm incredibly thankful for the many individuals who have "skyped" with me on a regular basis. You have no idea how much it meant to feel just a little closer to home.

Of course, I've made some money, and I've spent some money too. Without a doubt, food was my biggest expenditure, followed by frequent travels and souvenir purchases for my peeps. I suppose I could have been more diligent with saving money, but then I probably would not have all the fantastic experiences. So, other than the 70,000 Won late-night massage and the 80,000 which mysteriously went missing at the Jeju Island Casino, I have very few regrets.

Best of all, I've made some amazing friends and have experiences that will remain with me for a lifetime. Because of this, I feel I owe many people a very heartfelt 'thank you' for hosting me over the past year and welcoming me into your country and into your lives.

So, until next time. Hasta la vista, Korea! Annyonghi Kaseyo! See you again someday...